About Thomas
Dr. Thomas Kadela is an experienced licensed clinical social worker who helps people manage stress, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, anger, addiction concerns, and ADHD. He approaches each person as an equal partner and focuses on practical steps people can use between sessions.
He works in Illinois and brings three decades of experience to his practice as an LCSW. Dr. Kadela balances structured therapies with a flexible, person-led style.
He often uses cognitive behavioral tools to target sleep, mood, and pain problems, and draws on acceptance and mindfulness strategies to reduce distress.
Background and approach
Sessions can include coaching-style check-ins, skills practice, or problem-solving work depending on a person’s goals. His background includes long-term clinical work, teaching at college level, publishing, and administrative roles in behavioral health. He has worked across inpatient, outpatient, and residential settings and holds experience with trauma-related care.
He also serves as a Behavioral Health Officer in the Army National Guard and works with the Department of Veterans Affairs in a separate capacity. People who want a collaborative process will find conversations geared toward clear goals, homework when helpful, and options tailored to everyday life. He describes treatment as a partnership where the person’s choices shape the work.
Practical concerns such as communication skills, sleep routines, coping strategies for grief or change, and managing ADHD-related challenges are commonly addressed through short-term and ongoing approaches. The focus is on skills people can try between sessions to make steady progress.
Online approaches that focus on skills and acceptance
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then choose actions that match their values. It can be useful for anxiety, stress, and life changes where people want clearer direction. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and changing behavior patterns through structured steps and homework; it is often used for depression, insomnia, and anxiety. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and improve focus, which can help with stress and some ADHD-related difficulties.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss options and tailor the plan to the person’s goals, needs, and preferences. Decisions about whether to use ACT, CBT, mindfulness, or a mix of methods are made collaboratively, and can be adjusted over time.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to meet using video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video is useful for in-depth conversations and skills coaching, while phone calls can fit shorter check-ins or lower bandwidth situations. Live chat and text messaging are helpful for quick reflections, brief coaching, or when writing feels easier than talking. These formats make it simpler to fit sessions into work, family life, or other routines.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Sleeping disorders
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coaching
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 30 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
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