Therapists for college students near 60614

Maybe you’ve been telling yourself you should be able to handle this by now. But lately, everything feels heavier. Your energy is low, motivation is hard to find, and even small tasks can feel overwhelming. You may notice yourself pulling away from people, losing interest in things you used to enjoy, or feeling stuck in patterns that are hard to break. At times, you might find yourself reaching for something—whether it’s substances, distractions, or numbing behaviors—to get through the moment, even when it doesn’t bring lasting relief. For some, this shows up as persistent sadness, emptiness, or feeling disconnected from yourself and others. For others, it may look like anxiety, burnout, or being caught in cycles of overthinking and self-criticism. These experiences can also show up in relationships pulling away, avoiding hard conversations, or finding yourself in the same painful dynamics again and again. You may notice that your inner voice is harsh or unforgiving, making it even harder to find a way forward. Together, we will gently identify and address these patterns while building more compassion, stability, and connection—both within yourself and in your relationships I work with teens and adults navigating depression, anxiety, relationship challenges, identity questions, traumatic experiences, and life transitions. I provide LGBTQAI+-affirming therapy grounded in cultural humility, creating a safe and validating space to explore identity, relationships, and lived experiences. I also support individuals who are exploring their relationship with substances, whether that means reducing use, understanding patterns, or working toward recovery. I have completed training toward my Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC) credential and am CADC-eligible, which allows me to integrate evidence-based approaches for substance use into our work. My practice is trauma-informed and guided by phase-oriented treatment approaches. In our early work, we focus on safety, stabilization, and building self-regulation skills to help you feel more grounded—even when things feel heavy or overwhelming. As you begin to feel more supported and resourced, we may shift toward processing more difficult experiences and understanding the roots of depressive patterns or substance use. Therapy is always paced according to your readiness. I prioritize transparency throughout therapy, ensuring you understand each step of the process and why certain approaches are used. My goal is to create a space that feels collaborative, supportive, and grounded—so you can move from feeling stuck and depleted toward feeling more engaged, connected, and able to experience meaning in your life again.

Hi there! I'm glad you are taking a courageous step to focus on your wellbeing. Whether you are seeking therapy for the first time, returning, or looking for a new therapist, you are right where you need to be if you are looking for a warm and caring therapist who is passionate about trauma, grief, life transitions, identity, relationships, and faith and spirituality. I help women of all ages and faiths relieve anxiety and depression, heal childhood and relationship wounds, navigate grief and life transitions, and gain more tools to cope with life, work, and relationships. By working with me, I will be a safe space to bear witness to your thoughts and emotions and honor them by patiently meeting you wherever you are in this season of your life. While taking a holistic approach, I utilize a variety of counseling theories like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Emotions Focused Therapy, and Person - Centered Therapy. I want to help you reach your fullest potential and support you on your journey to becoming your happiest, healthiest, most-authentic self. I am virtual only, so please email me to schedule your free 15-30 minute consultation. I look forward to hearing from you!

Psychotherapy Associates of Chicago serves a diverse clientele of individuals, couples and families in a quiet, comfortable therapy space. Since opening in 2001, our dedicated and highly experienced group of therapists has become some of the most frequently referred in Chicago. Let us help you navigate the inevitable ups and downs in life.

Are you struggling with the transition to college while navigating new responsibilities? You’re bright, creative, and motivated and yet finishing anything feels impossible. You call yourself “lazy” when tasks pile up and feel ashamed that simple things seem hard. You want clarity about your brain, tools that actually work, and a therapist who gets it. I am passionate about working with college students untangle executive-function struggles, perfectionism, trauma, and low self-esteem. I’m especially passionate about supporting BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ folks. Together we’ll kick shame out of the driver’s seat and build self‑compassion, understanding, and systems that fit you. Sessions are flexible and center your needs: if we need to laugh, move, play, or cry—we will. We explore the “what” with curiosity, not the “why can’t you just…”. I use strengths-based reframes, coping tools, and psychoeducation so you understand how your brain works and can actually use the skills between sessions. Fit matters. If you’re craving relief from shame, clearer systems that fit your life, and a space where all parts of you are welcome, let’s talk. I offer virtual and in-person sessions, a free 15‑minute consult, and accept insurance/sliding scale options when available.

Life can be incredibly complex and overwhelming, full of twists and turns we often do not expect. As both a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a human being, I have witnessed how receiving professional therapeutic support can guide individuals towards finding a sense of safety and comfort within themselves in a world of ever-shifting dynamics that can distract from or exacerbate the challenges we experience. My clients may be struggling with eating disorders, depression/anxiety, body image concerns, and substance misuse, in addition to difficulty managing stress, life transitions, or intimate/peer/familial relationship conflicts/wounding. I am LGBTQ+ allied, anti-racist, and anti-diet/Health at Every Size aligned and informed. Utilizing attachment theory, values exploration, and mind-body awareness, I work with my clients to re-instill and preserve individual autonomy while healing the relationship between oneself and others. I support my clients in learning new ways to tolerate uncomfortable emotions instead of avoiding or numbing them, and create space to process the inevitable grief that comes with making any changes in life. As a therapist, I embody humor, authenticity, empathy, and patience to create a safe space for my clients to begin exploring both internal/external experiences that contribute to feelings of distress, loneliness, and uncertainty. Values I hold above all else in the therapy space include humanism, autonomy, relational accountability between client and therapist, and the power of ‘any positive change’.

Hi! Like many therapists, I'm a 30-something cis, white woman who likes earth tones and metaphors. I especially enjoy working with individuals with mood disorders, complex trauma, chronic illness, and psychosis, as well as those who identify as artists/creatives and recovering perfectionists. I draw from various modalities including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Health at Every Size (HAES), Narrative Therapy, and EMDR. However, my most impactful training has happened in conversation with clients themselves. I recognize how my identities contribute to a power differential with my clients, especially when working with marginalized populations. I work to interrupt this power differential whenever possible by being antiracist in my work and prioritizing humility and transparency. I believe that the relationship between client and therapist is key to any kind of growth and change, and therefore first honor creating an authentic relationship with the clients I work with.

Our Treatment Center therapists specialize in psychodynamic and psychoanalytic psychotherapy, the first and most established form of talk therapy. These are unique forms of psychotherapy that foster personal development and liberation from dissatisfying or painful patterns of living. Together, you and your therapist will work to understand the meaning of your emotional experiences, thoughts, dreams, memories, fantasies, and sensations with the objective of cultivating a more robust sense of self. By applying complementary therapy approaches and techniques, we will unearth long-standing behavioral patterns or negative perceptions that may be holding you back from experiencing a more fulfilling and meaningful life. Whether you’re looking for extra support and guidance through a challenging situation or you’re ready to move in a new direction in your life, our therapists look forward to working with you to transform suffering into growth.

Are you a person of faith who also identifies as gay (LGBTQ+) or same-sex attracted? Are you looking for a trauma therapist who's passionate about working with teens and young adults who have experienced trauma? My life's work is focused on teens and young adults who are exploring their faith and sexual identity and who are recovering from past trauma. Common symptoms are anxiety, depression, and PTSD. My goal is always to walk with my clients to find freedom, fulfillment, and an integrated identity. I love getting to know my clients - being entrusted with your story is an honor to me. Treatment Areas and Competencies: Teen therapy, Trauma Processing, Faith and Spirituality, Sexuality and Gender, Relationship Challenges, Emotion Regulation, Sexual Trauma, and Exposure to Violence. Reaching out to a therapist is a big step and I am on your team.

Hello! Thank you for taking time to read my profile. I have extensive experience working with children, teens, and young adults. My expertise lies in assisting individuals going through various life changes such as managing life stressors, anxiety, and depression. In addition, I have experience working with ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, OCD, self-esteem issues, stress, trauma, difficulties related to school, familial challenges, and grief/loss. As a previous school social worker, I am well-versed in the IEP/504 process for parents needing support. I aim to provide a safe, warm, and trusting environment that best supports you. I have had the honor in providing services to children, teens, and adults. I have worked in different settings such as schools, 12-step IOP for addiction, and within the private practice setting. I apply an integrative approach to psychotherapy, drawing upon different modalities such as CBT, Person Centered Therapy, Social thinking, and Trauma Therapy. Creating a warm and inviting environment for all my clients is of utmost importance to me. Recognizing that each client is unique, I tailor my therapeutic approaches to meet their individual needs. Within my practice, I provide a non-judgmental and empathetic environment, encouraging clients to share their struggles, challenges, and goals openly.

I love working with clients to both identify their strengths and to help them understand what constrains them from reaching their goals. After exploring these areas, we collaborate to create a plan for change. I am an expert on tools and possibilities but you're the expert on you and what will resonate in your life. I'll be asking for your input every step of the way! I know campus culture. I've been a therapist in a busy University Counseling Center and loved my work students and faculty. I've also been a been a professor at the graduate level. I understand that with the all the stressors daily student life being successful means having a support network in place. I'd love to see if I'd be a good fit for your support network.

Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.

Do you struggle with stress or negativity? Effectively managing stressors and self-compassion for a greater sense of fulfillment is a very important investment for a brighter future. I'm a board certified psychotherapist and practice an eclectic blend of psychotherapy with adult individuals and couples, respecting the uniqueness of each person and their ability to correct self-defeating patterns for a clearer path to personal growth, understanding, mindfulness, and happiness. My interactive, compassionate therapeutic approach facilitates a process of effective self discovery by examining matters close enough to be of help, yet far enough away to see the whole person. Assessing different points of view in the therapeutic process empowers you to make more self-affirming, grounded choices in your life.

We look at individuals as part of a bigger family system, offering support to folks experiencing low motivation and school refusal, social anxiety, performance anxiety, self-esteem, relationships, depression, and cultural identity.

Our lives' narratives sometimes may not be pleasant nor self-fulling. Nonetheless, the therapeutic space can serve as a starting point to reflect and create new beginnings. It can also be a space where we revisit past narratives that may have marked you significantly or try to embrace our fears for the future. In our work together, I aim to connect with you in a way that not only allows for safety, trust and vulnerability but instills a sense of empowerment that affirms your ability to endure uncertainty. I view therapy as a space where both you and I can help each other to co-narrate your life experiences. My philosophy of life is- we all experience the world differently and are the experts on our may need support with processing and reflecting. For these reasons, I work from an integrative relational, humanistic, trans-affirmative, multicultural and liberating perspective. As a queer therapist of color, I value liberation, social justice and intersectionality. In creating a therapeutic space rooted in multiculturalism, I aim to instill a sense of safety for all clients, especially those with marginalized identities such as LGBTQ+, trans and non-binary, Kinks+, immigrants, and POC'S. I make a point to show up authentically in session as a compassionate, empathic, energetic, reflective, nerdy/geeky, and a bilingual person.

Hi, I’m Stephanie, a bilingual, bicultural Latina therapist and second-generation Mexican American. I specialize in supporting LGBTQIA2S+, Latinx, and BIPOC communities, with a focus on reducing mental health stigma. Growing up, I witnessed barriers to therapy, which drives my mission to create a safe, inclusive space for healing. I offer compassionate therapy and mental health education to help you thrive on your wellness journey. I take a collaborative approach to therapy, empowering clients to actively shape their goals and treatment. I use a blend of DBT, CBT, Compassion-Focused Therapy, Mindfulness, and Psychoanalytic Therapy to meet each client’s unique needs. Trust and authenticity are at the core of our work, creating a safe and supportive space for healing.

Everyone has a story. We want to understand yours. Everyone's life is a unique and powerful story – one that deserves to be heard. At Elevate Counseling, our purpose is not just to listen but to uncover the individual narrative of every person we work with. With this deep understanding, we are able to move clients toward enhanced emotional health and balance in life. At Elevate Counseling, we believe that beauty, comfort, diversity, equity and inclusion are the keys to providing stigma-free mental health services for our clients. These ideals are held in deep regard in order to help ensure an environment that is positive, welcoming, effective, and completely stigma-free so that we can deliver exceptional results for all of our clients.

Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.

We primarily work with underserved and marginalized populations. We specialize in treating complex trauma and the many ways in which it can show up clinically.

We are a group practice in downtown Chicago where we serve a diverse community. As a staff, we hold multiple intersecting identities and are eager to work from that intersectional framework with our clients. Several of us identify as queer and we celebrate work with the LGBTQI+ community and other historically underserved groups. We have a modern relational, psychodynamic current that runs through our group but we honor human complexity and seek out thoughtful approaches to each and every person we are privileged enough to work with.

Ryan is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Art Therapist. She earned her BFA with a concentration in painting, second major in psychology, and minor in children’s studies from Washington University in St. Louis, and she earned her Masters degree in Counseling: Art Therapy from Adler University. Ryan has 10+ years of experience working with children, adolescents, teens, and young adults in various settings including schools, summer camps, hospitals, community mental health, and private practice. In her therapeutic practice, she specializes in working with individuals who have experienced trauma, are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and/or are navigating challenges with daily functioning as a neurodiverse individual. Ryan also works with youth who are not ready to verbalize their needs, but are looking for a creative outlet and safe space to express themself through art with no pressure of needing to talk. As an art therapist, Ryan utilizes art and art making to facilitate communication and help her clients gain insight into themselves. She is experienced in using various art mediums to help clients navigate complex situations and explore their identity without the added pressure of needing to verbalize their thoughts. No prior art experience or high level of art prowess is needed for art therapy. Art therapy is about the creation of art, not the appearance of the final product! Ryan takes a client-centered, strengths-based, and trauma-informed approach to therapy, utilizing principles from narrative therapy and choice theory, as well as Trauma-Focused CBT to inform her work. Ryan believes that each person is the expert on themself, and aims to empower the client and help them feel a renewed sense of confidence and agency over their life.