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CS Portrait of Christina Steele-Lietz

Christina Steele-Lietz

Compassionate, experienced clinical social worker

About Christina

Christina Steele-Lietz blends person-centered care with evidence-based methods to help people navigate change, loss, and difficult emotions.

Background and approach

As a licensed clinical social worker with 20 years of experience, she favors a collaborative, nonjudgmental stance that treats the client as an equal partner in identifying facts, exploring options, and shaping a sustainable way of living. Christina’s work emphasizes building skills to tolerate suffering, respond to what cannot be controlled, and clarify values that guide daily choices.

She offers practical interventions for stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, grief, and many relational and identity-related concerns including LGBT issues, intimacy, and family dynamics. Christina also addresses challenges such as sleeping and eating problems, caregiving stress, chronic illness, dissociation, and career or life-purpose questions.

Her training includes Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Emotionally-Focused Therapy, and EMDR, which she integrates with a warm, listening-focused approach. Christina holds LMSW and LCSW credentials in Illinois and invites people to take a first step toward greater wellbeing by prioritizing their mental health.

Integrating evidence-based approaches into online care

Christina often draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and EMDR when working with clients online. ACT focuses on clarifying personal values and building psychological flexibility so people can move toward meaningful goals even when discomfort arises; it is useful for anxiety, stress, and life transitions. EMDR uses structured processing techniques to help reduce the intensity of traumatic memories and related reactions, and it can be applied when past events are affecting day-to-day functioning.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the work together. Christina uses an exploratory, collaborative process to determine which methods best match each person’s needs, goals, and preferences, and she adapts interventions as therapy progresses to stay aligned with the client’s priorities.

Online sessions are offered by licensed professionals through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, providing flexible options to fit different schedules and comfort levels. These formats can make it easier to maintain consistent care while balancing work, family, and other commitments, and they allow the same clinical tools to be applied in a way that suits each person’s life.

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of concerns does she address?
She works with a wide range of issues including stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, depression, LGBT and intimacy-related concerns, eating and sleeping problems, and career or life-purpose questions.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her approach is collaborative and nonjudgmental, combining listening-centered, client-centered work with evidence-based tools such as ACT, CBT, EFT, and EMDR to help clients identify values and build practical coping skills.
How long has she practiced?
She brings 20 years of professional experience to her clinical work, integrating decades of practice into individualized treatment plans.
Where is she licensed and based?
She is licensed in Illinois and holds the credentials LMSW and LCSW. Specific license numbers include MI LMSW 6801120967 and IL LCSW 149.011914.
Does she offer sessions in other languages or to international clients?
Services are provided in English, and she is not accepting international clients at this time.
What session formats are available?
Clients may connect through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging depending on their preferences and scheduling.
How are sessions paid for and what does it cost?
Cost varies with client location and therapist availability; sessions are offered through a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What should I do to begin care?
To start, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.