Julie Ekman
Empathetic social worker for family challenges
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Experience
- 29 years
- Licensed in
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About Julie
Julie Ekman is a licensed clinical social worker with 29 years of experience. She practices in Illinois and takes a down-to-earth, strengths-based approach. She focuses on stress, anxiety, family concerns, self-esteem, career issues, and coping with life changes.
Julie draws on long experience in schools and family therapy to keep sessions practical. She spent many years working with middle school students and their families, and that background shapes how she talks about communication and routine.
Background and approach
Her style is client-centered and collaborative. She helps people set clear goals and try small, doable steps between sessions. She uses solution-focused ideas alongside cognitive behavioral techniques to reduce anxious thoughts and improve coping.
Julie also brings a broader outlook that looks at strengths, values, and daily habits. This mix supports work on things like motivation, confidence, workplace stress, and life transitions. Julie also addresses issues tied to chronic pain, illness, and disability by helping clients find ways to manage stress and preserve meaning.
She works with topics such as divorce and separation, guilt and shame, isolation, and midlife shifts. Sessions aim to build practical skills and clearer thinking. Her background includes a Master of Social Work from the University of Denver and a Master of Arts in School Leadership from Concordia University.
Julie meets people where they are and helps them map realistic next steps.
How Julie’s Approaches Work Online
Julie blends evidence-based techniques into straightforward steps clients can try between visits. Cognitive behavioral techniques help people identify unhelpful thoughts and test new, more balanced ways of thinking, which can reduce anxiety and improve mood. Solution-focused methods concentrate on strengths and small changes that move a person toward clear goals, which is useful for family tensions, career decisions, and motivation.Choosing the best approach is a collaborative process. Julie will talk with each client about goals and preferences, try techniques that fit the situation, and adjust the plan as progress is made. The therapist and client check in together to see what works and change course when needed.
Online formats offer flexibility for busy families and individuals. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation from home, phone sessions fit tight schedules, and live chat or text messaging can support quick check-ins or ongoing encouragement. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent while balancing school, work, and caregiving.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Self esteem
Also works with
- Career difficulties
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Divorce and separation
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Experience
- 29 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
Next step
Talk to Julie
- Takes a few minutes
- Nothing to set up just to look
- Stop at any point