About Laura
Laura Rubenstein is a licensed clinical social worker practicing in Illinois with 22 years of experience. She focuses on practical support for stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and life transitions. Her approach is straightforward and respectful, aimed at helping people find clearer ways forward.
She works with concerns that include relationships, family tensions, trauma and abuse, parenting strain, anger, self esteem, career shifts, and ADHD. Sessions are shaped to fit each person’s needs rather than a one-size-fits-all plan.
Background and approach
She listens first, then helps set realistic goals and steps. Her style blends direct conversation with careful attention to feelings. Laura aims to make sessions feel useful and manageable, focusing on what people can do between meetings.
She encourages small changes that add up to better daily coping and clearer decision making. Over two decades of practice have given her experience across many common life challenges. She aims to be sensitive to identity and life context, including LGBT concerns.
People meet to talk through problems, plan practical strategies, and build skills to handle stress and strong emotions. Laura supports clients through both sudden changes and longer term struggles. She tailors the rhythm and focus of work to each person’s pace.
Taking a first step can feel hard, and she offers steady, practical support to help people move toward what matters to them.
Therapeutic approaches and how online sessions help
Laura uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques to guide practical change. One common approach focuses on teaching coping skills and strategies to reduce anxiety and manage stress, helping people notice unhelpful patterns and try different responses. Another approach emphasizes processing difficult experiences related to trauma and abuse in a paced way, aiming to reduce overwhelming reactions and increase a sense of control. These methods are applied in clear, step-by-step ways so clients know what to try between sessions.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will collaborate with each person to pick methods that fit their goals, needs, and comfort level. Adjustments are made over time based on what feels most helpful, and clients are invited to give feedback about pace and focus.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, offering flexibility for different schedules and needs. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation, phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited, live chat supports shorter check-ins, and text messaging is useful for ongoing brief contact and prompts between meetings. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and keep consistent momentum toward goals.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also works with
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Grief
- LGBT
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
- Trauma and abuse
- Experience
- 22 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English