Rita Porter, LCPC

Rita Porter is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Illinois with 32 years of experience. She focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, addictive behaviors, and major life changes. She listens for the story behind the problem and aims to help clients find steady footing again.

Her work often centers on relationships and the strains those bring. She helps people improve communication, address family-of-origin issues, and sort through blended family or caregiver stress. She also supports people who are managing grief, anger, or questions about identity and purpose.

Rita blends practical tools with empathic listening. She uses approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thinking patterns and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to clarify values and take meaningful steps. Mindfulness and client-centered techniques are woven in to help people stay present and feel heard.

Sessions are collaborative and paced to each person. She helps set clear goals and uses exercises and conversations to build new habits and coping skills. Homework and short practices between sessions are common when useful.

Rita works with adults facing career shifts, parenting strain, addiction concerns, ADHD, and midlife transitions. Her style is steady and direct, with attention to both feelings and everyday behavior. She aims to help people leave sessions with a clearer plan and a little more hope.

Therapeutic approaches you can use online

Rita often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, stress, and goal-focused problems because it breaks things into concrete steps and skills.

She also draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people clarify what matters to them and take action toward those values, even when strong feelings are present. ACT pairs well with mindfulness techniques to reduce reactivity and build steady focus.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, daily life, and what has or hasn't worked before. From there she tailors sessions and suggests exercises that fit the person's needs and preferences.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions are good for face-to-face conversation and working through exercises together. Phone sessions can be a simpler option when less bandwidth or no camera is preferred. Live chat and text messaging work well for brief check-ins, ongoing support, and checking progress between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule and stay consistent with small steps toward change.