Nina Pacholec
Nina Pacholec
Philosophy of Care
Dr. Nina Pacholec’s patient-centered approach to care creates a respectful and responsive environment in which each person can gain confidence in managing their anxiety and learn the tools to overcome it. She addresses each patient with caring, understanding the difficult challenges that anxiety creates, and uses evidence-based methods to assist each person in identifying ways to face those challenges successfully. Using a collaborative approach and a sense of humor, Dr. Pacholec develops individualized treatment plans to help patients reduce their symptoms and achieve their goals. She also offers distance counseling for Illinois residents via secure videoconferencing. Distance counseling offers a convenient alternative for patients who find it difficult to meet with or travel to a therapist and can flexibly accommodate patient schedules.
For busy professionals, Dr. Pacholec is approved to practice teletherapy under PsyPact in participating states and can provide therapy sessions via phone and video when appropriate, based on a client’s diagnosis.
Special Interests
Dr. Pacholec successfully helps children and adults manage all types of anxiety with particular interest in social anxiety, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), performance anxiety, OCD, and phobias. She is also skilled in treating trauma in children and adolescents. She utilizes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and mindfulness in her treatment.
When not in the office, she loves all things outdoors and will often find time for hiking, exploring new places, and trying new things. An animal lover with a dog and two cats, she also enjoys spending time with her family and cooking up delicious things to eat!
Experience and Training
Dr. Pacholec received her master’s and doctorate from Palo Alto University in California with a Child and Family emphasis. She completed her pre- and postdoctoral internship at WellSpan Philhaven Behavioral Health in Pennsylvania and continued working there after graduation as a practicing psychologist for several years. She has extensive training and experience in CBT and most recently was a supervisor for the internship program at her previous position. She also has experience in DBT-informed care and enjoyed facilitating DBT-informed skills groups for adolescents and parenting groups based on the Parenting Your Strong-Willed Child evidence-based protocol. Dr. Pacholec has additional training in trauma-focused CBT and recently completed specialized training in OCD from the prestigious Behavior Therapy Training Institute (BTTI) through the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF).
Dr. Pacholec is a Diplomate and Certified CBT Therapist through the Academy of Cognitive Therapy (A-CBT), and a member of the American Psychological Association (APA).
