Dr. DeAnna Brookhart
Calm, practical support for family challenges
- Credentials
- LCPC
- Experience
- 27 years
- Licensed in
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About DeAnna
Dr. DeAnna Brookhart uses a client-centered, solution-focused approach to guide people through family and parenting challenges. She is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Illinois with 27 years of experience.
Dr. Brookhart focuses on practical steps that families can take to improve communication, manage stress, and rebuild relationships. She writes in plain terms and aims to make the first step feel less overwhelming for a worried parent.
In sessions she draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot unhelpful thoughts and try different behaviors.
Background and approach
Motivational Interviewing shows up when someone needs support finding their own reasons to change. The work is collaborative - she listens, reflects, and offers tools to test between visits. Her background includes long experience in outpatient and community settings as well as independent practice.
That time has given her wide exposure to addictions, grief, trauma, and relationship difficulties that commonly affect families. Dr. Brookhart also addresses issues like parenting strain, caregiver stress, blended family dynamics, and communication problems.
Practical skills are central to her style. Sessions often focus on setting small goals, practicing new ways to talk, and tracking what changes. Clients may work on emotional coping, managing anger, or rebuilding intimacy in relationships.
Outside of work she enjoys cooking, reading, and family time. She encourages parents to view starting therapy as a choice toward change and offers steady support while clients test new behaviors.
How chosen approaches work online
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on understanding each person’s perspective and building a respectful connection. Online sessions let the therapist listen closely, reflect what matters most, and follow the client’s pace as they set goals.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions and helps people try new behaviors to see what changes. In an online setting CBT translates to structured conversations, short between-session experiments, and easy ways to review progress during video or text sessions.
Motivational Interviewing helps people find their own reasons to change by exploring ambivalence without pressure. It pairs well with online formats where brief check-ins by phone or messaging can sustain momentum between longer sessions.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose methods that match their goals, preferences, and day-to-day reality. Plans are adjusted as progress, challenges, and new priorities emerge.
Online therapy offers flexibility for busy families. Video calls recreate face-to-face conversation, phone sessions simplify access when screens aren’t convenient, and live chat or text messaging allow short check-ins and homework support. These options make it easier to keep momentum and try new skills in real life.
Client-Centered Therapy
The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT looks at the link between what you think, how you feel, and what you do. You work on noticing unhelpful patterns and practising steadier responses. It suits online sessions well, because much of the work happens between appointments and can be talked through from anywhere.
Motivational Interviewing
A way of working through mixed feelings about change without being pushed. The therapist helps you weigh things up and find your own reasons, which often makes a difficult decision feel less stuck.
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of family or parenting concerns are addressed?
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
What experience does she bring to sessions?
Where is she licensed and what is her credential?
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Can people outside the U.S. work with her?
What formats are available for online sessions?
How does billing and getting started work?
Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 27 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
Next step
Talk to DeAnna
- Takes a few minutes
- Nothing to set up just to look
- Stop at any point