About Me
I am a licensed clinical social worker with an extensive and diverse experience working with adults, children, couples, and families. I earned my master’s degree from the University of Chicago in Illinois in 1997. I also hold a Bachelor’s degree from Roosevelt University in Illinois with a major in psychology. I enjoy the work I do and have worked in both the public and private sectors in the fields of social services and mental health.
Having worked with children and families and the many challenges they face for more than 20 years, I know that the decision to seek professional help can often be a very difficult one. If you are trying to make that decision right now, it may help you to know that I am someone who is not here to judge you, and who really believes that there is a way out for you that together we can find. You have already taken the most important step by acknowledging that, for now, this is something you cannot handle alone.
I have been in private practice for the past 7 years and currently specialize in marriage, couples and family therapy. I also have a background in child and adolescent mental health and have worked with families extensively around these issues. Other areas of expertise include Grief and Loss, Depression, Stress, and Anxiety,
My approach to therapy is that it should be used as a tool to provide the knowledge, help, and support needed to understand problems and develop skills to cope with them. I use Cognitive Behavioral techniques to help clients develop insight and new skills..
Most importantly, I want to empower my clients so that they are able to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences, make informed choices about what actions they need to take, and develop skills that will help them handle difficult situations in the future. Working together, I believe we can accomplish those goals.
Specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship
- Family
- Self esteem
- Depression
I also have experience in Addictions, Trauma and abuse, Grief, Parenting, Anger, Career, Bipolar
Licensing
LCSW #149.009745 (Expires: 2017-11-30)
Reviews
Bernice has been amazing. She listened and helped me work through everything. She gave her expert advice and helped me a lot. Really appreciate it. When you feel so down, it's nice to be able to reach out to someone and get all your feelings out when you need to the most. It's difficult to get through the day otherwise. You feel like you will explode with emotions. Writing emails back and forth and being able to speak on the phone is just what I needed. Really appreciate BetterHelp with Bernice.
Great!
Bernice was great and easy to talk to. I felt like she completely understood where I was coming from and was so supportive, Most importantly she was always quick to respond which comforted me so much in almost feeling like she was right there in person. She shined great light on my issues and I remember her all the time when I start to feel emotions on a certain matter.
Bernice is amazing. Her advice has changed my life.
Bernice is a consummate professional, an extraordinary listener and provides deeply impactful and helpful responses. She's great at getting to the essence of my challenges and provides actionable suggestions for the future. I highly recommend Bernice!
Bernice has been a great conversationalist and someone who I've felt easily comfortable with. It has been a great sense of relief working with her. Not out of the woods yet but progress is the name of the game.
I've been working with Bernice for just a few weeks now, and I am so happy that I got paired up with her. She is very good with getting back to all of my messages, and addressing everything that I write about. I really appreciate her insight and support. In my past experiences with therapy, I would still feel a disconnect with the therapist, but I feel that Bernice is really getting to know and understand me, and she always has substantial responses and guidance for me. We have a bigger goal in mind together, but she also helps me work through any other issues that I have along the way.
This platform has been great, because I can take as much time as I need to process what she has said, and I can write to her when I am ready. Writing my thoughts out to her has been very cathartic, and I am happy that I don't have to wait for a week to pass in between sessions as is common in face-to-face therapy. Having unlimited access throughout the week has been helpful as I can write to her whenever, whether that be in the middle of an episode in which I just need to vent, or an update on my status and progress. Her response time is usually within a few hours, or within a day, which I very much appreciate as well.
Great lady and knows what she's doing
Bernice is so great! She's helped me though a difficult time with such grace and patience, and continues to be a great source of advice and guidance.
Bernice is very perceptive. Her insights into my issues have helped me think through things clearly. She has been very supportive and understanding and I appreciate all her help.
I have loved being able to talk to Bernice. She has been exactly what I've needed to help navigate me through some difficult times. She has been kind, perceptive and professional. I am so grateful for her help.
Bernice has been a great listener. I feel she really tries to understand where I am coming from, and instead of pushing an issue, she is directing the counseling toward my needs at the time. It is refreshing to have an unbiased opinion and someone to listen without feeling pressured to act right away.
Bernice has been very creative and very patient. She has pushed me to think about very deeply buried issues and is working to help me dig myself out of a bit of a mess I have made in my personal life. I have really appreciated working with her.
Bernice is consistent and caring!
Bernice has been really helpful, patient and understanding so far. She is helping me to sort through things l have struggled with sorting out on my own.
My time with Bernice was a bit short, but she is extremely attentive, and very good at picking up on an underlying issue early on. I recommend her for her calm and patient methods.
I have come a long way in the sessions with Bernice starting in February. Her quick responses and incisive, no-nonsense responses greatly helped me on my way to making progress with my situation. I was particularly impressed by her initial assessment regarding my issue. Without ever having met me and the little that I had communicated Bernice was right on point with her advice and therapy. I highly recommend Bernice Banks.
Bernice is very supportive and gives great guidance. She is wonderful!
Bernice is insightful, kind, understanding and professional. I knew from the first correspondence with her that she was exactly the kind of counselor I could work with.
She offered concrete steps that were very helpful, and seemed to know exactly what I was going through.
I would highly recommend Bernice to anyone seeking a professional, caring, yet unobtrusive counselor.
Bernice was a kind ,no nonsense guide. She gave me encouragement as wells as pointing me in the right direction for self healing.I needed someone to listen and to be objective,giving me the tools to find the place in myself to get up and move forward in my life. I am so thankful for her kindness.
Mrs. Bernice has been so helpful to me. She has really helped me to work through my negative thinking and blocks that have kept me from having the love and relationships I desire. Through the sessions that she has provided me, I have been able to identify situations, thoughts that are triggers for me so I can redirect them. I have also become more aware of why I have responded the way that I have responded. I am so thankful for her support, the insight she gives. I never feel judged, and I couldn't ask for a better match. It has only been a short time that we have been working with each other and I can see the difference and changes in me. My quality of life has improved tremendously. -SA
Bernice has been an absolute pleasure and is very supportive and kind. She sees you for the person you are, and doesn't judge you. She will be my support for whenever I need her.
In the short time that I've been working with Bernice, she has proven to be very smart and adept at reading between the lines and getting to the essence of what it is I need to really work on - despite what I THINK is the major issue in my life, or what I've pinned my insecurities on. She is kind and straightforward - an excellent combination in a therapist. I really appreciate the work we've done thus far.
Bernice is a wonderful therapist, a good listener, and a caring person. She has made me feel understood, and the steps she has given me to interact with my family and get over my past and move forward has been so helpful, even in this short time that she has been my therapist! I highly recommend Bernice . She is so helpful and a joy to communicate with.