Therapists in Chicago, IL

I am a compassionate trauma-informed therapist that primarily works with individuals struggling with trauma/PTSD, ADHD, neurodivergent issues, relationship issues, chronic pain, physical disability, partner violence, substance abuse, anxiety, stress, depression, cultural identity, cultural/intergenerational conflicts, family conflicts, and other issues. As a daughter of South Asian immigrants, I have always been interested in working with traditionally overlooked communities. I have worked with individuals with dual diagnosis, domestic violence survivors, veterans, and LGBTQIA individuals.

In my experience, therapy is a collaborative process, and healing means growing into a more affirming, resilient, and accountable experience of life. In the process of living, you may have created and held onto ineffective relationship patterns or symptoms of anxiety, depression, or trauma in order to protect yourself and survive. Together, we’ll identify and understand the contexts in which these patterns developed in body, mind, and spirit in order to create the acceptance and self-compassion that can support deep healing and more fulfilling relationships with self and others.

Has life thrown a lot at you? Maybe you’ve successfully gotten through past difficulties, only to find your old ways of coping no longer serve you. Let’s work together to find your healing. With warmth and acceptance, I work to unlock your connection to and trust in your strengths, wisdom, and creativity. We'll shape an understanding of who you are, where you’d like to be, and what tools work for you to build skills and find solutions to your goals. Using my foundation in the neurophysiology of stress and trauma, I will partner with you to cultivate cognitive and body-based tools to cope and find new responses to present challenges.

I love supporting my clients in discovering the brightest versions of themselves. I strive to be a grounding presence, offering strengths-based insight in a consistent, nurturing, and nourishing space where you can stretch, grow, and thrive. My trauma-informed clinical work also names the heavy impact of the systems at play in our lives - racism, white supremacy, colonization, capitalism, patriarchy, anti-queerness, anti-fatness and ableism must be acknowledged as complex and enduring influences on our institutions and therefore on our individual and collective healing.

When we feel stressed and overwhelmed, numb, or stuck, calmness and connection is harder to come by. Our own bodies may feel beyond our control, or we may feel disconnected to them. We may desire change but don't know how to create it. If we feel shame or self-doubt, we may have difficulty finding our voice, our community, or our life’s work. Managing and making sense out of what we’re feeling or thinking sometimes is too much to carry alone. When we know it's time for the way we're feeling or thinking to shift, and we want more health, creativity, and joy in our lives, it's time to invest in ourselves and our wellbeing.

As human beings we know life has a way of creating challenges we may find difficult to face on our own. I firmly believe each of us possess fundamental inner-strengths that can not only help us cope with these challenges, but flourish and thrive together. My goal as a therapist is to come alongside clients in a compassionate nonjudgmental stance to help identify your strengths and how to translate them into meaningful growth both within yourself and in your relationships. I value using a mind/body approach and a warm, relational atmosphere in therapy. I am LGBTQIA+-affirming, sex-positive, kink and poly-friendly.

It’s difficult to predict how you’ll feel from one moment to the next. A second ago, you were keyed up; every muscle in your body tense and on high alert, ready for danger to strike. Now, you’re completely checked out, numb to the world, sleepwalking through the day. You know this isn’t a sustainable way to live, but you’re not sure how else to cope with the painful wounds of your past. It’s as though you can no longer trust yourself to differentiate between safe and threatening situations, so you avoid everything. You’re struggling at work and growing more distant from your loved ones each day. Something needs to change, and soon.

Reaching out for support during a difficult time takes courage. Oftentimes we tend to be harsh on ourselves in an effort to push ourselves out of a rut only to find that despite our efforts we remain stuck in it. We can become entrenched in cyclical patterns of anxious, angry, or depressing thoughts that prevent us from functioning exactly as we'd like, whether at work, home, or in relationships. Whether you would like to address an emotional wound, gain confidence, heal from trauma, reach goals, or improve your relationships, I am confident I can help you. CHANGE really is possible!

Trauma, loss, struggles with identity and belonging, overwhelming emotions, sensitivities, and not feeling confident may interfere with feeling fully alive. Longing to feel more belonging, ease, and being and becoming fully you? Its possible. Youre not alone. All of you is welcome - seen and unseen.

Suffering is often the result of less than nurturing relationships and experiences. Fear can become imprisoned in the body. Family and culture can dictate how safe it is, or not safe, to express and be yourself. My immigrant experience from Taiwan allows me deeper empathy with people navigating life transitions and relating to different cultures and new relationships. At Embodied Way Psychotherapy PLLC, I strive to empower individuals within the context of systemic injustice and complications. My work is to provide compassion and wisdom so that you can feel fully alive and authentic in your body, your world and your relationships.

Are you tired of experiencing the same old anxieties, fears and doubts? Are you ready to explore the difficulties in your life in order to break free from them? Whether you are struggling with intimate relationships or career goals or the state of our world, you deserve a space to process, learn and heal. Utilizing an organic blend of Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Attachment Theory and Trauma Informed practices, you and I will work together to create the healthy and vibrant life you deserve.

We're a trauma-informed, culturally-sensitive mental health counseling group for multicultural, Asian, BIPOC, immigrants, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized communities. We're passionate about working with individuals, couples and families from different cultural backgrounds, exploring how complex identities and unique personal experiences have shaped us into who we are. We specialize in healing from anxiety, complex trauma, relationship issues, perinatal issues, ADHD, adoption, OCD, stress, cultural identity, cultural/intergenerational conflicts, family conflicts, grief, and other issues.

Seeking support is a deeply empowering act and I am here to help you on your healing journey. I believe that by working with the mind and the body, powerful connection and growth can occur. Have your worries impacted your ability to feel good in your body? Are you struggling in your relationships? Do you desire to learn new ways to engage with life’s complexities? By understanding the roots of our pain and distress, we can improve current circumstances and cultivate deeper fulfillment.

I believe trusting relationships, creativity, and community are at the heart of inner peace. I offer you a compassionate, empathetic, playful, and non-judgmental space. Trauma influences life, the body, and brain in complex ways and therefore sometimes in therapy we need to talk, and sometimes we need to pause, move, or create. I am informed by attachment theory, psychodynamic approach, and embrace the relational element of healing. As a musician, and with music therapy training, I understand the regulatory power of art and invite you to integrate expressive elements. I offer music-centered and songwriting focused sessions.

If you are tired of talking in circles, feel burnt out, and stuck, then you've come to the right place. I use a body-centered and arts-based approach so that you can dive deeper, break free from toxic cycles, and make meaningful change in your life. While I am an art therapist, art is not required for us to work together. You set the pace and I will meet you where you're at. I specialize in helping those with anxiety, life changes, relationship problems, trauma, cycle breaking, depression, & perinatal issues.

Are you struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, or a mood disorder such as bipolar disorder? These are areas I specialize in and will collaborate with you to facilitate healing. If you woke up tomorrow and your life was exactly the way you wanted it, what would your life look or feel like? Let's see how close to that vision we can get. Clients I work best with are those who are motivated to change and looking to evolve their perspectives and life. We will work together to get you to that place where you are confident, full of self-love and attract fruitful opportunities to your life..

My therapeutic approach is client-centered, strengths-based, creative and collaborative, one in which I often incorporate meditation and somatic work, informed by Internal Family Systems (IFS) theory. I seek to create a therapeutic environment where you will feel heard, validated and understood. We live in a society where we often feel we should weather stress alone but sometimes having someone truly hear you and see you makes all the difference.

It is common for human beings who experience trauma and life stressors to feel like their lives are unraveling. My passion is bringing healing to people who have been through a traumatic/stressful experience and also improve their lives. I enjoy working with adults of all ages. I am fluent in English and Portuguese. As a client-centered and trauma-informed therapist, I view the therapeutic relationship as a collaborative space and a vehicle for change.

We live in a culture that has specific ideas of who we should be, how we should look, how we should feel, and how we should behave. Deviating from this cultural standard (especially due to race, class, ability, gender, and sexual orientation) gives us messages that we are wrong, bad, or broken; we can become disconnected from our bodies, cultures, and loved ones, and end up feeling unsafe, anxious, and depressed. Therapy is a practice that works to heal this trauma by creating a safe space where you can reconnect to yourself, your community, and the world.