Jody L. Plowman, LCSW

Children, Adolescents, Adults, Families, and Adults

Jody Plowman, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker in our Oak Brook office who has been working with children, adolescents, adults, families, and couples dealing with complex emotional and social issues for more than 20 years. Ms. Plowman’s areas of interest include, ADHD; behavior challenges; crisis counseling; interpersonal relationships; mood disorders; grief and trauma; LGBTQ and sexual identity issues.

“Gaining perspective over our problems is important. Shame is a burden that hurts our self-esteem. I have seen highly educated professionals, gifted and talented young people, as well as good caring parents who struggle with self-esteem issues because they are ashamed that they have challenges in their lives. Mistakes in our thinking can lead us down negative paths leaving us with self-doubts and hopelessness. These errors in thinking can be corrected and negative feelings can be healed. By working together we can uncover those hidden strengths that can make both your inner and outer life better."

Ms. Plowman embraces techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT) in order to help clients create healthy emotional balance within themselves and in their relationships, noting that all areas of life -- physical health, education, and careers -- improve when a client’s emotional well-being is in order.

Having earned her master’s degree in social work from Aurora University, Ms. Plowman has worked in schools, hospitals, and agencies, in addition to private practice. She has guided community groups, schools, and other mental health professionals through crisis counseling situations and has worked with organizations that have faced crises.

Family and Couples Counseling

When working with families and couples, Ms. Plowman said the work starts with each individual looking at their own life and regrets.

“I find that teaching individuals, couples, and families to have compassion for themselves and each other while they are working through their challenges is key in terms of providing relief and promoting a healthy life balance. Why be hard on each other and ourselves when we are already going through a tough time? Being kind to ourselves and taking steps to solve our problems are essential in building positive self-esteem.”

Ms. Plowman’s Areas of Focus Include:

Depression; ADHD; behavior and defiance; anger management; parenting; post-traumatic stress disorder; self-esteem; anxiety; mood disorders; and LGBTQ issues.