Tara Hartley, LCSW

Tara Hartley is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) licensed in Illinois with nine years of experience in mental health and substance use support. She sees people dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, trauma and abuse, addiction, grief, and parenting or family concerns. Tara also works with issues like intimacy, self-esteem, bipolar disorder, and compassion fatigue.

Her background includes clinical work across outpatient therapy and substance abuse counseling. That practical experience shapes a straightforward approach in sessions. She combines client-centered listening with techniques drawn from cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy.

In a typical session she focuses on clear goals and concrete skills. Clients practice coping strategies, communication techniques, and ways to manage strong emotions. She also addresses life changes such as divorce, caregiving stress, and serious health challenges like cancer.

Tara frames therapy as collaborative problem solving. She helps people notice patterns, try small changes, and track what works. Conversations are interactive and directed toward usable tools rather than abstract theory.

People seeking a therapist for addiction, trauma, or relationship issues will find practical methods and steady clinical experience. To start, prospective clients complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule an initial appointment to outline priorities and next steps.

How Tara’s approaches translate to online work