About James
Dr. James Bedell is a clinical psychologist with 38 years of experience based in Illinois. He begins by quickly assessing the social, biological, and emotional parts of a person's life to find practical ways to reduce symptoms like anxiety or depression.
He aims to form a respectful, non-judgmental connection so people feel heard and understood. He views difficulties as coming from many places - early attachment, thinking patterns, and biology.
Background and approach
That perspective shapes interventions that address thoughts, emotions, and behavior together. Sessions focus on clear goals and steps people can take between meetings. Dr.
Bedell uses methods that emphasize relationships, emotion work, and skill building. He draws on approaches such as attachment-based work, cognitive behavioral techniques, and emotion-focused methods to help people notice patterns and try new ways of responding. He also integrates trauma-related approaches when needed.
People meet him for a range of concerns including stress, addictions, relationship and family matters, grief, trauma and abuse, phobias, and mood difficulties. He also pays attention to specialized issues like first responder and veteran-related concerns, hoarding, and obsessive-compulsive behavior. His style is collaborative and practical.
He treats people as resourceful and aims to reduce suffering through a combination of respectful listening, clear case understanding, and focused interventions. He invites prospective clients to consider working together to lessen the problems that bring them to therapy.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Attachment-based work focuses on how early relationships shape current connections and emotional responses. Online sessions using this approach help people notice interaction patterns and try new ways of relating, especially in troubled relationships or intimacy concerns.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) targets unhelpful thinking and behavior. In remote sessions the therapist and client identify specific thoughts and behaviors, set small experiments, and practice new skills between meetings to reduce anxiety, depression, and phobic responses.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is used for trauma-related symptoms and involves guided processing of disturbing memories. Delivered online, sessions follow the same stepwise format with paced processing and careful preparation to manage strong emotional reactions.
Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences, and what has worked previously to decide whether attachment work, CBT, EMDR, or another method fits best. Clients help shape the plan and can try different methods if needed.
Online formats offer practical advantages. Video calls work well for conversational therapy and visual cues, phone sessions can be a lower-bandwidth option, live chat allows fast check-ins, and text messaging supports brief reflections or between-session coaching. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and to continue work even when schedules change.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- First responder issues
- Grief
- Hoarding
- Intimacy-related issues
- Jealousy
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Sex addiction
- Sexual dysfunction
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 38 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
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