Therapists in Sugar Grove, IL

I offer therapeutic interventions with warmth and compassion, focusing on strengths to help identify opportunities for change and actualization. My primary areas of experience include depression/anxiety and other mental health concerns, substance use/recovery, and concerns related to gender or sexuality. I see therapy as a journey aiming to get deeper understanding of oneself, relationships, and the world around us.

Cameron works with clients towards their identified goals using an integrative and holistic approach. She honors all client's identities using a trauma-informed, multicultural and systemic lens and collaborative approach to address clients needs. Cameron's therapeutic approach is backed by 15 years of experience working with children, adolescents, young adults, parents, adults and families in the Chicago area. She helps individual, couples/relationship and family clients with issues of emotions, thoughts, behavior, relational patterns, conflict, self-concept, executive functioning, communication and other presenting concerns.

In therapy, it feels essential to look at not only our own thoughts and emotions but also the expectations set by our environment. I utilize affirmative, trauma-informed, and relational lenses to encourage insight and explore assumptions impacting how we engage with the world around us. My clinical and research focuses relate to sexual identity, gender diversity and transition, and ethically non-monogamous relationships. Aside from these, I work often with anxiety, depression, communication, conflict management, boundaries, trauma, life transitions, discrimination, substance use, and premarital/marital counseling.

Doing the work it takes to find the right therapist when your mind and heart are struggling and in need of that help takes an enormous amount of strength and hope. As a highly experienced clinical social worker, my goal is to bring my wide-range of experience with therapeutic modalities and diverse populations to capitalize on your strengths and hope. I work from a humanistic, trauma-informed and strengths-based perspective. While I have experience ranging from counseling people living with varying degrees of mental illness, to refugees from conflict zones, and survivors of Queer hate motivated violence.

Starting therapy can feel scary and intimidating. You are looking for someone to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences with that will not judge you. I am here to help make that process easier. You deserve to have a space that is safe and supportive with a therapist that you know will fully accept you. I want to work with you to create a space infused with empathy, unconditional acceptance, and genuineness. You are welcome to show up just as you are and that is more than enough.

As a queer Black person who has done their own healing work, it became my mission to establish the therapeutic space I provide as trauma-informed. As such, I strive toward building a fundamental anti-oppressive space, one where your intersectionalities are respected and your healing is centered. Bringing these intentions to the space I provide makes doing the work that healing requires that much more possible for the communities I serve.

Are you or your teen struggling with navigating your identity? Have you experienced trauma, bullying, communication issues, self-harm, or suicidal ideation? Has your gender and/or sexuality impacted your mental health and you are wanting to learn how to embrace your most authentic self? Knowing how to navigate your own identity, or knowing how to support your child as they discover parts of who they are, can be a scary process. In order to embrace authenticity we need safety, security, and an ability to communicate. We will work together on finding healing, cultivating healthy communication, and creating a sense of safety.

As a therapist and mental health advocate, I believe everyone deserves one hour a week completely dedicated to them and what's coming up in their life. Whether you're experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, LGBTQIA struggles, or relational issues, I can offer you a nonjudgemental and engaging space to get to know yourself on a deeper level. Through a process of self-understanding and self-acceptance, we lay the groundwork for your desired life shifts.

The urge to not just exist, but to thrive is universally one of the toughest challenges that one can learn to navigate. It can be even harder when you may not feel equipped with the tools to prepare yourself for this massive endeavor. You may feel the need to mask, or hide your truest self in order to ‘get by’ and make things easier on yourself and others around you. I try to tell clients that they deserve to allow themselves to be the truest version of yourself, no matter what that may look like or what society may think. I am here to help guide you through the veil of uncertainty so that I can help you be your most authentic self.

Shira Behal is a therapist with experience, who knows how to weave different approaches together to find the right one for you. Shira is someone who listens, and also educates and guides. Someone to help you reach your goals and grow into a life that matches your values. Someone ready to do the deep work, and stay with you through the long work. Shira is a therapist who knows that healing takes a balance between the intellect, the emotional mind, and the body.

We are all the sum of our parts, made up of all the little pieces we have collected from the world, from others, and from ourselves throughout our lives. And while we continually craft our ever-evolving lives, some of these pieces may not fit together the way they used to or the way we want them to. In these moments, it can be incredibly difficult to know where we want to go or how to get there. As a queer, trans non-binary, first-generation Macedonian-American, I firmly believe that showing up as your authentic self is an incredibly radical act that can enhance your capacity to learn, heal, love, and grow.

My areas of specialization are working with individuals/couples/relationships who are in the LGBTQ+ community who have experienced violence, such as sexual violence, childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, family system-based violence, spiritual abuse, and community-based violence. I work with many different relationship structures from cisgender heterosexual monogamous couples and folx with more expansive relationship structures. My areas of specialization in working with relationship clients are high-conflict relationships, sexual dysfunction/dysregulation, infidelity, trust, safety, and stability.

If you are struggling with feelings of self-worth, identity formation and feeling understood, then it makes sense why it can be hard to ask for help. Reaching out is a scary step, and you have already made a brave move by being here. So, take a moment to celebrate yourself, maybe take a deep breath, and recognize the strength it took to show up. You deserve a space to process emotional challenges and connect with a happy and empowered version of yourself.