About Wendy
Wendy Gilchrist brings two decades of practical experience to her counseling work. She trained as a License Clinical Professional Counselor, LCPC, and has built a career across nonprofit leadership, hospital settings, and trauma-informed programs. Wendy focuses on clear, steady support for common and complex problems.
She speaks English and Spanish to help people communicate in the language that feels right for them. Wendy's early career grew from running nonprofit programs.
Background and approach
She started organizations that helped homeless boys and survivors of abuse and created job opportunities for people facing economic barriers. That background influences how she sees problems - as connected to life circumstances and to practical choices people can make. In clinical settings she has worked in psychiatric hospital units and in specialized trauma-informed programs.
She has offered therapy to individuals and in groups, and has experience addressing trauma and loss. Over 20 years she has helped people manage anxiety, depression, bipolar challenges, grief, anger, and the effects of chronic illness and caregiving stress. Her style is direct and collaborative.
Sessions focus on what is happening now and on small steps that lead to change. She uses approaches that match the person's needs, including client-centered work, cognitive-behavioral strategies, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, and narrative techniques. People often come for help with parenting strain, family conflict, attention differences, or career and life changes.
Wendy aims to make therapy practical and approachable, helping each person find ways to cope, make choices, and move forward.
Therapeutic approaches and online options
Wendy frequently draws on client-centered therapy, which centers the session on the person's perspective and goals and helps people feel heard and understood. This approach is useful for relationship concerns, family issues, and building self-esteem.She also uses cognitive behavioral therapy, which looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors connect, and teaches practical skills to manage anxiety, depression, and anger. Mindfulness therapy is another tool she offers to help people notice stress patterns and develop calmer responses to difficult moments.
Choosing an approach is a collaborative process. Wendy will talk with each person about their goals and preferences and then suggest methods that fit those needs. She adapts techniques over time based on what works best for the individual.
Online therapy provides practical flexibility. Video calls let people use visual cues for deeper conversation, phone sessions work well when lower bandwidth or hands-free time is needed, and live chat or text-based messaging suit quick check-ins or ongoing written support. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, family, or health schedules while keeping a steady course of care.
Questions people ask
What concerns does Wendy commonly address?
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
What is her professional background?
What credentials and location are listed for Wendy?
Which languages are available for sessions?
What session formats are offered online?
How is cost handled for sessions?
What are the steps to begin working together?
What this counselor works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Parenting issues
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Grief
- Impulsivity
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Somatization
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 20 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English, Spanish