Therapists in Oak Brook, IL

Seeking help can be scary and overwhelming, but you are not alone! I am here to offer a safe, nonjudgmental, and comfortable place that you can feel heard and validated. I believe that building strong foundations and relationships with people are imperative to the growth and healing of an individual’s mind and soul. I bring energy, compassion, and even a little humor to my work with clients, to create a collaborative environment that you can be comfortable and yourself in.

"When life brings challenges that exceed your ability to cope, it might be the time to consider working with a competent, respectful, and understanding therapist. I believe in living life to the fullest extent possible, and sometimes that means peering into your past to understand how the solutions of yesterday transform to the problems of today. Whether your issue is substance abuse, unhealthy expression of anger, depression, anxiety, self esteem/body imagine or difficult relationships with others; counseling can be your first step towards a healthy way of living. Make that first step in your journey towards wellness.

Traumatic experiences, regardless of what kind, leave behind hidden wounds and scars. Among many things you find yourself on high alert around others; bracing for some unknown threat. Some people may tell you to simply 'push through it' or just 'toughen up.' But it simply does not work that way. You, the client, determine when and what trauma material you are ready to process. We work to heal the traumatized self, in our sessions, through ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy), psychodynamic and Inner Child work. You don't have to suffer quietly alone.

Most clients come into therapy because of their current difficulty resolving a "presenting problem". That problem could be grief. It could be relationship troubles with partners, peers, or parents. It could be tied to substance abuse. Or trauma. Or both. It could be work-related. It could be a million things. Whatever the presenting problem, it tends to give the client physiological and psychological discomfort, which leads to the search for answers and relief, which often leads to counseling.

Hi there. My name is Emily. I am committed to guiding individuals through their mental health journeys. My specialization includes providing support for those facing challenges such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief, with a particular focus on women navigating ADHD experiences.

Loss is an underlying reason many of my clients seek counseling. Some have lost a part of who they were before overwhelming life events occurred. Some are helping professionals who give so much in their work or life they are experiencing traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, burnout, or vicarious trauma. Some are experiencing the loss of a family structure they were familiar with. Others have experienced an unexpected traumatic loss of a loved one to suicide, homicide, or sudden death.

We all find ourselves at times in our life that we require nurturance to help us through life's changes. Loss in our lives requires care and guidance by a professional. Loss may be defined in various ways, it may be death, divorce, depression, addictions, infidelity, anxiety, infertility just to name a few. I work to specifically assist individuals, couples, families and groups to alleviate emotional disorders, to understand conscious and unconscious motivation, to resolve emotional, relationship and attitudinal conflicts and to help modify behaviors that interfere with effective emotional, social adaptive, and intellectual functioning.

"Be gentle. You are meeting parts of yourself you’ve been at war with.” - Anonymous There are many reasons why you may feel you are struggling to feel like yourself or find your way as a partner or parent. I am passionate about working with children, their families, and adults to work through symptoms, build an effective tool box, and help clients grow. I adore working with angsty teens and really love helping little ones find themselves underneath their symptoms. I have a wealth of experience working with complicated co-parenting situations (e.g. division, abandonment, divorce, guardianship, foster).

My ideal client is anyone willing to come to counseling and be open to the process! Regardless of where a client may be starting from or what they’re hoping to accomplish, I believe that anyone who is willing to show up and engage in the therapeutic process can benefit, and I am happy to guide and support them on their journey. I believe I would be an especially good fit for those clients who want to learn more about themselves and the “why” behind their feelings, behaviors, and thoughts; hope to develop a deeper, more genuine connection with themselves and others; and can appreciate some gentle challenging when appropriate.

Seeking a therapist is a positive step in your pursuit to feel better. As a trauma-informed therapist, I understand that trauma does not discriminate and may present in several different forms. Research has shown that both “big T” (a single, terrible event) and “little t” trauma (daily stressors) can block the brain’s ability to process distressing events and have a profoundly negative impact on emotional, psychological, physical and spiritual well-being. Both of these types of traumas can lead to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, addiction, phobias, relationship issues, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or more.