Ryan Potempa, LMFT
Therapist - Life Balance Counseling Peoria, PLLC
Ryan is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) with over a decade of experience in both community mental health and private practice. He works with individuals, couples, and families across a wide range of challenges, bringing depth, curiosity, and practical insight to each therapeutic relationship. Ryan earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Bradley University in 2015, and his Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Northern Illinois University in 2017.
Although raised in the populated suburbs of Chicago, Ryan’s early education and social experiences took place in a small Christian school setting, fostering an appreciation for the impact of close-knit communities on one’s development. This exposure, combined with his therapy work, fuel Ryan’s passion to help individuals better understand how their surroundings shape their sense of self and the way they relate to others. Ryan possesses the tools to help overcome wounds of traumatic childhoods, including emotional neglect, enmeshment, intimacy challenges, feelings of shame, emotional numbness, and chronic self-doubt that can leave one feeling sidelined from their own life.
Ryan also possesses a unique ability to support parents and caregivers who feel overwhelmed by the demands of raising children in today’s fast-paced, overstimulating world. He helps parents envision and actualize a home life of connection and balance fueled by mutual understanding and respect. With couples, Ryan assists partners in identifying how their origin stories shape who they are and how they view each other and their presenting issues. Whether a relationship is new or well-established, Ryan enthusiastically guides couples to rebuild trust, deepen intimacy, and reconnect emotionally.
Ryan’s approach is attachment-based, strengths-focused, and relational. He creates a space that feels both supportive and insightful, and he believes that greater self-awareness, along with honest conversations about often-overlooked emotions, leads to meaningful and lasting change.
Ryan values lifelong learning and continues to grow both personally and professionally. He is currently pursuing training in EMDR and working towards becoming a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT).
In 2022, Ryan and his high school sweetheart left the suburbs to put down roots in Peoria. They eagerly await the birth of their first child later this fall.
Ryan believes in the healing power of the therapeutic relationship. He looks forward to hearing your story and providing the tools needed for you to create transformation and produce the next exciting chapter in your life.
As an Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Ryan is credentialed with many insurances - Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Cigna, Aetna, United Health Care, and UHC for Caterpillar. With immediate availability for both in-person and virtual sessions, he is ready to join you on your hearing journey. Call the office today at (309)-296-0078 to get started or, if you would prefer to set up a FREE 15-minute consultation with Ryan, where you’ll both ensure you are a good fit.