Therapists for college students near Chicago, IL

I am a male therapist and I offer services for trauma, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and men's issues. I am trained in EMDR therapy and specialize in treating individuals who have experienced trauma. I provide a listening ear and individualized treatment plans to help you achieve your goals.

I am deeply passionate about supporting college students and young adults as they navigate this exciting yet often challenging period of life. My clinical practice is rooted in a comprehensive understanding of the unique developmental milestones, pressures, and transitions faced during emerging adulthood. I have extensive experience assisting clients with a wide range of common concerns, including managing the pervasive feelings associated with anxiety and depression, developing effective strategies for ADHD management, and successfully navigating significant life transitions such as starting college, entering the workforce, or adjusting to new relationships. Additionally, I specialize in addressing concerns specific to cultural identity, acculturation, and systemic stress. My therapeutic approach is fundamentally culturally sensitive and trauma-informed. This means I prioritize creating a safe, non-judgmental space where your individual background, experiences, and identity are respected and central to the healing process. I operate with the understanding that past experiences, including trauma, can profoundly impact present well-being. Mental health is not just important—it is absolutely crucial during this formative stage of life. It lays the groundwork for future success, resilience, and happiness. I genuinely believe that investing in your emotional well-being now is one of the most powerful steps you can take. I would be genuinely honored to partner with you as you explore, grow, and strengthen your mental health throughout this transformative journey.

I'm here to support you in creating meaningful, lasting change. Whether you're navigating a major life transition or struggling through the stresses of college life, I'll help you uncover and shift patterns that no longer serve you. Together, we'll work toward greater clarity, purpose, and connection, so you can step into the fullest version of yourself.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker based in Illinois, holding an MSW from the University at Buffalo, SUNY. With a commitment to cultural sensitivity and supporting LGBTQ+ populations, my practice is grounded in an identity-affirming, anti-oppressive framework that respects and validates lived experience. I believe that therapy should be accessible, so please ask me about sliding scale sessions if you feel finances are a barrier to access. I specialize in working with Autistic adults and individuals who have experienced trauma, depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges. Drawing from a rich tapestry of therapeutic modalities including psychodynamic/psychoanalytic, humanistic, existential, motivational interviewing, and cognitive behavioral therapies, I tailor my approach to each individual’s unique needs and circumstances. Embracing a person-centered philosophy, I meet clients where they are, valuing their strengths, and collaboratively working towards their goals. I specialize in creating a safe and inclusive space for those who have felt marginalized or misunderstood. I believe deeply in the transformative power of feeling understood and endeavor to foster healing through empathetic connection and genuine support.

Therapy is a unique process, one that aims to guide you through challenges and roadblocks, helping you move towards a healthier and more meaningful life. My goal is to create a space where growth is safe and cultivated. Using an evidence-based approach, I work to help you gain awareness of your emotional experience, working to understand the way you experience and interact with the world. I help you explore parts of yourself you may not be completely comfortable with, learning to tolerate the discomfort that surfaces during this process. I challenge clients to try something different, encouraging a more intentional approach. Change can be hard and scary; it takes courage and willingness to say you need help. I see individuals with a wide range of presenting concerns, including anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, relationship concerns, and identity development. I also maintain a strong commitment to cultural humility. Life can throw out some pretty tough things, and while we don't always have a choice in what comes our way, we do have a choice in how we respond. Let's work together to find out how you want to respond to the challenges in your life.

I am a ‘Recovering Perfectionist’ that has struggled with anxiety for much of my life. I know how it feels to get stuck in my own head wondering what others think, trying to do everything ‘right’ (whatever that really means), and putting others before myself. I know what it feels like to want to give up and just avoid everything all together. So when we work together, you won’t just get a trained therapist, but also someone who truly understands what you are going through and what it means to find the right balance between challenging yourself and validating your progress to keep you going so you can reach your goals.

Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.

Have your life transitions brought up more questions about your life? Are you experiencing symptoms that are hard to understand or put into a typical psychological category? My clients typically are looking for holistic, nontraditional approaches to therapy to help them find their own answers. If you have experienced trauma of any kind, this is a safe place to explore how your own innate resources can help you cope and heal. To learn more, go to my website and apply using my online application: www.amypico.com

Navigating OCD, anxiety, relationships, and life transitions can be emotionally and physically draining. There is little more frustrating than thinking and behaving in the same ways despite knowing they contribute to these issues and other debilitating symptoms. Therapy is a place to safely explore the thoughts, behaviors, and relationships that are interfering with living a more fulfilling and rewarding life. I am a trained OCD specialist and an active member of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF). I have extensive experience working with college undergrad and graduate students from my time as a counselor at the University of Colorado, Boulder and at Bryant University. Working directly on a college campus has provided me with a unique understanding of the intersection between academics and mental health, as well as how to navigate many campus systems best. Currently, in my private practice, I work with college students from the many different colleges in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Colorado. The majority of clients that I work with are navigating Anxiety or OCD and Related Disorders. My clinical approach to therapy is grounded in ERP, ACT, and CBT. I believe therapy is built around compassion, respect, and trust. I look forward to connecting with you and exploring how we can collaboratively achieve your treatment goals. Send me an email, give me a call, or visit my website (www.smithlicsw.com) to set up an appointment. If you are struggling and are tired of trying to handle things alone, please do not hesitate to get in touch. * I provide telehealth services to clients in Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Illinois, Vermont, and Colorado.*

** Telehealth and In-Person appointments.** We all long for our experiences, feelings, and needs to be seen, recognized, and honored. I bring to our work deep respect for your concerns and suffering. I place the therapeutic relationship at the heart of our work together which I approach with curiosity and empathy. I am most interested in what your unique experience is, and I aim to listen deeply on our road toward understanding. A safe-enough space will help us to transform your patterns of experience that interfere with your ability to be compassionate with yourself, to build meaningful relationships, and to work and play creatively, in other words, to live a fulfilling life. I am humbled by the complexity of human existence and feel honored to work with individuals from different racial and cultural backgrounds, sexual and gender identities, as well as spiritual and religious affiliations. In addition to my private practice, I am an Instructor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School (part-time) and supervise psychology interns and psychiatrist fellows. I served as the co-chair of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology Graduate Student Committee helping young clinicians explore and develop their professional identities.

You're more than just a client—and therapy is more than a place to vent. It’s a space for healing, growth, and transformation. I offer a warm, supportive, and empowering environment where you can safely explore who you are and where you're going. I’m a faith-affirming and culturally responsive therapist with over ten years of experience working with adults, teens, and families. My approach integrates evidence-based therapies like CBT, ACT, and Solution-Focused Therapy with attention to spiritual well-being, generational healing, and identity development. Whether you're facing anxiety, depression, trauma, or feeling stuck in patterns that no longer serve you, I’m here to help you move from surviving to thriving. Together, we’ll work toward peace, clarity, and lasting change.

When it comes to supporting you and providing you, your care must be adaptable, empathetic, individualized. Whether you are seeking dramatic change, collaboration on a major life decision, or just in need of someone to discuss the trials and tribulations of life, it is important that therapy reflects your uniqueness through its uniqueness. I have experience across a diverse array of clients with a strong belief that care should promote equity, unconditional positive regard, and identity affirming care. I have experience working with clients seeking help for depression, anxiety, trauma, OCD, gender affirming care, pro LGBTQIA+ care, and general life stressors in young adults and adults ages 18-35. I am also a firm believer in the power of remote therapy, if you are going to be vulnerable you should at least be able to choose where you are vulnerable. What should a new client know about working with you? I believe that care should be individualized and adaptive. Open communication is crucial as it helps me adapt to what your needs are and makes for better collaboration on care. I am a firm believer that therapy must also address what is happening in society, and strongly believe in recognizing how systemic issues may influence life’s struggles. My therapy is inclusive and an LGTBTQIA+ safe space. What is your typical process for working with clients? Therapy is a dialogue, I will not just be a bystander who listens, I ask you to challenge your negative beliefs and reflect on statements that you may not even realize you are saying. We will work together to understand how your thoughts, feelings, and past affect each other and influence your behaviors and beliefs. Typically I achieve this through motivational interviewing, psychodynamic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, psycho education, and a systems focused outlook.

Modern Soul Therapy, Modern therapy for the Modern Soul. We are a holistic mental health and well-being private practice, for humans 18+. We provide individual and couples counseling. We specialize in eclectic, creative, empathic care, that is tailored to meet your needs. Currently we have immediate openings with our BIPOC therapist, Amira Walton. As well as our queer identifying therapist, Jordan White. Humans of every shape color and kind are ALWAYS welcome in the MoSo community.* Join us to explore your inner world and learn how you can thrive!

Little Bird Psychotherapy is a therapeutic space for clients to explore and understand themselves with a sense of compassion and curiosity. Rooted in a commitment to collaborative care free of judgement and shame, Little Bird welcomes those with a desire to discover and rediscover who they are in order to embody their most authentic and joyful selves. We are who we have always been; Little Bird can help you see who that is. I enjoy working with adults of all ages seeking support with eating disorders/body image, gender/sexuality exploration, unique stressors of graduate school, and family of origin issues. Abolition is the primary value that guides both my own life and practice. In sessions, this involves a deep understanding and compassion for all persons and their parts and a commitment to maintaining space free of pathologization and hierarchical relationships between therapist and client. I am deeply invested in anti-carceral approaches to healing. For clients wanting to engage in a collaborative relationship to foster healing, find joy in their authentic selves, and practice more self compassion, this might be your nest.

I earned a Master of Science in Nursing degree specializing in Psychiatry from The University of Texas at Arlington. I am proud to say I am a Board-Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. I am a true believer that not one of my fellow humans is immune to stress, anxiety, and feelings of sadness at some point in their life. We all find ourselves feeling vulnerable at times. It is completely normal to question why we feel the emotions that we do, why we seem to fall apart at times, and better yet, how we can get through it all in one beautiful piece. I think the first step to meaningful recovery from anxiety, depression, complex mental illness, and/or substance use is to reach out and ask for help. It is a difficult, but very brave action. I am not one to judge, look down on, question your past experiences, or current situation. I am very good at rationally breaking down a situation and I can offer practical advice and medication suggestions depending on your goal in mind. Schedule your appointment with me by simply clicking on the "Visit Website" link below!

My practice is dedicated to supporting adolescents, women, and families who are navigating emotional challenges, behavioral concerns, and relationship stress. I provide a supportive and collaborative space where clients can explore what they are experiencing while developing practical tools to manage difficult emotions, improve communication, and create healthier patterns in their lives and relationships. My goal is to help clients feel understood, empowered, and better equipped to handle the challenges they face both individually and as a family.

LifeStance Health offers an array of services, including therapy, medication management, and psychological testing. We have providers from all disciplines and walks of life, offering a variety of different experiences. Whatever you are looking for, we likely have someone who can meet your needs! We have locations throughout the state, and offer telehealth services, so there is no interruption in services whether you are at home or staying on campus.

Relational trauma can make you feel like you’re not good enough and somehow too much at the same time. You might be hyper aware of others' needs which leaves you feeling emotionally exhausted. You over-function in relationships and struggle with conflict and boundaries due to fear of rejection. No matter what you do, it feels like you’re a supporting character in the cast of your own life. You may have developed these parts of yourself in order to feel safe, but what would life look like if you could shed old scripts and live authentically with emotional balance and self-trust? Let’s explore how trauma and loss may influence the way you interact with the world around you. I prefer a more holistic approach to therapy and don’t believe that we can always think our way out of something. I’m interested in helping you develop healthy relationships with others, but more importantly your relationship with yourself.

Are you having trouble with falling and staying asleep? Are you feeling anxious and overwhelmed? I specialize in working with people who are having trouble sleeping, who are experiencing anxiety, and who are going through reproductive transitions or who are experiencing distress related to their reproductive health (e.g., PMDD, pregnancy, postpartum, infertility). In my work, I aim to cultivate a safe space to hold and honor your emotions, while also providing you with new coping tools to help you process your emotions, get some distance from your thoughts, and help you engage with your life. To do this, I use a blend of evidence-based psychotherapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and Interpersonal Psychotherapy.

I enjoy working with individuals who would like to learn better tools and skills to manage internal experiences (thoughts, emotions, etc) so they can create a life that is uniquely meaningful and vibrant. Our minds are useful tools but they can also leave us feeling trapped. In our work together, you'll practice how to get "un-stuck" from your mind and have more control over your behaviors.