Richard Heller

Richard Heller is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Illinois who uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as his central approach. He welcomes people who are facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, or difficult life changes and aims to meet each person with respect and compassion. He presents therapy in plain language and focuses on practical ways to feel better day to day.

With 20 years as an LCPC and a long history in pastoral care, Richard draws on decades of helping people through loss and hard transitions. He has worked in pastoral ministry and as a board certified chaplain, and he continues to serve as an on-call chaplain. Those experiences shape how he listens, asks questions, and holds concerns about illness, end-of-life situations, and caregiving stress.

In sessions he combines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with client-centered ideas and solution-focused tools. That means conversations center on the person and on small, clear steps that can change thoughts and behaviors. He also uses Internal Family Systems ideas to help people understand internal conflicts and self-criticism.

Richard helps people tackle a wide range of concerns such as relationship strain, parenting stress, career decisions, anger, and ADHD-related challenges. He also addresses issues like aging, cancer-related worries, caregiver burnout, and feelings of emptiness or isolation.

He aims to support people in finding practical coping skills and clearer direction. To begin, readers are encouraged to follow the site's Start Therapy process and schedule according to the therapist's availability.

How these approaches guide online work

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on the person in front of the therapist and on being heard. The therapist listens closely and follows the client's lead to build understanding and trust, which helps with feelings of isolation and self-doubt.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions interact. It uses straightforward exercises and small behavior changes to reduce anxiety, depression, and unhelpful patterns.

Solution-Focused Therapy zeroes in on short-term goals and practical steps. It can be useful when someone wants quick, concrete ideas to handle stress, relationship problems, or parenting challenges.

Finding the right mix of methods is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose approaches that match their goals and preferences. That conversation can include trying different techniques and checking what feels useful over several sessions.

Confirm the specific online session options before booking, as formats are not listed here. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow brief check-ins when a shorter conversation will help. Many people find that talking through next steps from home or during a break at work helps them apply skills more quickly.