Joan French, LCPC

Joan French is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) who helps people dealing with stress, anxiety, relationship troubles, trauma and abuse, low self-esteem, depression, grief, and jealousy. She also supports issues around LGBT concerns, family tension, sleeping problems, career stress, and life transitions. Joan aims to make people feel heard and less alone in their struggles.

Joan builds a calm, nonjudgmental space where clients can bring difficult or painful topics. She emphasizes being steady, patient, and practical in sessions. Humor sometimes appears during work together when it can ease a heavy topic.

Her practice draws on about 17 years of clinical experience. Joan mixes different methods to meet each person’s needs rather than following a single script. She names the approaches she uses and borrows techniques to fit each situation.

Therapeutic tools she commonly uses include cognitive behavioral techniques to address unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, dialectical skills for emotion regulation, and emotionally focused ideas to look at connection and relationship patterns. She also uses acceptance and commitment ideas to help people live by their values despite difficult feelings.

Joan earned a Master of Arts in Community Counseling from Governors State University and holds an Art Therapy Certificate from Northwestern University. She works with adult individuals and welcomes people who identify as LGBTQIA2S+ or who are questioning.

To begin, clients choose the continue button on this profile on the site, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions based on Joan's availability.

How Joan uses therapy approaches online

Joan often draws from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help people identify and change unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors. CBT is practical and goal-oriented, and it can help with anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and coping with life changes.

She also uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which focuses on noticing difficult thoughts and feelings while taking action that aligns with personal values. ACT can be useful for managing persistent worries, stress, and feelings of emptiness.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Joan will talk with each person about goals and preferences, and she adjusts techniques to fit what feels most useful. That collaboration helps decide when to use CBT, ACT, or other methods in sessions.

Practical advantages of online therapy can include fitting sessions into a busy schedule and reducing travel time. Online work can make it easier to have shorter check-ins around work breaks or to keep momentum when life is hectic. Confirm the current session options before booking so you know which formats are offered and how they fit your routine.