Tamela Polanin, LCPC

Tamela Polanin is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) with 20 years of experience. She welcomes people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, relationship struggles, grief, addiction, changes in life, or questions about intimacy and parenting. Tamela writes in a warm, straightforward way and aims to make the first step feel less daunting. She uses a client-centered stance that treats the person, not the label. In sessions she listens first, then helps people set goals and pick practical steps that fit their life. Tamela also draws on cognitive behavioral techniques to spot unhelpful thinking patterns and on emotion-focused ideas to strengthen how people connect with their own feelings. Her background includes long experience with trauma and trauma-related work. She notes personal familiarity with trauma and has made trauma-focused care a central part of her practice. EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) is among the approaches she uses when appropriate. Tamela lives in Illinois and balances clinical work with family life. She is a mother and raises registered pygmy goats on a country property. That home life shapes a down-to-earth approach to therapy and a practical focus on everyday coping. People who reach out can expect straightforward conversation about goals, step-by-step strategies, and steady support while they work through painful experiences and build new ways of coping.

How Tamela’s Approaches Work Online and in Session

Client-centered therapy starts with the person’s priorities and goals. The therapist listens, asks clarifying questions, and helps people choose practical steps that match their life. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions connect and uses simple exercises to change unhelpful patterns. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is used for trauma work and involves structured processing to reduce the intensity of painful memories.

Finding the right approach is part of therapy. Tamela will work together with each person to decide which methods fit best based on their needs and preferences. That means trying an approach, checking how it feels, and adjusting as goals change.

The biography does not list specific online session formats, so confirm the available options before booking. Many people find remote work helpful because it can fit into a busy day, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. Online sessions can make it easier to keep momentum between appointments and to use therapeutic exercises in real-life settings. Licensed professionals can adapt CBT and client-centered methods for remote work, and trauma-focused techniques like EMDR can also be arranged when appropriate and when both therapist and client agree on the format.