About Patti
Patti Hampsten uses a client-centered approach as the foundation of her counseling. She begins by listening without judgment and helps people name what they are feeling. Patti holds an LCPC, which is the Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor credential in Illinois, and she brings three years of experience in online practice to her work.
She often starts with motivational interviewing to help people clarify what they want to change and why.
Background and approach
From there she adds practical skills from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy when those tools match a person's goals. Sessions are conversational and focused on building skills that fit day-to-day life. Patti has a broad interest in concerns such as anxiety, stress, depression, addictions, trauma and grief.
She also helps with relationship worries, body image and career stress. Other focuses include caregiver strain, eating and food-related issues, communication problems, and first responder stress. Her background includes community mental health work and clinical supervision connected to problem-solving court programs.
That experience shaped a flexible style that adapts to different needs and situations. Patti describes her manner as casual and inviting so people can talk about hard things without added shame. In sessions she prioritizes practical takeaways.
People can expect to leave with at least one coping strategy to try between meetings. Patti works collaboratively to adjust plans as goals change and progress is made.
How client-centered and skills-based therapy works online
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and understanding a person's experience without judgment. It helps people feel heard and begin to choose the changes they want to make. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings and actions connect and teaches practical steps to change unhelpful patterns. CBT is often used for anxiety, depression, panic, and behavior change. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, teaches emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness skills. DBT techniques can help with strong emotions, relationship conflicts, and coping during crisis situations.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose which methods match their goals and preferences. Plans are adjusted as needs change so the work stays relevant and useful.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to meet. Video calls provide a face-to-face option for in-depth sessions. Phone sessions are useful when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging work well for quick updates, brief coping support, or people who prefer writing. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and try different formats to see what feels most helpful.
Questions people ask
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What this counselor works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Grief
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Infidelity
- LGBT
- Midlife crisis
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 3 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English