Kendra Spiva, LCSW

Kendra Spiva is a licensed social worker who helps people manage stress, anxiety, grief, and problems with intimacy and self-esteem. She aims to make the first steps toward change feel doable. Her style is respectful and compassionate, and she focuses on practical ways to move forward.

She uses an individualized approach, tailoring conversations and plans to each person’s needs. Sessions often focus on building clearer communication, coping skills for life changes, and ways to manage strong emotions. Kendra draws on cognitive behavioral ideas to spot unhelpful thoughts and on mindfulness techniques to practice calm in the moment.

Attachment-based work informs how she looks at close relationships and recurring patterns that cause pain. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy tools are also part of the mix, helping people clarify values and take small, values-based steps when avoidance gets in the way.

With six years of experience and an Illinois LCSW, she brings practical focus rather than jargon. Kendra pays attention to what a person wants to change and keeps the work grounded in everyday life. She supports people who are caring for others and those dealing with chronic illness, aging concerns, or shifts after separation or loss.

Her sessions emphasize collaboration. Kendra helps people set realistic goals, track small wins, and adjust plans when needed. She encourages curiosity about patterns and steady skill building to make daily life more manageable.

Therapeutic approaches and online care

Many of Kendra’s methods focus on clear action and present-moment skills. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice unhelpful avoidance, clarify what matters to them, and take small steps toward those values. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at thought patterns that fuel anxiety or low mood and teaches practical strategies to change them. Attachment-Based Therapy examines how early and current relationship patterns shape reactions and helps people try new ways of relating.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work. Kendra will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their goals, needs, and comfort level. She adjusts plans over time based on what is helpful and what isn’t.

Confirm the specific online session options before booking since formats are not listed here. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into busy days, reduce travel time, and allow focused check-ins between other responsibilities. Some approaches lend themselves to short skills practice while others support longer exploration of relationship patterns, and Kendra will help match the format and pace to what you need.