About Washington
Washington Cisco is a licensed clinical social worker with 39 years of experience who focuses on stress, anxiety, relationship concerns, grief, sleep problems, and depression. He approaches each person with a compassionate, nonjudgmental stance and emphasizes listening first so clients can identify their own goals and paths forward.
Background and approach
Washington values clients' self-determination and frames therapy as a collaborative process rather than delivering prescriptions for how to live. His background includes long work with children and youth beginning in 1986, a return to outpatient work serving both children and adults starting in 2013, and current practice within the prison system working with adults aged 19 to 70.
He uses a supportive style intended to help people manage stressors and improve day-to-day functioning, drawing on evidence-based methods to address issues such as attachment concerns, communication problems, chronic illness and pain, caregiver stress, and life-purpose questions. Washington holds an LCSW license in Illinois (IL LCSW 149.005632) and conducts therapy in English.
Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care
Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes empathetic listening and supports clients in defining their own goals; it helps people who need a respectful, validating environment to explore feelings and choices. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, which is useful for conditions like anxiety, depression, stress, and sleep difficulties. Mindfulness Therapy teaches present-focused awareness and practical techniques to reduce reactivity and improve emotional regulation for stress and grief.Finding the right combination of approaches is part of the collaborative process. The therapist will work with each person to determine which methods fit their needs, preferences, and goals, adjusting techniques over time based on what proves most helpful.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy accessible across different schedules and situations. These formats allow flexibility in how people connect and can support consistent, ongoing work toward coping, symptom relief, and clearer decision-making with the guidance of a licensed professional.
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Grief
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self-love
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 39 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English