Rita Porter, LCPC

Rita Porter is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) in Illinois with 32 years of experience. She focuses on helping people through difficult life phases and emotional struggles. Her work often centers on midlife transitions, healing after trauma, and managing stress and addictive patterns.

She listens first and helps people name what matters most to them. Sessions tend to focus on practical steps you can try between meetings. Rita aims to help clients build resilience, reduce anxiety, and regain a sense of direction.

Rita uses a mix of approaches to match each person's needs. She draws on cognitive behavioral ideas to spot unhelpful thinking, acceptance-based tools to live with difficult feelings, and emotion-focused methods to repair relationship pain. Mindfulness practices are offered when they fit the client's goals.

Her practice supports people facing depression, grief, parenting strain, career stress, and relationship conflict. She also addresses ADHD, addiction concerns, and caregiver burnout. Rita pays attention to family history and blended-family dynamics when those issues affect a person's wellbeing.

Work with Rita is collaborative and paced to each person. She focuses on clear goals and simple, doable strategies. People who want to make changes but need steady guidance may find her approach reassuring.

Approaches that translate to online work

Rita commonly uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). ACT focuses on helping people accept difficult feelings while taking actions that matter to them, which can help with midlife decisions, grief, and long-term stress. CBT looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors connect and teaches concrete skills to reduce anxiety and lift mood.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. Rita works collaboratively to match methods to a person's goals and preferences. She will talk with you about what feels useful and adjust the plan as you make progress.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, enable shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time. They also let people try practices such as mindfulness exercises or thought-recording between meetings, which complements the ACT and CBT work Rita often uses.