- Client-centered care
- Goal focused
- Faith-informed
About Lori
Lori Cheek Gilroy is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with 26 years of counseling and life coaching experience. She welcomes people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, depression, parenting strain, or the long aftereffects of trauma. Lori aims to offer steady, down-to-earth support while people sort through difficult decisions and life transitions.
She draws on practical, client-centered work that looks at mind, body, and spirit. Her approach is solution-focused and goal oriented, so sessions typically concentrate on small, achievable steps toward change. Lori also uses cognitive-behavioral ideas and motivational interviewing to help people notice unhelpful patterns and find new ways of coping.
Over her career she has worked in child welfare, a family counseling clinic, a family birthing center, crisis intervention, and a community mental health clinic. That background has shaped how she supports people facing grief, caregiver stress, chronic illness, and the complexities of adoption and foster care.
Lori describes her work as guided by a Christ-centered philosophy, while respecting each person’s beliefs and values. She treats people as the expert in their own lives and focuses on collaboration and practical problem solving. Conversations tend to be compassionate, straightforward, and directed toward real-life goals.
If someone is ready to begin, Lori offers encouragement and help planning next steps. She emphasizes creating treatment goals that fit each person’s situation and values.
Approaches that guide online work
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and understanding each person's priorities and values, then shaping sessions around what matters most to them. It helps when people need a respectful space to sort feelings and decide next steps. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors connect and teaches practical skills to change unhelpful patterns; it is useful for anxiety, depression, and coping with life changes.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss options and collaborate on which methods fit a person's goals and comfort level. That means adjusting pace, focusing on immediate problems, or adding trauma-focused techniques if past events need to be addressed.
Session formats are not detailed in the biography, so confirm current online options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and remove travel time. Many people find it convenient to meet from a place where they can be calm and focused, and therapists can adapt exercises and homework to daily life so progress continues between visits.
Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
26+ years
Credentials
Illinois
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does Lori help with?
She works with people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, parenting challenges, caregiver strain, career issues, and related concerns including adoption and foster care.
What is her therapeutic style like?
The style is client-centered and solution-focused, with practical steps and collaborative goal setting. Sessions emphasize coping skills and behavior changes as needed.
What experience does she bring to therapy?
She has 26 years of experience in counseling and life coaching, including work in child welfare, a family counseling clinic, a birthing center, crisis intervention, and a mental health clinic.
What credentials and location apply to her practice?
She is an LCSW licensed in Illinois and practices from that state.
Which languages are supported in sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the United States work with her?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How are sessions paid for and what is the cost structure?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with Lori?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule according to the therapist's availability.