Rita Porter

Rita Porter is an Illinois licensed clinical professional counselor with more than three decades of practice helping people navigate complex emotional and relational challenges. She focuses on a broad range of concerns, including stress, anxiety, addictions, depression, trauma and abuse, family and relationship struggles, parenting, grief, and life transitions. Her work also addresses issues related to aging, blended families, caregiving stress, codependency, and career questions.

Her approach blends evidence-informed methods such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Emotionally-Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and mindfulness techniques with a client-centered stance. That combination supports exploration of personal values, emotion processing, behavioral change, and relational repair. Rita attends to family of origin dynamics, midlife and fatherhood concerns, and the particular challenges that can arise around separation, immigration, or substance use.

Rita frames therapy as a collaborative process tailored to each person’s history and goals. She aims to create a setting where people can examine patterns, build coping skills, and pursue meaningful change while addressing both immediate problems and longer term growth.