Meet Our Therapist
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My approach to therapy is not a ‘curative’ one, meaning that I do not see clients as individuals who need to be fixed. As a trauma-informed and EMDR-trained therapist, I employ therapy through an integrative and relational-cultural lens, providing a contained, affirmative, and compassionate space where clients can feel safe and empowered to explore their journey towards healing, growth, and acceptance. I believe that healing can look differently for everyone, therefore, I strive to encourage and welcome such exploration in the therapeutic space while emphasizing strengths, wellness, and prevention. As a minoritized individual, I understand the importance of honoring and respecting my clients’ identities and lived experiences from a non-pathologizing perspective. I specialize in working with complex trauma survivors and treating conditions such as PTSD, grief, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, borderline personality disorder, attachment, dissociation, identity exploration, and life transitions. I currently work with individuals ages 3 and up, and I can provide clinical services in English and Spanish. During my leisure time, you'll find me reading, spending time with family, as well as drinking coffee! I love mindful walks and podcasts.
Prior the Mayor’s Office, Nancy was in the private sector developing partnerships, products and programs at diverse social enterprise startups, with a unifying theme of increasing economic security and mobility for lower-income households. She is an Ann Arbor, Michigan native and has her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her M.B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley Haas. Since November 2023, she has also began her parenting journey as new mom to a sweet baby girl.
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Licensed Professional Counselor | Relational/Person-Centered
Temyia Holcomb is a licensed professional counselor who supports individuals from a wide range of identities and experiences in a way that honors individuality and each person’s unique experience and worldview.
Temyia has worked community-mental health, supporting youth, adolescents and adults work through complex emotional and relational challenges with an emphasis on trauma experiences, LGBTQIA+ issues, BIPOC issues, and identity development all with a sex-positive and Trauma Informed viewpoint.
For two years she has been with the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago’s Sexual Violence Support Services program. Temyia is a Licensed Professional Counselor with an M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Temyia also has years of experience working with the Ronald McDonald House Charities providing non-therapeutic services for families as they navigate children’s health issues.
Temyia helps clients achieve their goals to live a life that feels grounded, empowered and self-aware through managing struggles stemming from issues such as anxiety, depression, and trauma by exploring identity, creating coping skills and fostering resilience.
Temyia believes that every individual is the expert in their own lived experience. She views her role as a counselor is to help guide those she works with through meaningful change in a way that is collaborative, adaptive and open to understanding the impact of all areas of life on mental wellness.
Licensed Professional Counselor, Basic EMDR Trained
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I am a registered art therapist working with youth and adult survivors of sexual violence. My practice is trauma-informed and grounded in creative and expressive approaches, using art as a tool for healing, safety, and self-connection. I work from a holistic lens and have a particular interest in supporting queer survivors and survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
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Primary Focus Areas: Relational Concerns; Religious Trauma; Co-Occurring Substance Use & Trauma; Sex-Worker-Affirming Care
Mikayla partners with clients to better understand themselves, make sense of past experiences, and build more fulfilling, connected lives. She approaches therapy as a shared process - one grounded in authenticity, compassion, curiosity, and a belief that healing happens in relationship.
Mikayla is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who earned her degree in Clinical Social Work from Saint Louis University and has been practicing as a therapist since 2017. Much of her work has centered on supporting individuals impacted by relational violence, trauma, and complex emotional and interpersonal experiences. She brings a deep respect for the ways people adapt, survive, and grow - even in the aftermath of painful or confusing relationships.
She helps clients navigate relational concerns, religious trauma, substance use, and co-occurring mental health challenges. Mikayla supports people in strengthening boundaries, rebuilding self-trust, exploring emotions, and understanding how past relationships and experiences continue to shape daily thoughts, behaviors, and connections. Her work is affirming and inclusive of the many layered identities clients bring into the therapy space.
Her counseling style is collaborative, relational, and gently humorous when appropriate. She integrates different approaches such as DBT, Parts work, Attachment work, and EMDR, tailoring sessions to each client’s goals, pace, values, and lived experience.
Mikayla believes meaningful change begins when people feel truly seen, respected, and supported - and that healing grows through consistent, authentic, and empowering therapeutic relationships.
Education: Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Saint Louis University; EMDR Certified; EFT Trained.
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Bilingual Licensed Clinical Social Worker that specializes in first-generation clients. I focus on navigating cultural identity, family dynamics, and life transitions. Experienced in addressing anxiety, depression, burnout, perfectionism, and stress. I support clients in strengthening self-identity and breaking intergenerational patterns while honoring their cultural values.
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Licensed Professional Counselor | Bilingual Trauma Therapy
Julissa Herrera is a bilingual (English/Spanish) licensed professional counselor who supports individuals navigating trauma, identity exploration, and cultural stress.
Julissa brings experience from community-based and clinical settings, including providing supportive services for Veterans as well as survivors of sexual and domestic violence. She earned her master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, with a concentration in Trauma and Crisis Intervention. Her work is grounded in understanding how trauma, culture, and systemic barriers shape emotional wellbeing and overall life stability. As a first-generation Mexican American, Julissa is passionate about working with the Latin/Hispanic community and honors the role that culture plays in the healing process.
Julissa helps clients address trauma responses, emotional dysregulation, and identity-related stressors. She supports clients in developing coping skills, navigating interpersonal and relational challenges, and rebuilding a sense of safety and self-trust.
Her counseling approach is collaborative, human-centered, and trauma-informed. Julissa blends Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), somatic-based interventions, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to meet each client’s unique therapeutic needs. Sessions emphasize both insight and skill-building, supporting clients in reconnecting with their true selves, core values, and inner resilience on their paths to healing.
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My belief is the foundation of therapy is a safe, trusting, and authentic therapeutic relationship. I walk alongside my clients throughout the process of self-exploration and healing. Although therapy can be hard, scary, and extremely messy, my hope is that we can muddle through it together!
I have experience working with adults who are struggling with depression, anxiety, trauma, posttraumatic stress reactions/disorder, personality disorders, suicidality, self-harming behaviors, dissociation, substance use disorders, relationship conflicts, and concerns with sex and intimacy.
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW (Illinois Licensed Clinical Social Worker) 149.016141) and earned my Master’s in Social Work Degree from Loyola University Chicago with a specialization in Mental Health.
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Maria Teolis is a licensed social worker with over 20 years of experience supporting vulnerable populations. Throughout her career, Maria has cultivated a multi-faceted approach to social work spanning domestic violence, community mental health, family reunification, and sexual violence. Maria specializes in crisis intervention trauma-informed care, and advocacy. This eclectic background allows her to view through a holistic lens. She endeavors to provide a safe space where clients feel empowered to rewrite their narratives.
Areas of Experience/Interests
*Supporting individuals through immediate crises, such as trauma, abuse, or acute mental health episodes.
*Treating specific conditions such as severe mental illnesses like Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar disorder, Schizophrenia.
*Evaluating, diagnosing, and creating treatment plans for mental health conditions.
*Individual, family, and group therapy sessions to address emotional and behavioral issues.
*Connecting clients with community resources to improve overall well-being.
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As a therapist, I’m here to help individuals navigate life’s toughest challenges and find their path to healing. Using a trauma-informed approach, I create a safe, supportive space where clients can explore their emotions, build confidence, and move forward with greater clarity and self-understanding. While I specialize in supporting survivors of trauma, my work is rooted in empowering people to heal, grow, and thrive no matter where they’re starting from.
I also recognize how deeply early life experiences can shape the way we see ourselves and relate to others. Many clients carry the impact of adverse childhood experiences, such as instability, emotional neglect, or painful family dynamics, that continue to influence their relationships, stress responses, and sense of self. Together, we gently explore these patterns with curiosity and compassion, helping clients understand how the past may be showing up in the present. My goal is not to fix anyone, but to support people in reconnecting with their strengths. I believe healing happens when people feel truly seen, safe, and supported, and I’m committed to walk alongside clients as they move closer to healing.
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I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a background working with children, families, and adults impacted by childhood, relational, and systemic trauma. I hope to offer you a safe holding space to unpack (in no particular order) the heavy and difficult things that burden you, and to help you manage the tension between the good and the hard in the life you have been given.
I approach therapy from a place of curiosity and a focus on making past–present connections. I use an attachment- and systems-based lens to help people better understand themselves within the many systems they live in.
Qualifications
License: LCSW – Licensed Clinical Social Worker (Illinois)
Education: A.M, University of Chicago
Years in Practice: 9
Specialties
Anxiety
Depression
Family Conflict
Relationship Issues
Complex Trauma
Grief and Loss
Therapy Approaches
Attachment-Based Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy
Trauma-Focused
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Client Focus
Types of Therapy: Individual
Ages Served: Children, Adolescents, Adults, Seniors
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Rachel Hines is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She has been in the field for 18 years with a focus on providing relational trauma-informed therapy for children, adolescents, adults and families with a variety of different needs and supports.
Rachel supports clients explore the connection between past experiences and current day choices/behaviors. Seeking counseling can offer a supportive, non-judgmental space that allows us to explore the connection between our past and our present. This in turn can allow us to change patterns in our lives that aren’t benefiting us and strengthen existing relationships and/or engage in newer healthier ones.
Rachel has worked with a variety of clients of different ages, ethnicities, cultures and orientations. In the course of her work she’s collaborated with clients in addressing trauma, anxiety, anger, grief/loss, parenting, healthy relationships, relationship/marital conflict, behavioral issues, family conflict, suicidality, and sexual abuse/assault. Rachel’s approach to counseling is a collaborative process that is client centered, empowering and supportive.
LCSW (Illinois Licensed Clinical Social Worker) 149.014430
Specialties: Trauma and PTSD, Sexual Violence, Children, Adolescents, Adults and Families. Types of Therapy: Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
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Whether you are struggling with current concerns, realize the need to address old wounds, or are feeling lost, it is my belief that healing and growth can occur in the safe space provided by a compassionate and caring therapist. As a trauma-informed relational therapist, I offer caring, unconditional support in a relaxed environment for clients experiencing symptoms of trauma, PTSD, depression, suicidality, self-harming behaviors, dissociation, attachment, anxiety, life transitions, addictions, and trust and relationship concerns.
Working collaboratively with you to identify your goals, I offer a safe space and gentle manner in exploring your world and working through painful memories or obstacles that have impeded your growth. I utilize a strengths-based, client-centered approach and integrate a variety of therapeutic techniques and methods to assist you in reaching your full potential. These techniques and methods include Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Expressive Therapies, and Guided Imagery.
I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the State of Illinois (180.009646) and a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (Certificate #30869), and I have been providing counseling services to survivors of sexual violence and their non-offending significant others since 2012. I am currently the Clinical Program Manager at the suburban sites of the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago Sexual Violence Support Services, providing both direct counseling services to individuals, families, and groups while supervising clinical staff.
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I value the importance of establishing a secure therapeutic relationship with all of my clients. I aim to create a space where all parts of you feel welcomed. I believe in engaging individuals in a collaborative process that is client-centered, relational, and strength-based. Some of the therapeutic techniques I use are mindfulness, art therapy, parts work such as Internal Family Systems informed and ego state therapy, anti-oppressive, psychodynamic, somatic interventions, expressive arts, trauma-informed, feminist, Brainspotting, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR).
I am a first-generation, Latina, daughter of immigrants and practice from a decolonized approach where we explore the impact of systemic oppression. As a bilingual and bicultural therapist, I also offer therapeutic services in Spanish and English. My areas of interest include trauma, working with survivors of sexual violence, working with survivors of human trafficking, attachment issues, anxiety, depression, complex trauma, dissociation, neglect, first generation, immigration, Latine/Latinx community and religious trauma.
I believe it is an honor and a privilege to walk alongside your healing journey.
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Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, Board-Certified Registered Art Therapist
Tsz Yan (Winnie) Wong is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and Board-Certified Registered Art Therapist who works with children, adolescents, and adults navigating relational trauma, identity-related stressors, and the impact of collective and systemic trauma. She supports clients in understanding how past experiences shape present-day patterns, building connections within themselves and others, and developing greater capacity and clarity for meaningful change.
Winnie brings clinical knowledge and experiences across community-based, hospital, school, and corporate settings in the United States and internationally. She holds a master’s degree in Art Therapy and Counseling from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is trained in EMDR. In addition to her clinical work, Winnie provides clinical supervision and has lectured and presented nationally.
Her collaborative counseling approach is trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and anti-oppressive, grounded in feminist and relational-cultural frameworks. Winnie integrates talk therapy, creative arts therapy, somatic awareness, EMDR, and relational practices to tailor treatment to each client’s unique needs, honoring healing within broader relational, cultural and systemic contexts.
Winnie offers services in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. Her style balances warmth with thoughtful challenge, using creative and embodied approaches to support growth. . She believes healing happens when people feel seen, respected, and empowered to make meaningful change.