Were there lessons in your professional or academic career that left an impression on you, and how has that informed your work today?
Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that makes the difference - Winston Churchill This quote captures the life lessons I learned in my professional and student experiences that I also saw reflected in the stories of my clients. The most resilient and successful people are such, not because of noted accomplishments, but because they choose to continue forward, one step at a time, on this amazing journey of life.
What is your style/approach to therapy?
I approach treatment with you as I would want someone else to approach me: with kindness, compassion, and skill. We will work in collaboration in a nonjudgmental and positive environment.
What does a first session with you look like?
During our first session together, we will explore your personal history, treatment goals, and immediate concerns. You will leave knowing where we will be heading and armed with some coping strategies to start your healing process right away.
Specialties
Depression
Depression often causes people to feel sad, empty, or hopeless, and can cause a lack of interest in life. It can also affect a person's thinking patterns and physical health.
Anxiety
Anxiety can mean nervousness, worry, or self-doubt. Anxiety disorder is a mental health disorder that entails excessive, repeated bouts of worry, anxiety, and/or fear.
Relationship Issues
Refers relationship issues with a partner or spouse. Can include issues related to relationship distress, relationship satisfaction, communication, intimacy, etc.
Trauma
Trauma is the result of experiencing a perceived, extremely distressful event. Although the stress threshold for each person differs, meaning that each person considers and experiences trauma differently, it is an event that tops one’s threshold. It exceeds one’s ability to cope or emotionally process. Symptoms may include shock, anxiety, confusion, hopelessness, feeling disconnected, mood swings, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts.
General Expertise
Addiction
Regular involvement with a substance or activity in a compulsive, hard to control way that often has harmful consequences. Often refers to substance use, but can include compulsive behaviors such as sex, gambling, or shopping.
Attachment issues
Children that experience parents and/or guardians that are avoidant, ambivalent, or resistant from an early age, may develop attachment issues. This can manifest as difficulty forming or maintaining friendships, romantic relationships and empathetic bonds throughout life, as well as other issues.
Bipolar disorder
Characterized by alternating symptoms of depression and mania. During more extreme episodes, depression may lead to the point of suicidal ideation and attempts while extreme bouts of mania are marked by impulsive behavior, lack of sleep, elevated esteem, and even psychosis.
Caregiver stress & support
Caring for a friend or family member (paid or unpaid) includes emotional support, housework, help with finances, medication management, and shopping. Can be stressful, making caregivers more vulnerable to things like anxiety, isolation, and fatigue.
Fees
$145
First Session
$200
Couples Therapy
$200
Group Therapy
$130
Individual Therapy
Types of Therapy
Couples Session
Individual Session
Group Session
Clientele
Parents
Young Adults (18-24)
Adults (25-65)
Treatment Approaches / Modalities
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Mindfulness Practices
Attachment-Based Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy
Licensure
IL, LCSW, 149009081
Education
MSW, Social Work, Jane Addams, University of Illinois at Chicago
BA, History, University of Illinois at Chicago
Work History
I am an LCSW, psychotherapist, and professor. I earned a Masters degree from the University of Illinois, Chicago and completed advanced clinical training at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. I primarily work with college students and adults experiencing life transitions, anxiety, depression, relationship issues, breast cancer, and trauma. I have worked with institutions such as Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation, Illinois State University, The Cancer Center of Normal Illinois, and in private practice. My passion is helping people find themselves even in the midst of life's most difficult challenges.
Location
Home office, Normal, 61761, IL