About Thomas
Thomas Buckner is a licensed clinician in Illinois who helps people facing depression, anxiety, trauma and mood concerns. He uses a compassionate, straightforward style to help people manage stress, anger, substance issues, and problems with self-esteem. Thomas supports people dealing with relationship strain, career pressure, caregiving stress, and life transitions.
With 15 years of experience, Thomas focuses on practical steps people can use between sessions. He blends approaches so conversations lead to clear skills for coping, emotion regulation, and better communication.
Background and approach
Sessions emphasize what matters most to each person and build on existing strengths. Thomas uses a mix of evidence-informed methods such as cognitive behavioral techniques to identify thinking patterns and dialectical strategies for managing intense emotions. He also draws on attachment-focused ideas to address patterns that began in close relationships.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people clarify values and commit to manageable changes. People can expect a calm, respectful therapist who listens first and makes suggestions that fit everyday life. Thomas works with adults across a wide range of concerns including addiction, bipolar mood issues, ADHD, and the effects of trauma or abuse.
He also helps those coping with chronic illness, blended family challenges, and the fallout from separation or domestic violence. The work is collaborative and paced to each person’s readiness. Goals are practical and measurable, and Thomas checks in on progress as things change.
Evidence-based approaches for online care
Thomas uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice and change unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors; this approach often suits anxiety, depression, and stress-related issues. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is used to clarify personal values and encourage small committed actions that align with those values, which can help with motivation and long-term change.The therapist will work collaboratively to find the right approach. Together the client and Thomas will review goals, try techniques, and adjust the plan when something isn’t working. Finding the best fit is part of the work rather than a one-time decision.
Online sessions are offered via video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to match different needs. Video calls allow more face-to-face interaction, phone sessions can work better when bandwidth is limited, live chat can be useful for brief check-ins, and messaging supports ongoing reflection between appointments. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, manage care across locations, and keep short or frequent contacts when that helps progress.
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What this counselor works with
Most often
- Trauma and abuse
- Anger management
- Self esteem
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Stress, Anxiety
- Traumatic brain injury
- Visually impaired
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Gottman Method
- Jungian Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Somatic Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
- Experience
- 15 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English