Vicki Marcum, LCSW
Compassionate, experienced social worker for life challenges
Details
| Name | Vicki Marcum |
|---|---|
| Credentials | LCSW |
| Based in | Illinois |
| Licensed in | Illinois |
| Session format | Online |
| Languages | English |
| Years in practice | 40 |
About Vicki
Vicki Marcum is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 40 years of clinical practice in Illinois. She brings a calm, straightforward style and centers sessions on each person's experience. Vicki keeps the focus on what matters now and helps clients sort through worrying thoughts and difficult relationships.
Her approach begins with listening in a client-centered way until trust grows. From there she draws on narrative ideas to help people reframe stories they tell about themselves.
Background and approach
She also uses attachment-based work and cognitive strategies when those fit the issue and the person. Vicki has worked across many settings, including inpatient psychiatry, outpatient community mental health, emergency and crisis intervention, schools, and social service agencies. That variety shaped her comfort with grief, trauma, depression, anxiety, and long-term mental health concerns.
She helps people tackle practical problems like parenting stress, relationship and intimacy concerns, career issues, and the ups and downs of life transitions. Vicki also supports people facing eating and body image concerns, ADHD, compassion fatigue, and family of origin issues. Sessions are collaborative.
Vicki listens, asks clear questions, and offers gentle challenge when it will help. She encourages clients to find their own solutions while offering tools and perspectives that make day-to-day life easier.
What this therapist works with
Her listing names Stress, Anxiety, Trauma and abuse, Grief among the things Vicki works with, alongside the areas below.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Parenting issues
- Depression
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Mood disorders
- Personality disorders
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Self-harm
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches listed
- Narrative Therapy: Named in her listing among her approaches.
- Attachment-Based Therapy: Listed by Vicki among the ways she works.
- Client-Centered Therapy: Listed by Vicki among the ways she works.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Listed by Vicki among the ways she works.
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT): Listed by Vicki among the ways she works.
- Existential Therapy: Listed by Vicki among the ways she works.
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Listed by Vicki among the ways she works.
- Mindfulness Therapy: Listed by Vicki among the ways she works.
- Psychodynamic Therapy: Listed by Vicki among the ways she works.
- Solution-Focused Therapy: Listed by Vicki among the ways she works.
- Trauma-Focused Therapy: Listed by Vicki among the ways she works.
- Training stated: This directory copies the approaches a therapist names and does not check training records. Ask Vicki directly how much of the work is narrative and what a session usually looks like.
Narrative Therapy in this listing
Narrative Therapy appears in this therapist's own list of approaches. That tells you it is part of how she works. It does not tell you how much of a session it shapes, and this directory does not check or rate training.
If a narrative approach is what you are looking for, it is worth asking Vicki directly how she uses it and what a session usually looks like.
Online session options
How narrative and attachment work translate to online care
Vicki blends narrative ideas with attachment-focused and client-centered methods to help people tell different stories about themselves. Narrative work looks at the stories a person uses to explain their life and then helps reframe those stories so they feel less stuck. Attachment-based work focuses on patterns in close relationships and helps people understand how early bonds affect current reactions and needs.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Vicki listens to goals and preferences, then suggests methods that match the issue at hand. Together the client and therapist decide whether to emphasize narrative work, attachment focus, or practical strategies like cognitive techniques for managing anxious thoughts.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to make therapy flexible. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or when a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging work well for quick updates, pacing thoughts, or keeping momentum between longer sessions.
Common questions about this listing
What kinds of concerns does Vicki help with?
Vicki works with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, depression, and relationship and family issues. She also addresses parenting strain, career stress, eating and body image concerns, ADHD, and compassion fatigue.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
She starts with a client-centered approach to build trust, then adapts methods to fit each person's needs. Expect listening, reflection, and occasional challenge to help reframe patterns and move forward.
What background and experience does she bring?
Vicki has 40 years of clinical experience across inpatient psychiatry, community mental health, emergency services, schools, and social service agencies. That range informs how she supports people in different situations.
Where is she based and what are her credentials?
She practices in Illinois and holds the Licensed Clinical Social Worker credential, LCSW.
Are sessions available in other languages or internationally?
Sessions are offered in English. She is not taking international clients.
What formats are available for sessions?
Vicki offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs.
How are sessions paid for and what does it cost?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by clicking the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to therapist availability.
Contacting this therapist
Sessions with Vicki are arranged through our partner platform. It asks a few questions about what you are looking for, then shows you the therapists available to you, including Vicki where she has space. Ask about fees, and whether she holds a licence or registration where you live.
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