- Person-centered care
- Skills and insight
- Practical steps
About Cindy
Cindy Gradle is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 30 years of experience helping people through difficult life moments. She focuses on practical steps people can use now, and she listens first to understand each person's story.
She has worked with stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, trauma and anger. She also supports those facing relationship strain, intimacy issues, parenting stress, career changes, and the ripple effects of grief or separation. Her experience includes mood and personality concerns as well as panic and post-traumatic stress.
Her style is calm and person-centered. She creates a nonjudgmental space so people can talk through painful memories, figure out what matters to them, and try new ways of coping. Sessions emphasize clear skills and small, achievable steps as well as exploring underlying patterns like attachment and control issues.
Cindy draws on several approaches to meet each person's needs, including Client-Centered Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Attachment-Based work, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. She adapts tools to practical life problems like communication breakdowns, impulsivity, or feelings of isolation.
Her aim is to meet people where they are and walk alongside them as they rebuild confidence and direction. If you want straightforward support for stress, relationship struggles, parenting strain, or recovery from trauma, she offers steady guidance and hands-on strategies.
How her approaches translate to online care
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and building a respectful, understanding relationship so people feel heard and can name what matters to them. This approach helps with anxiety, depression, and decisions about relationships and parenting.Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, teaches people to notice painful thoughts without getting stuck in them and to act in ways that match their values. ACT can help with stress, avoidance, and long-standing patterns like rumination or avoidance.
Attachment-Based work looks at how early relationships shape current connections and trust. It can be useful for intimacy issues, abandonment concerns, and patterns that repeat in relationships.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to pick methods that match their goals, needs, and preferences. That may mean combining listening-focused sessions with skill-building tools from CBT or DBT when useful.
Practical benefits of online therapy include fitting sessions into a busy week and reducing travel time so therapy can be more consistent. Online work can make shorter check-ins easier to schedule around work or caregiving, and it can allow people to continue treatment during life changes. Confirm the current session options before booking so you know which formats are available with this therapist.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
30+ years
Listed in
Illinois
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she address?
Cindy works with stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, trauma and anger, and related concerns such as intimacy issues, eating difficulties, and work or career strain.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is person-centered and practical. She listens first, then offers skills and steps that fit everyday life while attending to deeper patterns like attachment or control issues.
What is her background and experience?
She holds a Licensed Clinical Social Worker credential and has 30 years of clinical experience supporting people through a wide range of emotional and behavioral challenges.
Where is she based and licensed?
She practices in Illinois and holds an Illinois Licensed Clinical Social Worker credential (LCSW).
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the country work with her?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How are fees and payment handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What are the steps to begin therapy?
To get started, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to therapist availability.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger, use the crisis numbers.