Therapists for college students near Chicago, IL

When looking for a therapist, it can often be a challenge to figure out who will be a good fit based on a bio and a picture. Sometimes there is something very specific that we know we need from therapy, sometimes we are just going in with a vague sense, and it can often feel vulnerable. There is a quote that I often return to in my work: “healing happens at the speed of trust”. When we start our work together, we will be figuring out how to build that trust and communication so that you can do the work and exploration that you need to do to get the most out of therapy. I specialize in supporting individuals navigating addiction and substance use. I also enjoy working with individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, isolation, and effects of trauma. My work is grounded in a harm reduction philosophy that aims to meet people exactly where they are and recognizes that we are all experts in our own lives. I won’t have all of the answers, but hope to work alongside you. I approach therapy with deep curiosity and a relational lens, believing that meaningful change grows from genuine connection and collaboration. I like getting to know people and find one of the most profound things to come from therapy is a feeling of being understood.

Hello there, I’m Elisabeth and I have spent my career working with adults across the life span; much of my experience lies in working with folks experiencing challenges within the developmental transitions of adulthood, such as parenting, midlife, and aging. As a therapist I value and aim for a collaborative, warm, and active approach to your concerns. Perhaps you are coming to a crossroads in your life – a challenging life transition, a shift in roles, relationships, or your identity. You may be experiencing increased stress, grief or loss, or physical or mental health challenges. Perhaps you are rethinking what is truly important to you in your “one wild and precious life” (Mary Oliver, The Summer Day). It may be time to find an experienced professional to walk with you as you figure out what’s next, make a change, or how to cope better. My belief is that therapy starts simply with a conversation. Over time and with “a good fit” in the therapeutic relationship, these conversations can lead to a deep, trusting partnership with the capacity to promote self-awareness, growth and healing. My approach is client-centered; you are the expert of your own life, and my role as a therapist is to listen empathically, respond authentically, and use my skills and training to walk alongside you as a compassionate facilitator of your own unique experience. Like many therapists, my way of working is eclectic, yet also “evidence-guided”; this means I tailor my approach to each client informed by my areas of clinical expertise and experience, client preferences and needs, and what clinical research recommends. My work as an adjunct professor for graduate students at UIC, also informs my practice. As a social worker, I approach my work through an anti-oppressive, anti-racist, and culturally sensitive lens. This lens requires continual refocusing, awareness of my positionality and privilege, and is constantly evolving. Taking the first steps to finding a therapist can be overwhelming, but if this profile has caught your attention, please get in touch with me to set up a free consultation. I am in-network with all BCBS PPO plans (including ACA plans), United Healthcare/ Optum, and Cigna/Evernorth.

Welcome! My name is Caitlin and I'm a clinical psychologist that specializes in cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT), especially in the treatment of anxiety and related struggles. I mostly work with young adults and college students. I work collaboratively with my clients to identify active goals for treatment, with a focus on living a life that is flexible, fulfilling, and guided by one's values. I strive to create a supportive and strong therapeutic bond with my clients by using warmth, unconditional positive regard, compassion, and some lightheartedness and humor, when appropriate. I have extensive experience in providing CBT therapies, including acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), exposure and response prevention (ERP), mindfulness, self compassion, behavioral activation, and motivational interviewing. I know it can be intimidating to start therapy and find a therapist who is a good fit. I would love to schedule a complimentary initial phone call to learn more about you, tell you about my approach, and answer questions you may have, and we can together determine if it feels like a good fit. I currently have availability afternoons and evenings, Mon-Thurs.

Hi, I’m Dan (they/them). Life can feel heavy sometimes, and we all reach moments when we need support. Mistakes, falling back into old habits, and difficult periods are often seen as signs of failure, but in mental health, these moments are often part of the process rather than the end of it. During these times, it can become easy to feel disconnected from yourself, your progress, or the direction you once had. Therapy can become a space to explore your experiences, make sense of them, and reflect on how you want to move forward. Because everyone brings different experiences, needs, and goals into therapy, I approach the process collaboratively and individually. I believe your insight, lived experiences, and understanding of yourself should remain central to the work we do together. I utilize a holistic, harm-reduction-based approach to create a non-judgmental space where you can feel free to be yourself while recognizing that you are not defined by the difficulties you face. I draw from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Psychodynamic Therapy, and Client-Centered Therapy. Many of the ways we respond to stress, relationships, emotions, and uncertainty are shaped by earlier experiences and coping strategies that may no longer fully serve us in the present. Moreover, there are aspects of life and our circumstances that we may not be able to change. Therapy can provide space to better understand those patterns while exploring new ways of coping, relating, and responding to those experiences with greater awareness, flexibility, and intention. I work with individuals navigating trauma, substance use, LGBTQIA+ related experiences, anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, and life transitions. My goal is to create a space where you feel genuinely seen, heard, and supported throughout the therapeutic process. If you feel ready to begin exploring these experiences more deeply, I would be honored to support you through that process.

At Birch Tree Psychotherapy (Chicago, Northwest Suburbs), we provide general mental health care, with a focus on outpatient eating disorder treatment. Our team provides outpatient size and gender inclusive treatment to adults, youth, & families. With a commitment to weight neutrality, body liberation, and radical self acceptance, our therapists and dietitians work within an intersectional feminist, Health at Every Size (HAES) framework. Birch Tree Psychotherapy, founded by Dr. Catharine Devlin, is a private , woman-owned, psychotherapy practice located in the Chicago Loop and South Barrington. The South Barrington location is convenient to Palatine, Inverness, Schaumburg, and Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

Jennifer Harris PsyD & Associates is a group of warm, down-to-earth therapists offering both in-person and telehealth psychotherapy. We’re based in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, just a few blocks south of DePaul University, and provide telehealth services throughout Illinois and other PSYPACT states. Our therapists work well with students navigating big transitions, questions about identity, or simply looking for someone real to talk to. We aim to create a space where you can feel comfortable being yourself. We’re not afraid to use humor or have honest conversations about what’s really going on. We offer a diverse team of therapists, including those who speak Mandarin and Arabic, and we welcome clients from all backgrounds. Whether you're feeling overwhelmed, burned out, lonely, or just stuck, we’re here to help you sort through it. Our therapists have specialized training in treating the following areas: Anxiety, Phobias, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Family & Relationship Issues Identity Development and Life Transitions International Students Acculturation Depression, Self-Esteem Concerns Trauma & PTSD Get to know us and our different specialties at www.jhpsyd.com

Collaboration is a key part of my work with clients. As we explore the change needed for growth, I hope to honor your voice and provide a safe, welcoming and empowering environment that at the forefront creates trust. I want to meet you where you are and come from a strengths-based perspective in creating a path towards understanding yourself, as well as aligning your behavior with your values as much as possible in your everyday life. When in session, I like to pursue a mind-body approach and believe that how we treat our bodies physically will have a ripple effect on our mental health. Therefore, I do like to work around this idea of meeting primary needs for our body as well as our mind. As an eclectic therapist, I believe that there is no one modality that can be utilized for every client, instead I like to pull different techniques from DBT, ACT, Mindfulness, and CBT. As we explore what your goals are, we will make a tailored approach in utilizing skills and talk therapy to create an environment for change. Disordered Eating & Body Image: Navigating disordered eating can feel impossible and exhausting. Exploring the frustrations around unhelpful behaviors is the first step in becoming aware of how disordered eating has impacted your life. With past IOP and individual therapy experience, I support individuals who are trying to understand themselves better when it comes to their body and self-esteem. My approach focuses on creating a supportive and collaborative environment in the therapy space while we build a toolbox of healthy coping mechanisms when triggers come on. By utilizing a combination of therapy modalities, we can create an open dialogue on how to get to body neutrality and reduce disordered eating thoughts & behaviors. Experience: As a growing clinician, I am constantly wanting to expand my knowledge about all things female-presenting clients are navigating from teen years to adulthood. Recently, I passed my Perinatal Mental Health Certificate (PMHC) which covers extensive training in working with families, mothers and fathers who are going through their perinatal journey. Exploring emotions and decision making during this life transition can be overwhelming, to put it lightly, so I hope to act as a guide as we explore this deeply personal journey together. Practicing what I preach is something that I have found to be important to me as I ask for you to do the work in our therapy space. Therefore, I currently am interested in learning more about somatic therapy and how that can be intertwined with my work of mind-body connection.

I am passionate about working with adolescents, teenagers, and young adults navigating anxiety, depression, body image challenges, life transitions, and more. I value being able to support people through the variety of challenges life may bring to help process, guide, and problem solve. I strive to create a warm, welcoming space where clients feel heard, valued, supported and empowered. Deeply committed to helping people navigate life‘s challenges, I work collaboratively to explore patterns, process behaviors, strengthen coping strategies, build resilience, increase emotional regulation skills, and promote self-growth. I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to be the best version of themselves through healing and growing from their experiences. As a clinician who utilizes a variety of approaches with my clients, I incorporate modalities specific to each individuals needs, often incorporating skills from ACT and CBT to help support clients shift negative thoughts. At the center of all of my interactions and interventions, I understand the importance of keeping a person centered and focusing on strengths. I am passionate about creating an authentic, collaborative and understanding environment where we work together toward meaningful goals to promote lasting growth.

Emily Hanneman, Christopher Manvel, Emiliana Mladic, Monica Morris, Thia Mathes, Will Bartz and Sarah Mitchell provide psychotherapy services to adolescents, adults and families. They offer telehealth services throughout Illinois and in-office services in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago. They work people across the lifespan, including many young adults navigating college, graduate school, or the transition into the workforce. Please note that we do have therapists who accept regular Illinois Medicaid and Blue Cross Community. Unfortunately we are not in-network with other Medicaid plans including Aetna Better Health, County Care, Meridian, Molina or Youthcare or Medicaid from states other than Illinois.

People often come to therapy to try to understand something: something about themselves, their relationships, or their past experiences. I enjoy joining my clients in these moments of exploration with warmth, attunement, and collaboration. I specialize in working with people of marginalized experiences and identities. If you have ever felt like an outsider because of your identities, past experiences, sensitivity, gifts, or because of how you live in this world, you deserve a space that is dedicated to your healing and growth. I specialize in working with marginalized folks including queer, trans, kinky, polyamorous, and neurodivergent clients.

Hi! I am a clinical social worker with about 15 years of experience working across the lifespan and really enjoy working with young adults. I am in Lakeview/Lincoln Park above the Core Yoga building, and in network with BCBS PPO plans.

Therapy has been an essential part of my personal healing journey, and it is my honor to be able to join clients on their own paths towards expansive and resilient wellness. Simply exploring the prospect of therapy is no small feat, so I want to acknowledge the courage it takes to take those first steps. I deeply believe in the healing power of experiencing safety in a therapy relationship. I aim to recognize the bravery it takes to be vulnerable by inviting open discussion about dynamics felt in the therapy room and honoring the time needed for me to earn your trust. The pace you need to feel secure and confident in our therapeutic alliance will be the guiding force of the pace of our time together. As a therapist inspired by Narrative therapy, Queer feminist theory, Gestalt therapy, and IFS, I strive to honor all parts of you and welcome the integration of your personal interests and cultural traditions into our work. While therapy may include examining past pain and grief, I hope to create a collaborative environment that also makes room for joy and play. I’ve witnessed the power of the arts, music, movement, and play in the work towards healing and am eager to support your use of the therapy space creatively. I am passionate about understanding intergenerational, historical, and racial trauma. Using a systems-critical and strengths-based lens, I hope to support clients in their journey towards self-empowerment and resistance to oppressive systems. Feeling “othered” can limit the space we have to truly explore our genuine identity, so I am honored to work with folks exploring facets of their identity including racial, sexual, gender, disability, neurodivergent, cultural, and beyond. You are the expert of your own experience, and I would be honored to join alongside you on your path. Our work together could, of course, include talk therapy, but can also include experimenting with identity through games, using arts and crafts to express nonverbally, and mindful listening to music to access important feelings. I trust in the brilliance of the mind to find a way towards recovery and would be honored to support variations in how you access your healing. Experience I have worked as a clinical therapist with both adolescents and adults whose struggles included living with symptoms of PMDD, Borderline Personality Disorder, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, GAD, disordered eating, substance use, childhood trauma, and dissociative disorders. I’ve had the honor to support clients exploring their sexual, gender, racial, disability, neurodivergent and autism identities. My work with clients has also included exploring relational issues, family of origin dynamics, life transitions, social justice/activism, and acculturation stress. During my NBCC Minority Fellowship, I experienced trainings focused on the use of Motivational Interviewing with marginalized groups and developed skills to continuously pursue working from an anti-racist, neurodiversity-affirming, anti-oppressive, body-neutral, sex/poly/kink-positive and anti-ableist lens. In my role as the coordinator of BrainstormLIVE, a neurocounseling webinar, I learned about deep interconnectedness of the mind and body informing my holistic approach to this work. My research interests include de-pathologizing the community-born, social justice-motivated tools for healing in the Chicago Latine-led queercore DIY punk scene. In my previous lines of work, I taught neurodivergent high school and college students and helped them navigate traditional school systems. I also worked as a caregiver for folks with cerebral palsy and traumatic brain injuries. I have experience in the non-profit sector supporting the development of community events exploring intergenerational and historical trauma through arts and somatic work for the Asian-American and Japanese American Chicagoland communities.

Life can be challenging. I believe psychotherapy with a therapist who is a good match can help one more successfully navigate those challenges. I work collaboratively with my clients. I aim to create a nonjudgmental and supportive environment to explore difficult issues together -- to better understand what one is currently facing, to help manage those difficulties, and to ultimately make life more rewarding and meaningful. I have over 30 years of clinical experience and have worked in a variety of settings including university counseling centers (Univ. of Illinois, Univ. of Michigan, Northwestern Univ., The School of the Art Institute of Chicago), and LGBTQ and feminist services (Howard Brown Health Center, Planned Parenthood, Chicago Women's Health Center). I maintain a general practice where I see a wide diversity of men and women for issues including anxiety, depression, relationship problems, and identity.

You are holding a lot right now... Balancing coursework, expectations, relationships, and the quiet pressure to figure out who you are (and who you are becoming) can feel overwhelming. From the outside, it might look like you are managing, but internally, there may be anxiety, self-doubt, burnout, or a sense of disconnection that is harder to name. I work with college and graduate students who are navigating exactly these kinds of experiences. Many of the people I support are thoughtful, driven, and deeply self-aware, yet find themselves feeling stuck, exhausted, or unsure of how to move forward in a way that actually feels aligned. Therapy becomes a space to slow down. A place where you do not have to perform, keep up, or have everything figured out. Together, we begin to make sense of what is underneath the stress, whether that is long-standing patterns, identity exploration, relationship dynamics, or the impact of academic and societal pressures. My approach is relational, collaborative, and grounded in a sociological lens, meaning we do not just look inward, but also consider the larger systems and expectations shaping your experience. I integrate attachment-based, psychodynamic, and trauma-informed care, while also offering practical tools when helpful. I am especially attuned to: • Academic pressure and burnout • Anxiety and emotional overwhelm • Identity exploration (including cultural, relational, and personal identity) • Life transitions and uncertainty about the future • The pressure to “hold it all together” while feeling unseen or unsupported Our work unfolds in a space that is steady, thoughtful, and deeply human. We move at a pace that honors your capacity, gently creating room for clarity, compassion, self-trust, and more sustainable ways of showing up in your life. You do not have to navigate this chapter alone. I offer tele-health sessions for students located in Illinois, Iowa, and Nevada, and would be honored to support you in this season of your life!

Chase Wellness, PLLC is a group practice dedicated to providing top-notch therapeutic services to individuals, couples, and families who may be feeling stuck or at a crossroads in their life. Our team of compassionate therapists is committed to helping you strengthen your self-esteem, foster better communication, and change your beliefs and behaviors so that you can live your best life. We believe that everyone deserves to have support they need to navigate life's challenges and achieve their goals, and we are to provide that support to you.

My name is Mary Clare, and I am a dedicated mental health clinician with experience providing therapy to children, adults, and families. My approach is collaborative and compassionate, tailoring interventions to meet the unique needs of each individual. I provide a supportive space to address issues like anxiety, stress, transitions, and personal growth. I use an eclectic approach to therapy, drawing from evidence-based modalities to help clients build resilience, increase self-awareness, and achieve their goals. I am confident we can cultivate an environment for you to heal and reach your goals, and I would love the opportunity to see if we are a good fit. I am currently accepting new clients in-person and virtually.

Welcome! I'm a passionate healthcare professional dedicated to providing compassionate and effective telehealth therapy. With a focus on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness, I offer supportive counseling services for adults and older adolescents. My experience in counseling and case management has equipped me with the skills to provide impactful mental health therapy, ensuring my clients receive the care and support they deserve. I see clients almost exclusively during morning hours, up until noon (CST) and can easily accommodate people with non-traditional schedules, since I have appointments as early (or late!) as 1am CST. Just like a good workout, a therapy session first thing in the morning can help you start your day off right. In addition to counseling, I've been instrumental in developing innovative strategies for Medicaid Special Needs programs, emphasizing quality assurance and improvement in Illinois. My cross-functional leadership has enabled me to work collaboratively with community partners, optimizing program outcomes and enhancing quality of care. I hold certifications as a Case Manager (CCM) and Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP), which reflect my commitment to providing holistic care. I'm dedicated to meeting my clients where they are at, and helping them to achieve their mental health goals, without judgement. My goal is to help you navigate your health journey with expertise, empathy, and unwavering support. Let's work together towards your well-being.

As a queer person, I am privileged to work with many clients who identify as LGBTQIA+. I also specialize in anxiety, interpersonal issues, addressing anti-fat bias, neurodiversity, and folks who are pregnant or parenting. I have extensive training and experience in working with survivors of trauma and domestic violence. I worked for many years as a counselor on a college campus, so I'm uniquely aware of the challenges facing students today.

I am a therapist, social worker, active listener, and committed community member. In therapy, I take a person-centered, holistic approach and am looking forward to supporting you in your goals - even if they're a bit uncertain at the beginning. I enjoy helping clients make change and solution plans in a non-judgmental space. Oftentimes, talk therapy is one piece of a bigger puzzle and helping clients identify and then connect with their unique healing team is something I love about this work. My approach to working with you is to be a supportive guide on your unique healing journey. I love working with clients who have very specific behaviors and problems they would like to address, as well as clients who are curious about themselves or their mental health, looking for support in exploring identities and relationships, or just want a space to process life's stressors. If you have a lot going on, are uncertain about what areas of your life are impacting your mental health, or are looking to change behavior patterns, utilize skills, or gain insight, I can be an empathetic and reflective part of that journey with you.

I specialize in working with adolescents, teenagers, college students, and young adults struggling with anxiety, self-esteem, and stress, specifically related to their relationships and school functioning. I help clients reflect, access their strengths, and challenge negative mindsets, guiding them to make choices aligned with their values. I look forward to connecting with you to help you grow into the best version of yourself!