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Bernice Banks, LCSW

Experienced mental health professional

Provides online counseling through BetterHelp

At a glance

Bernice is an experienced, licensed Mental Health Professional who specializes in affordable online therapy offered through our partner, BetterHelp.

4.7 stars
Clients are very satisfied with Bernice. View 48 reviews
Great news, Bernice is accepting new clients!
She is normally fully-booked.
Speaks English
Offers Telehealth visits
Licensed in Illinois

Recent reviews

I was a bit skeptical at first with both tele-health and who I was paired with. This was partly due to negative past experiences with an EAP at work. Fortunately I was wrong on both fronts. Tele-health, specifically BetterHealth, has been extremely convenient and surprisingly effect. Bernice has been absolutely amazing. She has exceeded all my expectations. In the short time I have been paired with her, she has been responsive, interactive during our sessions, and most importantly, kind and supportive. I would highly recommend her to anyone seeking therapy. She listens, responds appropriately and is very positive and encouraging. I look forward to my continued sessions with her.

Reviewed January 2021

Bernice is a wonderful woman and a wonderful counselor

Reviewed January 2021

More about Bernice

  • 18 years' experience
  • Female
  • LCSW

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 12 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 issues Family conflicts Self esteem Depression Addictions Trauma and abuse Grief Parenting issues Anger management Career difficulties Bipolar disorder Coping with life changes Communication problems Forgiveness Life purpose Self-love Social anxiety and phobia

Treatment Approaches

  • Client-Centered Therapy
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Licenses

Bernice Banks's National Provider Identifier (NPI) is 1710160932.

  • LCSW · Illinois · 149.009745 · Expires November 2025

About online counseling

Affordable.
Pay a low flat fee.
Convenient.
Do it at your own time and at your own pace. Communicate whenever you feel it's needed.
Available now.
There is no waiting list and no calls to make. Simply fill out a short questionnaire and send your first message.

Online counseling allows you to receive care from a mental health practitioner via phone, video chat, or instant messaging. It is convenient for those who may have trouble getting to or would prefer not to have in-person therapy appointments. Starting at $65 per week, online counseling is generally more affordable than in-person counseling. A study by researchers at University of California, Berkeley found that online counseling can be just as effective as face-to-face therapy while being more convenient, affordable, and accessible.

Reviews for Bernice Banks

All reviews have been submitted by clients after seeing the provider.

Overall rating:

4.7

48 reviews

5
4
3
2
1

Clients mention: Great Helped Helpful Recommend Supportive Understanding Wonderful Professional Thank you Amazing

I was a bit skeptical at first with both tele-health and who I was paired with. This was partly due to negative past experiences with an EAP at work. Fortunately I was wrong on both fronts. Tele-health, specifically BetterHealth, has been extremely convenient and surprisingly effect. Bernice has been absolutely amazing. She has exceeded all my expectations. In the short time I have been paired with her, she has been responsive, interactive during our sessions, and most importantly, kind and supportive. I would highly recommend her to anyone seeking therapy. She listens, responds appropriately and is very positive and encouraging. I look forward to my continued sessions with her.

Reviewed January 2021

Bernice is a wonderful woman and a wonderful counselor

Reviewed January 2021

I’ve appreciated Bernice’s advice and direction so far in our sessions.

Reviewed December 2020

Mrs. Bernice is knowledgeable, empathetic and asks powerful thought provoking questions. She has helped me during the hardest times of my life and I forever grateful.

Reviewed November 2020

Bernice is awesome. I love working with her. Sometimes. I feel bad sometimes because I feel needy at times. And I don't want to feel like I am being a bother. Especially when I was grieving a relationship. She was kind and patient with me and caring. She is always encouraging. She really does a great job. If she can get a hot mess like me to get over an abusive relationship and childhood. She can help anyone get better. She has been a God send to me.

Reviewed August 2020

I have been paired with Bernice for at least 2 years and she has helped me immensely. Opened my eyes to different perspective and helped me see myself in a new light

Reviewed July 2020

Bernice is a great counselor. She's empathetic and offers wonderful advise as well as insight. Highly recommend her!

Reviewed July 2020

Ms Bernice is awesome. I feel supported, and I feel like i'm making progress. I would highly recommend Ms Bernice and Better Help.

Reviewed June 2020

Bernice is awesome, she's a great listener, she understands, I never feel judged, and she has a way of helping you keep things in perspective. She's amazing at what she does.

Reviewed April 2020

Bernice is a godsend. A true professional, so compassionate, and understanding. Her counseling has been really helpful for me when I went through a really difficult time in my life. Thank you Bernice.

Reviewed March 2020

My time with Bernice has been such a delight. I feel so calm and confident sharing with her and her guidance is always so helpful. She holds me accountable for all the things I said I’d work on which I need and appreciate. I’m so glad to have a counselor I can laugh with and also feel comfortable crying in front of (via the phone). She is always accommodating when finding a time to meet and responds to messages VERY promptly. I’m very thankful for Bernice.

Reviewed March 2020

Very supportive and fast reply!

Reviewed February 2020

I had a very hard time with coping with my anxiety and I found out about better help and was matched to her and she has helped me with all of my struggles to the point where I saw life out of a happy filter and I found out I let my trauma run my life.

Reviewed November 2019

Bernice is a very good listener. Her positive attitude is priceless in any difficult situations. I like how timely and professionally she responds to a problem. Thank you for sharing your ideas and thoughts!

Reviewed September 2019

Bernice has been very helpful

Reviewed August 2019

Bernice makes me feel very well heard and understood! And her feedback and thoughts make so much sense. I'm very glad to have her as my counselor.

Reviewed August 2019

Bernice is a great counselor!!! I have been working with her for only a few weeks and truly feel the positive difference in my life. During the first week I signed up, I was in a lot of distress--Bernice sensed that and responded to my messages so quickly. Her words were kind and gentle but still pushed me to reflect deeply on the situation and draw my own conclusions about how I wanted to move forward. Bernice is always considerate to ask whether I am ready to go through exercises and asks for feedback on whether or not they worked for me. In general, conversations with Bernice are empowering and conversations flow so easily. I would highly recommend her. Thanks, Bernice!

Reviewed June 2019

Bernice is very thoughtful and insightful in her approach to counseling. I would highly recommend her to anyone. Thank you, Bernice.

Reviewed November 2018

Fast replies and great insight. Very helpful and never pushy!

Reviewed July 2018

She's wonderful in counseling, very patient and understanding.

Reviewed June 2018

Bernice Banks is by far the BEST! She has walked with me every step of the way through the most tragic time in my life. She has well exceeded what I thought an on line experience would be. I can't imagine anyone better. She is Heaven sent by God. Thank You Bernice.

Reviewed March 2018

I am so grateful for Bernice! She has been so encouraging and understanding. I had so much on my mind that caused a lot of anxiety and made me depressed. Bernice walked me through each of the issues I was dealing with and helped me to shift my focus and gain a new perspective; putting my faith in God that He has a bright future ahead for me. I feel blessed by this program in my life!

Reviewed March 2018

Bernice has been a total life saver! She has walked me through honest processes and guidelines rooted in Christ - steps necessary in making one of the most significant decisions of my life. Thank you Bernice!

Reviewed February 2018

Bernice is always attentive and cares. She was a great sounding board during a tough period in my life.

Reviewed June 2017

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.

Reviewed May 2017

Great!

Reviewed April 2017

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.

Reviewed April 2017

Bernice is amazing. Her advice has changed my life.

Reviewed April 2017

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!

Reviewed March 2017

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.

Reviewed February 2017

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.

Reviewed February 2017

Great lady and knows what she's doing

Reviewed February 2017

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.

Reviewed January 2017

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.

Reviewed January 2017

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.

Reviewed November 2016

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.

Reviewed September 2016

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.

Reviewed September 2016

Bernice is consistent and caring!

Reviewed September 2016

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.

Reviewed September 2016

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.

Reviewed May 2015

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.

Reviewed March 2015

Bernice is very supportive and gives great guidance. She is wonderful!

Reviewed January 2015

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.

Reviewed December 2014

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.

Reviewed November 2014

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

Reviewed November 2014

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.

Reviewed August 2014

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.

Reviewed June 2014

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.

Reviewed May 2014

How was your experience with Bernice?

Frequently asked questions

Does Bernice Banks offer telehealth visits?

Yes. Bernice Banks works with clients by exchanging messages, chatting live, speaking over the phone, or video conferencing based on what works for the client at that particular time.

What language(s) does Bernice Banks speak?

Bernice Banks speaks English.

How many years of experience does Bernice Banks have?

Bernice Banks has 18 years of experience.

Where is Bernice Banks licensed to practice?

Bernice Banks is licensed to practice in Illinois.

Does Bernice Banks accept clients outside of the United States?

No, Bernice Banks does not accept clients outside of the United States.

Is online therapy as effective as in-person therapy?

Numerous studies support the effectiveness of online platforms in facilitating life changes. For instance, research published by JMIR Publications, conducted by teams from the University of Berkeley, UCSF, and SF General Hospital, found that "users of BetterHelp experienced significantly reduced depression symptom severity after engaging with the platform."

What treatment approaches does Bernice Banks offer?

Bernice Banks offers clients Client-Centered Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

How can I communicate with Bernice Banks?

Bernice Banks can be engaged in any one of four ways: (1) Exchanging messages, (2) chatting live, (3) speaking over the phone, or (4) video conferencing. You can use different ways at different times as you wish, based on your needs, availability, and convenience.

How do I get started with Bernice Banks?

Just tap the CHAT NOW button or tap here: A new window will open and you'll be directed to a simple form that will help start the conversation. Please note: It can take up to a few days to be matched to a therapist.

Mental health conditions are real, common, and treatable.

And recovery is possible.

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When you tap CHAT NOW a new window will open and you'll be directed to a simple form that will help start the conversation. Please note: It can take up to a few days to be matched to a therapist.