Russell Silver, LCPC

Russell Silver is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) with 12 years of experience. He writes plainly and aims to remove stigma and jargon so people can talk about what matters. He encourages questions and believes therapy should fit each person, not the other way around.

Russell focuses on building strengths. He helps people process emotions and look at thoughts and actions in more useful ways. He works with relationship issues, self-esteem, career concerns, parenting stress, addictions, anxiety, and life changes. He also supports those dealing with adoption and foster care, blended family concerns, fertility and pregnancy issues, and intimacy-related matters.

His background includes hospital-based outpatient counseling in rehabilitation, mental health, and substance use. That work included supporting people adapting to new disabilities and those managing serious mental illness. He also has experience helping people maintain recovery and improve functioning at work and school.

Russell uses client-centered methods and cognitive behavioral techniques to help people change unhelpful thinking and behavior. He also draws on solution-focused approaches, motivational interviewing, mindfulness practices, and the Gottman Method for relationship work. He notes ongoing professional development in approaches for trauma support.

He lives in Illinois and brings personal experience from a blended family and 24 years of military service. This background informs his understanding of caregiver stress, fatherhood issues, veteran and armed forces concerns, and family dynamics.

How Russell’s approaches translate to online work

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on the person's goals and perspective. The therapist listens carefully, reflects what is said, and helps people decide what matters most to change. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches specific skills to shift unhelpful patterns; it is often used for anxiety, stress, and behavior change. The Gottman Method centers on communication patterns in relationships and offers concrete tools to improve connection and manage conflict.

Finding the right approach is a team effort. Russell will discuss goals, try methods that fit the person, and adjust plans based on what works. That means the first sessions often include checking goals, testing techniques, and making changes together so therapy stays relevant to daily life.

If you are considering online work, confirm the current session options before booking. Online formats can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy routine, allow shorter check-ins when time is limited, and reduce travel time. Some formats also use less bandwidth or let a person choose when to be on camera. Ask about available session options when you complete the matching questionnaire so scheduling matches your needs and preferences.