Bryce Waitkus, Pre-licensed LCPC (They/He)
Warm, affirming, and affordable online therapy for adolescents, young adults, and adults.
Telehealth throughout Illinois · $50 per session · Sliding-scale options available
Hi! My approach to counseling is warm, authentic, encouraging, and collaborative. I want therapy to be a safe space where you can feel accepted and respected, and where you don't have to perform, pretend, or have everything figured out. We'll work together to understand what's happening beneath the surface: your thoughts, emotions, relationships, and the different parts of yourself that may be pulling you in different directions.
My professional background is in crisis, specifically serving LGBTQ+ youth. As an artist and musician, I also like to incorporate creativity into my approach. I take from many therapy orientations including Person-Centered, Cognitive-Behavioral, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Acceptance and Commitment (ACT), Existential and Narrative, and Mindfulness-Based.
Above all, I want therapy to feel like a genuine conversation rather than a place where you're being analyzed or given a list of things you should be doing differently. Reaching out is the first big step in a healing journey, and I would be honored to be a part of yours!
WHO I WORK WITH
I work with preteens, teens, young adults, and adults, with a particular passion for supporting LGBTQ+ adolescents and young adults. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself, I understand how important it can be to have a therapist who offers genuine affirmation rather than mere tolerance.
You do not need to be LGBTQ+ to work with me. I welcome clients of all identities and backgrounds who are looking for a supportive, curious, and nonjudgmental space.
AREAS OF FOCUS AND SPECIALTY
- Anxiety and persistent worry
- Depression and feeling disconnected
- LGBTQ+ identity and experiences
- Self-esteem and self-criticism
- Identity exploration
- Family and relationship concerns
- Life transitions and uncertainty
- Stress and emotional overwhelm
- Neurodivergence
- Feeling lost, stuck, or without direction
- Creativity and artistic identity
- Questions of meaning, purpose, and authenticity
WORKING WITH ME
Clients can expect me to be calm, curious, genuine, and engaged. I will listen closely and take your experiences seriously, but therapy with me does not need to feel overly formal or clinical. There is room for difficult emotions, silence, uncertainty, humor, and the ordinary messiness of being human.
I will not assume that I know what is best for you. My role is to help you better understand yourself, recognize patterns, develop greater compassion for the different parts of you, and make choices that feel aligned with the life you want to build.
EDUCATION AND SUPERVISION
I earned my Bachelor of Science in Psychology from California Polytechnic State University and am currently completing my master’s degree in counseling at National Louis University.
As a graduate counseling intern, I provide therapy under the clinical supervision of Karine Ivy, MA, LCPC.
As a graduate counseling intern, I bring both current clinical training and several years of experience supporting young people through difficult moments. My work is supported by ongoing supervision and consultation with experienced clinicians, while my smaller caseload allows me to bring a high level of care and attention to each person I work with.
For clients, this can also mean access to high-quality, thoughtful therapy at a more affordable rate.
MY APPROACH TO THERAPY
My work is grounded primarily in person-centered and humanistic therapy. This means I see you as the expert on your own experience and believe that people have an innate capacity for healing and growth when they feel genuinely heard, accepted, and understood.
I also draw from Internal Family Systems, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, existential therapy, narrative therapy, mindfulness, and cognitive-behavioral approaches. Rather than forcing every client into the same method, we can discover what feels most useful and natural for you.
We might explore conflicting parts of yourself, develop a different relationship with anxious thoughts, examine the stories you have learned about who you are, clarify your values, or consider what it would mean to live more authentically. Practical coping skills can be part of therapy, but so can humor, creativity, curiosity, and conversations about the larger questions in life.
EXPERIENCE WITH LGBTQ+ CLIENTS
Before beginning my graduate counseling training, I spent three years supporting LGBTQ+ young people through a crisis and support hotline. During that time, I took more than 3,000 conversations from young people navigating identity, family conflict, loneliness, anxiety, depression, relationships, bullying, and moments of crisis.
That experience taught me the importance of listening carefully, staying present during difficult moments, and respecting each person’s individual understanding of themselves. It continues to shape the calm, accepting, and affirming presence I bring to counseling.
CREATIVITY AND MUSIC
Outside of counseling, I have spent more than a decade composing, recording, performing, and teaching music. Being an artist has shaped the way I think about emotion, identity, vulnerability, and the human need to create meaning from our experiences.
For clients who are interested, creativity can become part of our work together through music, writing, metaphor, visual expression, or other forms of exploration. You never need to consider yourself “artistic,” and creative activities will never be forced. They are simply another possible way of understanding and expressing experiences that may be difficult to put into ordinary words.