Grief counselors and therapists in Plainfield, IL

Life can be overwhelming. Feeling alone while struggling can compound that sense of despair. Whether you're experiencing anxiety, depression, grief, loss, trauma, divorce, career challenges, health issues, addiction, or even just confusion about the future, seeking help is the beginning of the change. As a career woman, licensed attorney, mother, divorcee, and active community member, I bring my own life experience and vast education to my work. We can figure out a plan together to make navigating the day-to-day more manageable.

Carrying old pain quietly, or staying so busy you never have to feel it, can seem like the safer choice, until it starts costing more than it protects. I’m Angela Perkinson, a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) and registered art therapist based in Illinois, seeing clients by telehealth across the state. I work with teens, adults, and seniors carrying trauma, depression, anxiety, panic, grief, or substance use, and I meet each person where they are rather than where they think they should be. Many clients come in exhausted from holding everything together alone. My goal is to help you feel steadier and less alone with what you’re carrying. I’d welcome the chance to help you get there.

I believe therapy is a safe space where clients feel heard and accepted for who they are. I approach clients with compassion, understanding, and without judgement. I recognize that everyone has unique experiences, needs, goals, and strengths. For me, building a genuine and trusting relationship is an important part of the therapeutic process. I want my clients to feel that they can be open and honest while knowing that I’m there to support them. I see therapy as a collaborative process, where we work together to identify goals, explore challenges, and find tools and strategies that can make life feel more manageable.

I believe mental health care works best when it is collaborative, respectful, and personalized.

I am a board-certified registered art therapist and licensed clinical professional counselor. I have worked in non-profit organizations, providing counseling services to young children adolescents, and adults.

I have been in practice for 15 years

Use of efficacious techniques to help clients find the root cause of their problems

I believe in a slow therapeutic process which affords clients the ability to learn a healthy perspective about themselves, the world around them and significant relationships in their lives

My style is eclectic and strength based. I see human nature as intrinsically good. Sigmund Freud said we are bio-social animals. I believe a great deal in listening to one’s self talk. The more positive our dialogue with ourselves is, the more positive our dialogues with others and our lives are. I’m also experienced in CBT, DBT, MI, Solution Focused, ACT, Gestalt, Interpersonal, and person-centered counseling.

My training includes lots of wonderful supervision and workshops, a three-year certificate from the Gestalt Institute of Chicago, and two one month intensives with Virginia Satir, the founder of family therapy. Virginia taught that exploring the self is like mining gold. We all have gold inside of us. That is our basic goodness. A lot of emotional suffering is the result of being detoured from that basic goodness.

As a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner, my goal is to create hope and help people to realize that together we can overcome whatever struggles they are facing. I specialize in treating ADHD, anxiety, depression, bipolar, and LGBTQIA+ issues. I have been a nurse for 27 years, and I strive to show compassion and understanding to everyone who needs help.