Therapists for college students near University of Chicago

Most clients are already aware of what they need or where they want to go. My role is to help you identify what is getting in the way of living out your values each day, and to help you gradually remove those barriers. If you aren't sure what you hope to get out of therapy but just want to feel better, we'll work together on a plan towards increased wellness that fits for you. I consider myself a generalist but I have specific training in the treatment of depression, anxiety, PTSD, insomnia, substance use, grief, and personality disorders. My practice involves cognitive behavioral, interpersonal, and mindfulness-based interventions. I do my best to tailer the interventions I use to the specific needs of each client. It takes courage to ask for help, whether you're experiencing mental health issues for the first time or whether you have struggled for years. I hope to make your experience as welcoming and comfortable as possible. The quality of the relationship between the therapist and client is, after all, one of the most important determinants of therapy success.

I have a low-pressure, warm approach focused on creating an environment of safety and encouragement. I enjoy helping individuals with a variety of concerns including life transitions, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, health issues, substance use concerns, and healing from trauma. My practice is LGBTQ affirming and I am experienced working with Trans and gender-nonconforming individuals. I work with adults of all ages, genders, and racial/ethnic backgrounds and have extensive experience with college students and emerging adults.

Ali King, LCPC, earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. She went on to work as a behavioral therapist for children with Autism at the Minnesota Autism Center before moving to Chicago and earning her master’s degree in Community Counseling from DePaul University. After graduate school, Ali worked as a therapist at Insight Behavioral Health Center’s residential facility for people struggling with eating disorders, as well as mood disorders. She led groups and supported people with everyday living tasks, as well as general skills coaching and meal management. Ali recently stepped down as the Director of the Young Adult PHP and IOP programs at Compass Health Center where she worked for 8 years in many different roles helping to build the Young Adult program and support the growth of the organization. While at Compass, Ali provided supervision and mentorship to newer clinicians and helped establish the group curriculum they currently use, as well as instituting effective policies and protocols. While at Compass, she received the award for Continuous Improvement, which highlights her drive and dedication to learning and growth. For over a decade, she has been providing person-centered, solution-focused, skills-based care. Her direct though nurturing, fun, and empathetic approach, is well received and has shown tangible results for her clients. With consistent encouragement and support, clients feel safe to explore their values and to learn successful coping strategies to improve their lives. While Ali has a passion for working with young adults through the tough transitions they face, she also appreciates working with adolescents and adults. She is well-versed in helping people manage struggles with self-esteem, relationships, low motivation, and simply feeling “stuck”. Ali is adept at working with clients with anxiety disorders, mood disorders, adjustment disorders, personality disorders, psychosis and substance use struggles. She has extensive experience working with DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), and often incorporates these modalities into her eclectic therapeutic approach. Ali is currently accepting new clients virtually and at the downtown Chicago location.

College can feel overwhelming — between classes, internships, friendships, and trying to figure out who you are and where you’re headed. Many students I work with describe feeling anxious, burnt out, or stuck in old patterns that don’t change no matter how hard they try. Others notice that underneath the stress is a sense of loneliness or pressure to have it all together. I work best with students who are curious about going deeper — not just learning coping strategies, but really understanding themselves and healing the patterns that get in the way of feeling connected and confident. If you’ve tried surface-level tools and still feel like something’s missing, this may be a good fit. Together, we’ll create a space that feels supportive, creative, and real — so you can grow in ways that last well beyond college.

I am a Registered Dietitian working to help people improve their relationship with food. I work with people with eating disorders, disordered eating, or chronic dieters lookin to ditch the diet for good. In our work together, I will utilize principles from Intuitive Eating and Health At Every Size to help you learn how to let go of food rules and fuel yourself in a way that works for you. I believe all foods fit. I will never tell you that you need to eliminate any foods! I also work with recreational athletes to help them determine fueling plans to perform their best and also feel their best outside of sport. I also use Intuitive Eating and HAES principles in this work as well. I believe fueling for sport can be done while eating intuitively and does not need to have rigid rules. Whether you are struggling with an eating disorder, looking to stop dieting and let go of food rules, or looking to dial in your nutrition to improve your sport, I would love to work with you on your journey!

I’m Zitong ZHENG (Denice). I’m a bilingual (English and Chinese) in-training therapist currently providing services in the Chicago area. For now, I'm only accepting refugee patient at Mount Sinai Hospital. We provide free service for both long-term psychotherapy sessions and medication management. Client does not need to have a medical insurance but have to meet refugee status criteria. Therapy may be new for you, may be not. But no matter anytime you choose come to a session, give your own credit for that braveness! Feeling of sad, nervous, stressful, lonely, confuse, anxious, fear, mad, helpless, hopeless, pain, shame, guilty, and fatigue etc.....these feelings are definitely difficult to cope with and get through in life. Hope therapy can be a safe space for you to talk and provide you insight to understand then express your feeling. In the past practice, I worked in different settings such as hospital and private practice, I’ve been working with client who are from young adulthood to late adulthood with various diagnoses/race/sexuality/gender identity/SES status. I'm open to listen your story and thoughts, to do some exploration with you, then find consistent strategies together that can be useful for you and be kept for the rest of your life. My main approaches are person-centered therapy, psychodynamic, existential, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and narrative therapy. I believe the interpersonal process in therapy sessions is really important for therapeutic effectiveness which can bring you new experiences and insights. I would like to openly discuss about what kinds of methods are exactly working for you. Therapy is not only a treatment which is provided by therapist, also a cooperation between both of us. I would also emphasize the equality and genuineness among therapy. I believe every people is expert for their own life, sometimes we will neglect our own potential. I would also appreciate and respect all people's belief, attitude, and identity. I hold non-judgement attitude for client. There's no right and wrong in life. As a past international student, I’m able to validate the feelings of: challenge, hardness, loneliness, stress, and helplessness that every client is going through. I hope I can provide a safe space for you to talk, and offer you support as best as I can. I know life has too many unspoken moments, which does not only happen during language translation. I hope to create a place for you when you are in need. Every feeling is important, you are important.

Many of the clients I work best with are thoughtful, curious individuals who are seeking a deeper understanding of themselves. They may be struggling with relationships, feeling stuck in patterns they don’t quite understand, or carrying emotions that feel overwhelming or confusing. Often, they’ve tried to “figure things out” on their own but are ready for something more meaningful and supportive. What they tend to have in common is a desire to be truly seen and heard—not just to fix a problem, but to grow through it. My approach is warm, collaborative, and grounded in the belief that change happens in relationship—with a therapist who is present, attuned, and deeply respectful of your experience. I work well with people who are open to exploring the layers beneath their struggles, even if they don’t have all the words for it yet. If you're looking for a space where you can be yourself without judgment, and where your story will be met with care and curiosity, you might feel at home here.

Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.

At Chicago Therapy Group, we are committed to ethical conduct that creates a safe and trusted environment for you to explore your challenges and achieve personal growth. I am a bilingual (English/Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian) therapist. I offer culturally informed therapy and acknowledge individual, intergenerational, historical, racial, and social trauma. These traumas are often at the root of modern human issues. As someone who grew up in unstable socio-political circumstances and as an immigrant, I have reinvented myself many times, and I can help you do the same. I am a fierce fighter for social justice and a supporter of oppressed people.

JPA offers fee-for-service outpatient psychotherapy at its Lincoln Park office for people navigating challenges in all stages and walks of life. A trusting relationship is the foundation of the therapy we provide our clients daily. At New Light, therapists meet with clients in a comfortable, confidential setting. Clients safely explore what's on their minds, sharing their stories at their pace. Our therapists help people heal past hurts, gain clarity, improve communication skills, better handle stress, develop problem-solving techniques, and overcome change and loss. We help people conceptualize, create, and sustain the lives they want to live. Our non-judgmental stance respects our client's values, beliefs, and right to self-determination. We help people gain insight and maintain their goals. New Light gives people the support and tools they need to thrive.

Grey Area Therapy is a small practice located in the Wicker Park/Bucktown Neighborhood. Our team specializes in working with young adults and we provide support to folks working with anxiety, depression, life transitions, academic and vocational stress, trauma, eating disorders, perfectionistic tendencies, supporting folks identifying as LGBTQ, and folks with relationship issues. We are in network with most commercial insurance providers (BCBS PPO and Blue Choice, Aetna, Cigna, and United). We have in person and virtual openings and we offer weekday daytime, evening, and weekend availability.

Mr. Husbands received training in CBT working with individuals experiencing depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD as well as other issues such as role adjustment and career changes. Mr. Husbands specializes in the use of CBT and enjoys working with clients to help find how their thoughts, feelings and behaviors are connected. He especially values working with depression, anxiety disorders and trauma in adult populations. Mr. Husbands is a firm believer in the expertise that clients bring into therapy about from their own lives and he enjoys collaborating with clients to find new ways of thinking and behaving in order to achieve their goals as well as create meaningful and lasting change. He is committed to valuing and honoring the diverse experiences and identities of all clients and aims to create a safe and welcoming environment for all in his practice.

Alexandra obtained her Masters of Art Therapy and Counseling from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Throughout her career, Alexandra has worked with clients in all stages of life from childhood to older adulthood. She has worked in continuing care communities as well as residential and private practice settings. During her time working in residential level-of-care, she led groups based in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (CBT). She is particularly passionate about working with grief & loss, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. Alexandra’s therapeutic style is integrative through the use of a person-centered lens that can incorporate DBT, CBT, and ACT modalities. She approaches sessions with clients through collaboration to develop interventions that meet the needs and interests of each individual while highlighting each client’s strengths. Alexandra uses ACT through an existential perspective, supporting client’s actions and decisions in connection with each individual’s values to create meaningful experiences throughout life. In the therapeutic relationship, she utilizes a relational approach while also finding moments to incorporate humor. One of her favorite parts of being a mental health professional is to witness growth in clients and celebrating their successes. Throughout her career Alexandra has specialized in working with clients experiencing anxiety and depression through the use of interventions such as Exposure Response Prevention (ERP), Behavioral Activations (BA), developing coping skills, and managing critical thoughts. She assists clients navigate perfectionism and build self-esteem while addressing concerns in relationships to build communication and boundary-setting. Alexandra’s path to becoming a therapist began with explorations in the benefits of artmaking in mental health through art therapy. She has developed extensive knowledge of art materials and methods such as painting, fiber arts, and ceramics. Alexandra can use art therapy with clients as a form of communication, self-expression, or assist in emotional regulation. She previously developed an art therapy curriculum when working in a residential setting to assist clients in continuing to build skills as well as creating further opportunities for creative expression.

I earned my master’s degree in social work, with a concentration in mental health, from the Jane Addams School of Social Work at UIC in 2017. Since then, I have worked in multiple settings, including residential treatment, schools, and traditional clinical placements. I have a passion for doing this work and absolutely love my job. I have worked primarily with adolescents and families from diverse backgrounds, and I am excited to work with clients from all walks of life, whether they are on specific journeys of growth and healing, or just trying to figure some things out. I believe that everyone already has within them the inner strength and talents they need to create the life they want. Sometimes, we just need some help recognizing or tapping into our gifts. I’m a firm believer in the strengths-based approach, along with cognitive behavioral and reality therapy, and work from a combination of these perspectives. This means that in essence, I believe that learning the how and why behind the choices we have made in the past, is the most important part of learning how to choose wisely in the future. My goal is to create a safe place where we can talk openly about those choices without judgment, process the consequences both good and bad, and progress towards making different choices leading to different outcomes.

I am forever amazed by the natural strengths and resiliencies that individual possess. And even with this life is hard. All that we experience and navigate can be overwhelming and can leave us with a jumbled mess of emotions, hurts, and fears that are that can feel daunting and sometimes even debilitating. But you don't need to go through this alone. Together we can begin to better understand your patterns of behavior, thought processes and coping mechanisms, in order to discover and change those that are no longer serving you. We will compassionately face what you have and are experiencing and how those shape you while also moving towards more fullness in yourself and your relationships. I enjoy working with both individuals and couples and take a person-centered, trauma informed approach where holistic care for the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual parts of self are all important. I strive to tailor my approach to meet the client’s needs where they are at and to draw upon the clients’ natural strengths and resiliencies. I have experience working with anxiety, depression, trauma, ADHD and executive functioning, relationship challenges and spirituality challenges. Additional I spent fair amount of life abroad both as a child and adult and am intimately acquainted with the challenges of transitions, including the losses and grief, as well as struggles with belonging and cultural identity, that can accompany those transitions. I believe this experience positions me to understand and support others with similar experiences and challenges. If you have further questions feel free to email me, or set up a consultation call on our practice website!

We love working with college students. Our team brings a wealth of experience working in college counseling centers, helping undergrads and grad students navigate the unique demands of balancing school and life. We provide individual, couple, and family therapy to students of all ages and in all phases of life, and we offer assessment/testing to identify issues such as ADHD or learning challenges, so that students can show up with personalized strategies and skills to best support their learning. Beyond challenges that can emerge academically, we know that students struggle with trauma, anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns, and they often need help managing relationships, making big decisions, or dealing with pressures or demands in their families. We are here to help.