- Client-centered approach
- Art and journaling
- ACT and CBT methods
About Carly
Carly Gelb is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in Illinois with eight years of experience. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, relationship strain, grief, trauma, and concerns around self-esteem and intimacy, including feelings of guilt and shame.
She favors a client-centered approach that keeps the person in charge of each session. Carly uses practical tools such as art, guided meditation, worksheets, and journaling when clients want to try them. Sessions are conversational and paced to what the individual is ready for.
In practice she blends techniques from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and mindfulness-based work. That mix helps people notice difficult thoughts, test unhelpful patterns, and try small behavior changes. Motivational interviewing can be part of sessions when someone is working on substance use or other habit change.
Carly often addresses attachment and abandonment concerns, codependency, communication and control issues, and eating and sleep difficulties. She also supports people coping with career and parenting stress, bipolar mood challenges, ADHD, compassion fatigue, and family conflicts. Forgiveness, emptiness, and intimacy-related worries are also noted areas of focus.
Her style is straightforward and practical. If someone wants to start, they complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule a first session to see how the approach fits their needs.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online sessions
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on noticing painful thoughts and choosing actions that align with personal values. Online sessions using ACT often include values clarification and small homework experiments to test new ways of living. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) breaks down how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact and uses practical exercises and worksheets to change unhelpful patterns. In an online setting these exercises can be reviewed together and then practiced between meetings.Finding the right approach is part of the work. Carly will collaborate with the client to decide which methods to try first based on needs, goals, and what the person prefers. That means checking in about how an approach feels and adjusting plans if something is not helpful.
The biography does not list specific session formats, so confirm current session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy routine, shorten a commute, or allow a quieter check-in during a break. It also supports using digital worksheets, journaling prompts, guided meditations, and art exercises during and between sessions to extend what happens in conversation.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
8+ years
Listed in
Illinois
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she address?
Carly works with stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, relationship and intimacy issues, grief, trauma, self-esteem, and guilt and shame among other concerns.
How would she approach feelings of guilt or shame?
She uses a client-centered style with techniques from ACT, CBT, DBT, and mindfulness to help people notice painful thoughts and try new responses without judgment.
How much experience does she have?
She has eight years of clinical experience working with adults on mood, substance use, relationship, and trauma-related concerns.
What are her credentials and where is she located?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) licensed in Illinois and practices from that state.
Can sessions be conducted in languages other than English?
Sessions are offered in English.
Does she work with international clients?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How are sessions scheduled and what does cost look like?
Cost varies by location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What is the process to begin working together?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.