- Stress and anxiety
- Parenting concerns
- Depression support
About Heather
Heather Breems is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Illinois with 11 years of professional experience. She helps people manage stress and anxiety, cope with depression, and navigate parenting and relationship concerns. She also supports people facing grief, trauma and abuse, addiction, sleep problems, anger, self-esteem struggles, and changes in work or life roles.
Heather uses emotion-focused ideas alongside attachment-based and client-centered approaches. In a session she listens for what matters most, helps name difficult feelings, and works with people to try out different ways of responding. She also draws on cognitive behavioral strategies and mindfulness practices when those tools fit the situation.
Her background includes many years working directly with people who face long-term caregiving stress, adoption and foster care issues, chronic illness or disability, and family of origin problems. Heather offers practical ways to address communication problems, codependency, control issues, and issues related to divorce or separation.
Her approach is conversational and task-focused. Sessions often include noticing emotional patterns, experimenting with new responses, and practicing brief skills between meetings. Clients may discuss concrete goals like improving sleep, managing anger, reducing anxiety, or finding clearer boundaries.
Sessions are conducted in English and follow Illinois practice standards. Before scheduling, prospective clients complete a short matching questionnaire and then arrange a first session to begin working on their priorities.
How Heather's approaches translate to online work
Emotionally-Focused Therapy focuses on noticing and naming emotions, then using those emotional signals to change unhelpful patterns. It often helps when relationship patterns or hard-to-name feelings feel stuck. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early bonds and attachment experiences shape current reactions and trust. This approach helps when someone wants to understand why certain situations trigger strong responses. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes respectful listening and letting the client's goals guide the process, which can support many concerns from anxiety to grief.Finding the best approach is part of the work. Heather will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their needs and goals. That decision can change as therapy progresses, and she uses a mix of approaches rather than a single fixed method.
Session formats are not listed in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, require less travel, and allow for shorter check-ins when needed. They can also make it simpler to keep appointments during work breaks or when managing caregiving demands. Licensed professionals can adapt emotion-focused and attachment work to an online setting by focusing on clear emotional cues, practicing new responses during sessions, and assigning brief between-session exercises to apply skills in daily life.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
11+ years
Listed in
Illinois
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she address?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, parenting and relationship concerns, as well as grief, trauma, addictions, sleep problems, anger, self-esteem, and career changes.
What is her therapeutic style?
Her style is conversational and focused on emotions and attachment patterns. She uses client-centered listening alongside practical exercises and skills work.
How much experience does she have?
Heather has 11 years of professional experience as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Illinois.
What credential and location does she hold?
She practices as an LCSW in Illinois and provides services consistent with that credential.
Which languages are used in sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can she work with international clients?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How are sessions priced?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin a first session?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session to get started.
Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.