About Lori
Lori Cheek Gilroy greets people who are tired, overwhelmed, or unsure where to begin. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker - LCSW - based in Illinois with 26 years of counseling and life coaching experience. Lori aims to help people sort through stress, anxiety, depression, grief, parenting strains, and major life changes in clear, practical ways.
Her approach centers on listening first and building goals together. She uses client-centered methods to help people name their priorities and make choices that fit their values.
Background and approach
Lori also draws on cognitive behavioral techniques to change unhelpful thinking and on solution-focused work to find small, doable steps forward. Lori has worked across many settings, including child welfare, family counseling, a family birthing center, crisis intervention, and outpatient mental health.
That background informs how she supports people through trauma, caregiver burnout, chronic illness, and issues tied to family of origin or adoption and foster care. She incorporates spiritual concerns when clients want that perspective, while treating each person with respect and sensitivity. Lori helps people clarify life purpose, rebuild self-esteem, and manage anger or relationship stress.
Sessions focus on practical tools, honest conversation, and steady encouragement. For people struggling after trauma or feeling isolated, Lori offers a calm, steady presence. Her work aims to help clients move from feeling stuck to taking clear, manageable steps toward the life they want.
How Lori’s Approaches Work Online
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and helping people set their own goals. In online sessions this means the therapist follows what matters most to the client and helps shape plans that fit their life. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at thoughts and behaviors that keep problems going and teaches concrete skills to shift them; it is often used for anxiety, depression, and stress-related concerns.The therapist will work with each person to find the best mix of approaches. That choice happens together during early sessions as goals and preferences become clear. Lori will suggest strategies, invite feedback, and adjust the plan so it stays practical and relevant to each person’s situation.
Online therapy is offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video calls are useful for deeper conversations and visual cues. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth or camera use is an issue. Live chat and messaging suit shorter check-ins, quick skill practice, or people balancing therapy with a busy day. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, caregiving, and travel schedules while keeping focus on measurable steps and progress.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coaching
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 26 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English