personal therapy, because
LET’S DISCOVER and embrace who you are.
A few principles I have.
I believe that all of you is enough. There are no good or bad parts, dark or light parts.
I believe that integrating and embracing the whole person leads to healing. Because you, whole, are beautiful and wonderful—including where the pain is. We do this through creative, full expression and a broad toolbox of therapeutic modalities.
I believe that discomfort is a part of life. Sorry (not sorry!)—and that it is only through doing the work to understand who we are at the core—as opposed to trying to avoid the pain (which, by the way, never works), that we ultimately feel better.
The process is more important than the product. (It’s about the journey, not the destination).
I respect and revere every individual. Regardless of background or preferences, and support all family structures and identities.
A LITTLE MORE of my background
I have over 15 years of experience working with children, couples, families, & the LGBTQ community. I am a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Illinois and Wisconsin (a non-attorney Divorce Professional). I believe in understanding the whole person and complex relationship dynamics and abides by a mind/body/spirit approach to care.
Since the very start, I have worked with complex family dynamics and with the most extreme cases— with families that came from very strained backgrounds including severe situations of trauma, abuse, neglect, and foster care. Along with the complex cases, I’ve also seen a ton of “regular” couples and families in her practice. What I’ve learned quickly is that unfortunately most couples do not go to couples therapy until their relationships were much too severed to improve upon.
Today, you’ll see I am a staunch advocate for preventative couples work. Relationship betterment should be included in one’s “self care” routine.
I offer telehealth and in-person to clients everywhere in Illinois. It is covered for all of my in-network clients.
In-Network Insurance Providers are :
Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Cigna, Oscar, Oxford, United Health Care
THERAPY Services
INDIVIDUAL Therapy
Individual Therapy is a joint process between a therapist and a person in therapy. Common goals of therapy can be to inspire change or improve quality of life. People may seek therapy for help with issues that are hard to face alone. Individual therapy is also called therapy, psychotherapy, psychosocial therapy, talk therapy, and counseling.
Therapy can help people overcome obstacles to their well-being. It can increase positive feelings, such as compassion and self-esteem. People in therapy can learn skills for handling difficult situations, making healthy decisions, and reaching goals. Many find they enjoy the therapeutic journey of becoming more self-aware. Some people even go to ongoing therapy for self-growth.
FAMILY Therapy
Family therapy is a type of psychological counseling (psychotherapy) that helps family members improve communication and resolve conflicts that is usually provided by a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. It is often short term and may include all family members or just those able or willing to participate. Your specific treatment plan will depend on your family’s situation.
Family therapy sessions can teach you skills to deepen family connections and get through stressful times, even after you’re done going to therapy sessions. It can help you improve troubled relationships with your spouse, children, or other family members. You may address specific issues such as marital or financial problems, conflict between parents and children, or the impact of substance abuse or a mental illness on the entire family. Family therapy can be useful in any family situation that causes stress, grief, anger or conflict. It can help you and your family members understand one another better and bring you closer together.
COUPLES Therapy
Couples therapy is not just about talking with you. I want to hear what’s going on in your relationship and lives, but we also want to give you practical steps to improve your relationship. It’s action oriented and solution focused.
MARRIAGE Therapy
When couples encounter problems or issues, they may wonder when it is appropriate to seek marriage counseling. Here are seven good reasons.
1. Communication has become negative.
2. When one or both partners consider having an affair, or one partner has had an affair.
3. When the couple seems to be “just occupying the same space.”
4. When the partners do not know how to resolve their differences.
5. When one partner begins to act out on negative feelings.
6. When the only resolution appears to be separation.
7. When a couple is staying together for the sake of the children.
All marriages are not salvageable. In the process of marriage counseling, some couples may discover it is healthier for them to be apart. However, for those relationships that can be salvaged, and for those couples willing to commit to the process, marriage counseling may be able to remind them why they fell in love and keep them that way.
PREMARITAL Counseling
Premarital counseling is a type of therapy that helps couples prepare for marriage. Premarital counseling can help ensure that you and your partner have a strong, healthy relationship — giving you a better chance for a stable and satisfying marriage. Premarital counseling can also help you identify weaknesses that could become problems during marriage.
Premarital counseling can help couples improve their relationships before marriage. Through premarital counseling, couples are encouraged to discuss topics related to marriage, such as:
- Finances
- Communication
- Beliefs and values
- Roles in marriage
- Affection and sex
- Children and parenting
- Family relationships
- Decision-making
- Dealing with anger
- Time spent together
CHILD & ADOLESCENT Therapy
Children and adolescents experience and communicate emotional distress differently. They may struggle socially, have difficulty learning, act aggressively towards others, develop rituals, use alcohol or drugs, cling to caregivers, self-harm, or have negative beliefs and feelings about themselves. Such behaviors and feelings often interfere with their sense of well-being and capacity for emotional, social, and intellectual development. Therapy can be effective when problems do not resolve with time and support from parents, teachers, or friends.
Child and adolescent therapy focuses on underlying emotional problems that interfere with development. Through play and talk therapy, the clients are helped to understand the causes of their distress and to learn coping skills to deal in healthy ways in the future. The goal is to show lasting changes in emotional states and behaviors.
The process for assessment and evaluation varies depending on the age of the child or teen. During the initial session(s), information is gathered from parents or from the adolescent about their reasons for coming to therapy. Typically, the client and the counselor will meet individually for the next several sessions for an evaluation phase. The length of this phase varies. The counselor uses information gathered to determine appropriate treatment needs and goals. Therapy is a collaborative process with parents and often involves regularly scheduled parent meetings. As teens approach older adolescence, parent involvement typically decreases in order for them to build trust and safety with their counselor. When appropriate, the counselor may ask to consult with teachers, pediatricians and psychiatrists, and school counselors.
EMDR & TRAUMA Therapy
EMDR is a form of therapy which uses alternating bilateral stimulation to reprocess traumatic events. These events can be “small t” or “big T” trauma events. There is also Relational Trauma such as when a loved one has betrayed you or caused you great pain. Attachment trauma is when an infant or child is emotionally abandoned by a parent or caregiver.
See EMDR Website for Further Information.
ART Therapy
Art Therapy is a therapeutic approach in which clients, facilitated by the therapist, use art media, the creative process, and the resulting artwork to explore their feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem. A goal in art therapy is to improve or restore a client’s functioning and his or her sense of personal well-being.
During individual and/or group sessions, art therapists elicit their clients’ inherent capacity for art making to enhance their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Research supports the use of art therapy within a professional relationship for the therapeutic benefits gained through artistic self-expression and reflection for individuals who experience illness, trauma, and mental health problems, and those seeking personal growth.
LGBTQ Issues
I am 100% committed to serving LGBTQ clients on their healing journeys.
I want LGBTQ clients to know that I support them and their families. Being affirmative means I treat loving couples, families, and transgender people with the dignity, respect, and affirmation they deserve; they are fine just the way they are.
Affirming and supportive counseling & psychotherapy services for LGBTQ individuals, couples and families.
MINDFULNESS Therapy
Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you’re mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience. When you are mindful, you are not thinking. Mindfulness is a process of thought-stopping, to help get you out of past or future thinking and into the now.
There is a core self that is a place of silence, freedom, and total peace. The goal of treatment is to help clients start to feel the deepest layer of their being and find their way back to the center, to who they really are and where the real power of healing lies. Once the patient knows the way there, they can actively heal and grow more and more, simply by living with this new aspect of mind, this living silence of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is a powerful tool that Balance teaches its clients to help them learn how to quiet their thinking, and thereby more effectively experience and explore the present moment. Today, with so many things to worry about and so many distractions, maintaining our attention on what is happening right now is often very difficult. Balance staff has developed a highly distinct and deep understanding that capitalizes on the silence of the body and the precision and focus of the mind to help people reach the healing that resides within us all. Clients, regardless of their diagnosis, can all benefit from mindfulness, and we make every effort to connect with the client wherever they are on this path.
Emotionally Focused Therapy
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a structured, short-term therapeutic approach that focuses on improving the emotional connection and attachment between individuals in intimate relationships. EFT was developed by Dr. Sue Johnson and Dr. Les Greenberg in the 1980s and has since gained widespread popularity and recognition in the field of couples and family therapy.
The core principles and techniques of Emotionally Focused Therapy include:
- Attachment Theory
- Identification of Emotional Patterns
- Emotion Exploration
- Restructuring Emotional Bonds
- Promoting Acceptance and Validation
- Change in Interaction Patterns
- Consolidation and Maintenance
EFT is considered an evidence-based approach to couples therapy, with research indicating its effectiveness in improving relationship satisfaction, reducing conflicts, and enhancing emotional intimacy. It can be applied to a wide range of couples, including those in distress, as well as those looking to enhance their already strong relationships.
It’s important to note that Emotionally Focused Therapy is typically conducted by trained therapists who follow the model closely, as it requires a structured and specialized approach to be effective.