Grief counselors and therapists in Orland Park, IL

Are you looking for a therapist who understands your culture and speaks your language? I can help. I am fluent in Spanish, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, and German.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Counselor with 40 years of clinical experience. I work with adults, children, and adolescents, and I value each person’s cultural background, identity, and lived experience.

Welcome! Congratulations on this courageous step toward healing. I am a compassionate and relational therapist who believes that healing happens through connection, understanding, and collaborative effort. With a strong foundation in evidence-based practices, I combine the latest research with a warm, individualized approach to support clients in navigating life’s challenges. Whether you're managing anxiety, trauma, relationship issues, or just seeking personal growth, I work to foster a safe, non-judgmental space where you can feel seen, heard, and empowered to create meaningful change.

I believe that therapy works best when people feel understood, respected and safe. I have over 20 year of experience helping adults navigate trauma, depression, anxiety, identity exploration, grief/loss, life transitions and relationship challenges. Much of my career has been devoted to working with veterans and individuals who have faced difficult or traumatic experiences. I strongly believe in establishing a relationship of equals and mutual respect between therapist and client; one that leads to a guided journey of self-discovery and change.

I am a solution focused therapist with 39 years of experience. My therapy style is cognitive, interactive, compassionate, and, if need be, challenging. I believe effective therapy should produce change, not just insight. I will listen to you deeply, help conceptualize the problems, patterns, and dynamics which are causing you trouble, and give you feedback. Together, we will develop a strategy for more effective functioning and a better quality of life. therapy.

I do not do phone consultations.

As a therapist with five years of experience, I have worked with people facing a variety of struggles including depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as life transitions, surviving past trauma and abuse, feeling suicidal, and states of mania and psychosis. Our therapy will be a warm and introspective space where you can expect to be treated with dignity. I affirm LGBTQ+ identities; I welcome persons of different cultures, races, nationalities, and religious beliefs. Above all, I look forward to knowing you as a unique and singular person.

I began working broadly in this field nearly 30 years ago and became a licensed clinical social worker 20 years ago. Along with completing a masters degree in social work from the University of Illinois, Chicago, I hold a masters degree in fine art in drawing and painting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I believe these areas of study have come to inform my practice in obvious and sometimes less obvious ways.

I began my private practice in 2014 specializing in a harm reduction and moderation as apt responses to problematic substance use, as defined by those seeking my help.

Largely in response to the evolving relationships with my clients and referrals that often came in for friends and family of previous clients, I've come to work with trauma survivors, people identifying difficulty establishing stable relationships in social and professional settings, and people addressing loneliness and mood dysregulation.