Works with
- Anger
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Depression
How Tamela works
Practical facts
- Credentials
- LCPC
- Licensed in
- Illinois
- Years in practice
- 20
- Languages
- English
- Session format
- Online, through our partner platform
About Tamela
Tamela Polanin is a licensed clinical professional counselor with 20 years in mental health care. She focuses on helping people manage stress, anger, anxiety, depression, and relationship struggles. Tamela writes simply and listens closely to understand what matters most to each person.
Her approach centers on the client. She treats people as the experts on their own lives and acts as a guide while they set goals and try new ways of coping.
Background and approach
Sessions emphasize practical tools and steady support for moving through trauma, grief, parenting strain, and changes at work or home. Tamela uses techniques drawn from client-centered therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, emotionally focused work, and EMDR. She aims to match the right approach to the problem a person brings rather than applying one fixed method.
That flexibility helps when coping with anger, addictions, or complicated losses. Living in Illinois, Tamela blends professional experience with a direct, down-to-earth style. She has personal experience with trauma which shaped her focus on trauma-informed care.
Conversations are straightforward and paced to each person’s readiness. Many people come for help with parenting stress, attachment and blended family issues, body image or codependency. She also supports people working through grief, career transitions, compassion fatigue, ADHD-related struggles, and intimacy concerns.
The emphasis is on small, actionable steps that make day-to-day life more manageable.
What Tamela works with
Everything Tamela lists, in the therapist's own terms. Anger is the reason this directory exists; the rest tells you what usually sits alongside it in Tamela's practice.
- 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 lists
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How therapy approaches work online
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and supporting your goals. The therapist follows your lead, reflects what matters to you, and helps you find steps that fit your life. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at patterns of thought and behavior and teaches practical skills to change unhelpful reactions, which is useful for anxiety, anger, and mood struggles. Dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, adds skills for emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and clearer communication when feelings run high.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with you about goals, try a few techniques, and adapt work based on what helps. You and the therapist decide together which methods fit your situation and pace.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can be a good shorter check-in or work when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text messaging offer brief, flexible check-ins between sessions or a way to process things without being on camera. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and to keep progress moving forward.
Questions people ask about Tamela
What concerns does Tamela help with?
She helps people with stress, anger, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addictions, grief, relationship and parenting issues, and many related concerns such as body image or codependency.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her style is client-centered and down-to-earth. Sessions focus on listening, practical skills, and choosing approaches that match each person's needs.
How much experience does she have?
She brings 20 years of experience in mental health work and has developed a focus on trauma through both professional and personal experience.
What are her credentials and where is she located?
She holds an IL LCPC credential and practices from Illinois.
Which languages are supported and can international clients connect?
Sessions are offered in English and international clients are accepted.
What session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different preferences and schedules.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions according to therapist availability.