Tamela Polanin, LCPC
Illinois · 20 years in practice
Tamela Polanin is a licensed clinical professional counselor with 20 years of experience helping people manage stress, anxiety, trauma, and life transitions.
License and registration
- LCPC, Illinois
- 180.012372 · expires March 2027
- NPI
- 1982255592 · national provider identifier
- Years in practice
- 20
- Languages
- English
Details are as listed on the therapist's public professional profile. You can check the license with the issuing state board, and the NPI with the national registry.
About Tamela
Tamela Polanin is a licensed clinical professional counselor with 20 years of experience helping people manage stress, anxiety, trauma, and life transitions. She presents herself as a calm, practical partner in therapy who aims to help clients find steady footing and clearer choices. Tamela speaks plainly and focuses on real-world steps that fit each person's life.
Her approach centers on listening first and following the client's lead. She uses client-centered methods to help people identify goals and build on their strengths.
Background and approach
Tamela also integrates EMDR as part of trauma-focused work when it fits the clients needs. Over two decades in mental health shaped her interest in trauma and coping. She describes trauma work as a journey and aims to walk beside clients while they process painful experiences.
Tamela emphasizes that each persons path looks different and that therapy adapts to those differences. She also draws on cognitive behavioral and dialectical behavior techniques to teach practical coping skills. These strategies are used to manage symptoms like anxiety, anger, and mood shifts and to improve everyday functioning.
Tamela includes emotion-focused ideas to help with relationships and intimacy concerns. Tamela is based in Illinois and holds an IL LCPC, which stands for Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor. She offers sessions in English and accepts international clients for remote work.
Her style is collaborative and straightforward, aiming to help people make manageable changes that fit their lives.
Focus areas and approaches
Everything Tamela lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Depression
- Addictions
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Dependent personality
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches Tamela names
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Naming an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist lists and does not check training records.
Online support
How EMDR and practical therapies work online
Tamela blends client-centered work with trauma-focused options such as EMDR and cognitive behavioral therapy to address painful memories, anxiety, and everyday symptoms. Client-centered therapy focuses on the client's goals and strengths and helps people set the pace and direction of their work. EMDR is used as a way to process traumatic memories when the person and therapist decide it fits the treatment plan, aiming to reduce the emotional charge of past events. Cognitive behavioral therapy emphasizes identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and building practical skills to change behaviors and mood.Choosing the right approach is collaborative. Tamela will listen to your concerns and explain different options, then together you will try methods that match your needs and comfort. The plan can change as you progress so the work stays relevant to your goals.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face contact for in-depth work, phone sessions require less bandwidth and can fit into a work break, and messaging or live chat can be useful for shorter check-ins or when written reflection helps. These remote formats make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules and to continue work across distances.
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Questions people ask
What kinds of concerns does she help address?
Tamela helps people with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addiction issues, grief, parenting and relationship concerns, as well as attention-related challenges and career or life changes.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
She uses a client-centered style that lets the person set goals, paired with practical skills from cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy.
What is her background in mental health?
She has 20 years of experience working in mental health and has focused much of her practice on trauma and recovery.
What credentials and region should I expect?
She holds an IL LCPC, which means Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Illinois, and practices from that state.
Which languages and international arrangements are supported?
Sessions are offered in English, and she accepts international clients for remote work.
What session formats are available online?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different needs and schedules.
How are costs and billing handled?
Session cost varies with location and therapist availability; services are provided through a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What steps are required to begin therapy?
To start, click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions based on the therapists availability.
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