Matthew English
Experienced CBT-informed therapist focused on values
LCSW Illinois
- Experience
- 8 years in practice
- Focus areas
- Stress, Anxiety, LGBT, Trauma and abuse
- Approaches
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Languages
- English
About Matthew
Matthew English offers a therapist approach grounded in cognitive behavioral principles while drawing on several complementary methods to address stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, and concerns related to sexual orientation and self-worth.
Background and approach
He integrates practical skill-building with reflective exploration to help clients notice unhelpful thoughts, try new behaviors, and develop more effective ways of managing emotions. His style emphasizes mindful awareness of moment-to-moment experience and learning concrete strategies to respond differently to difficult feelings.
Matthew combines talk-based work with experiential practices influenced by his background as a yoga instructor, encouraging attention to breath and bodily sensations as tools for emotional regulation. He invites clients to set values-based goals and uses agreed-upon between-session tasks to reinforce progress.
Over eight years of clinical practice in Illinois, he has focused on helping people strengthen self-compassion, clarify life purpose, and address attachment and men’s issues alongside core concerns such as trauma and abuse. He works from a collaborative, nonjudgmental stance that aims to uncover strengths and support sustainable change.
Prospective clients are encouraged to reach out to learn about availability and determine whether his combination of cognitive-behavioral techniques, acceptance-based strategies, and emotionally-focused work fits their needs.
How evidence-based approaches translate to online care
Matthew blends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in online work so clients can learn to identify unhelpful thinking patterns and practice behavioral experiments while also clarifying values and developing acceptance-based skills. CBT focuses on practical tools to change thoughts and behaviors that maintain distress, which can help with anxiety, depression, and stress. ACT emphasizes willingness to experience difficult feelings in service of living a values-driven life, useful for issues of purpose, self-love, and sexuality.Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and he treats selection of methods as a collaborative conversation. Together with each client he explores what resonates, tries techniques in session, and adjusts the plan based on progress, preferences, and goals so that interventions fit the person rather than forcing a single method.
Online sessions are offered via video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These formats make it easier to maintain consistent work between appointments and to use homework assignments and in-the-moment skills in daily life, supporting ongoing practice and growth.
Frequently asked questions
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Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
8+ years
Licensed
Illinois
Languages
English