Therapist profile
Joan French, LCPC
Illinois
LCPC helping adults with relationships and codependency
Continue with JoanWhere Joan stands
- Credentials
- LCPC
- License
- LCPC, Illinois / 180.007674
- NPI
- 1710281639
- Experience
- 17 years
- Languages
- English
- Location
- Illinois
About
- Stress and anxiety
- Relationship patterns
- Attachment issues
About Joan
Joan French is an Illinois Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) with 17 years of clinical experience. She works with adults 18 and older who struggle with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship problems, trauma and abuse, low self-esteem, grief, sleep disruption, career changes, and codependency. She also supports people managing identity questions, including gender dysphoria and LGBTQ concerns.
Joan listens for what people say they need and for what goes unsaid. She aims to help clients be heard and understood so they feel less isolated. Conversations are direct and down-to-earth, not full of jargon. She uses straightforward talk alongside practical skills work.
Her approach draws from several evidence-informed methods. Joan uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to spot thinking patterns that make stress worse. She pulls in Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills for emotion regulation and acceptance work when feelings feel overwhelming. Emotionally-Focused ideas guide sessions that focus on how connection and attachment shape relationships.
Joan describes her practice as trauma-informed and integrative. She also uses client-centered principles to shape sessions around each person's pace, and sometimes brings in art-based activities or communication skill-building. Humor is occasionally part of sessions when it fits the moment.
She has a Master of Arts in Community Counseling and an Art Therapy Certificate. She works with adults navigating major life changes, family-of-origin issues, abandonment or attachment concerns, and the patterns that keep people putting others first.
How sessions work
How her approaches translate to online work
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on clarifying personal values and taking actions that line up with them while learning to live with difficult thoughts. It can help with feeling stuck, avoidance, and coping with big life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and behavior and teaches practical strategies to change unhelpful patterns that contribute to anxiety or low mood. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) supplies specific skills for managing intense emotions, reducing reactivity, and improving emotional balance.Figuring out which approach fits comes through collaboration. The therapist will review goals, try methods that match those goals, and adjust as needed. Clients and therapist decide together which tools and techniques feel most useful over time.
The original biography does not list specific online session formats, so confirm available options before booking. Online work can make it easier to schedule shorter check-ins, fit sessions into a workday, avoid travel time, or choose not to be on camera if that helps someone engage. Licensed professionals can still teach CBT thought records, DBT breathing and grounding skills, and ACT values exercises through distance sessions to support progress in everyday life.
Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
17+ years
Listed in
Illinois
Languages
English
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she address?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship problems, trauma and abuse, self-esteem, grief, sleep issues, career transitions, codependency and related concerns.
What is her therapy style like?
Sessions are practical and conversational. She blends client-centered listening with skills-based methods like CBT and DBT and sometimes uses art activities.
How many years has she been practicing?
She has 17 years of experience working as a therapeutic counselor with adults.
What credential does she hold and where is she based?
She is an Illinois LCPC and practices in Illinois.
Does she offer sessions in other languages or to international clients?
Sessions are offered in English. She is not accepting international clients.
What formats are used for sessions?
The original biography does not list specific session formats. Confirm current session options before booking.
How is cost handled?
Cost varies by location. Sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I get started with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are not safe at home, use the crisis and helpline numbers.