Christina Steele-Lietz, LMSW, LCSW
Practical, compassionate therapy for real-life stressors
Book with ChristinaHow Christina works
Practical facts
- Credentials
- LMSW, LCSW
- Licensed in
- Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan
- Years in practice
- 20
- Languages
- English
- Session format
- Online, through our partner platform
About Christina
Christina Steele-Lietz is a licensed clinical social worker who focuses on practical ways to help people cope with hard moments. She uses clear, down-to-earth guidance to help individuals manage stress, anger, anxiety, grief, and changes in life. Christina encourages clients to set goals that fit their day-to-day lives.
She brings 20 years of professional experience and holds a Master of Social Work as an LMSW and LCSW. Christina creates a nonjudgmental space where people can talk through painful memories and confusing feelings.
Background and approach
Sessions aim to identify facts, name options, and build skills that feel useful outside therapy. Her approach blends evidence-informed methods with a warm, client-centered stance. She draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people accept difficult internal states while moving toward valued actions.
Cognitive behavioral techniques are used to notice patterns and try small, concrete behavior changes. For trauma and abuse, Christina integrates eye movement desensitization and reprocessing as one option to address distressing memories. Emotionally-Focused Therapy techniques support people working on intimacy-related concerns and relationship stress.
Mindfulness practices are offered to reduce reactivity and improve daily coping. Christina works with concerns across a broad range, including parenting strain, caregiving stress, chronic health issues, career questions, and identity matters such as LGBT and gender dysphoria-related stress. She meets people where they are and helps them choose steps that feel doable.
What Christina works with
Everything Christina lists, in the therapist's own terms. Anger is the reason this directory exists; the rest tells you what usually sits alongside it in Christina's practice.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Depression
- Coping with life changes
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Blended family issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Eating and food-related issues
- First responder issues
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Christina lists
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Practical approaches for online therapy and coping
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice painful thoughts and feelings and still move toward what matters to them. It focuses on values and small actions that add up to a different life. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors link together and teaches simple experiments to change unhelpful patterns. EMDR is offered as a way to address distressing memories by combining focused processing with bilateral stimulation techniques when appropriate.Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn't helped in the past. Together they decide whether to try ACT, CBT, EMDR, or a mix, and they adjust plans as needed based on progress and comfort.
Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs. Video is useful for in-depth work and visual connection, phone can be quieter when bandwidth is limited, live chat supports shorter check-ins, and messaging lets people reflect in writing between sessions. These options make it easier to schedule therapy around work, caregiving, or health constraints while keeping treatment focused and practical.
Questions people ask about Christina
What kinds of problems does this therapist help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, depression, anger, self-esteem, and many life transitions. Additional focuses include caregiver stress, chronic illness, eating and sleeping issues, and career concerns.
What is her therapeutic style like?
She practices in a client-centered way that is warm and nonjudgmental and uses practical methods like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and cognitive behavioral techniques. Sessions emphasize identifying options and trying small, useful changes.
How much experience does she have?
She has 20 years of professional work experience supporting people with a wide range of concerns.
What credentials and location should I know about?
She holds the credentials LMSW and LCSW and is licensed in Illinois. These are the credentials listed for her practice.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people join from other countries?
International clients are not currently accepted; sessions are provided to clients in the therapist's licensed region.
What session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to match different schedules and needs.
How do fees and the subscription work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability and is billed through a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.