Black woman relaxing with coffee, representing the sense of calm and connection supported through online therapy in Chicago and Illinois
Black woman relaxing with coffee, representing the sense of calm and connection supported through online therapy in Chicago and Illinois

ONLINE THERAPY IN CHICAGO & ACROSS ILLINOIS

Talk to Someone Who Actually Gets It.

Because you don't have to be the “strong one” here.

Warm, culturally affirming therapy for adults, teens, and couples. Trauma-informed care for anxiety, burnout, postpartum, identity, and the relationships that ask a lot of you.

In-network with BCBS PPO Illinois, Blue Choice PPO & Aetna PPO. We verify your benefits before your first session so you have a clearer understanding of your expected costs.

MAYBE YOU’RE HERE BECAUSE…

You’ve been holding a lot together… and something has to give.

You’re lying in bed, wide awake… replaying conversations from hours ago, wondering if you said the wrong thing

You’re sitting in your car for a few extra minutes… because you need five minutes where no one needs anything from you.

You’re looking at your inbox or today’s to-do list… already feeling ten steps behind before your feet even touch the floor.

You’re looking around at everyone else… wondering how they seem to have life figured out while you feel stuck, uncertain, or like you’re falling behind.

You’re tired of masking parts of yourself… trying to fit expectations that were never made for you, or wondering where you get to be fully yourself.

You’re lying next to someone you love… wondering how you can feel so close to someone and so disconnected at the same time.

Or maybe you’re simply tired of saying “I’m fine” when you know something deeply doesn't feel right.

Maybe you’re the one people rely on. The one who figures it out. The one who keeps going, even when you’re running on empty.

Or maybe no one really knows how much you’re carrying because, from the outside, you seem fine.

You might look capable, successful, or like you have it all together. But inside, you’re overthinking everything, feeling disconnected from yourself or the people you love, or quietly wondering why life feels so much harder than it seems like it should.

Maybe you keep telling yourself you’ll feel better…

  • When work slows down.

  • When the kids need less.

  • When the relationship gets better.

  • When you figure out what comes next.

  • When you finally catch up.

But somehow, there’s always something else.

Hands holding a warm coffee mug at home, representing a moment of calm and online therapy support in Chicago and Illinois

Nothing is wrong with you

Let’s be real… you've been carrying a lot for a long time. So, of course it feels like this.

Maybe you’ve been thinking about therapy for weeks or months.

Maybe you’ve opened websites like this before and closed them because you told yourself, “I can probably handle this.” You might not even know exactly what you need right now, but you know something has to give.

And if you’re here, you’re in the right place.

You don’t have to wait until you are completely broken to reach for support. You don’t have to figure it out on your own anymore.

That's exactly why we created Mindful Healing Counseling. Our psychologist-led team provides compassionate, evidence-based virtual therapy and telehealth care for adults, teens, women, and couples throughout Chicago and Illinois.

Imagine a different way of moving through the world:

  • Waking up without a wave of dread or a racing mind.

  • Your shoulders naturally dropping because your body finally feels safe enough to unbrace.

  • Setting a firm boundary without carrying the lingering guilt.

  • Stepping out of constant mental overload and having a dedicated space that is just for you.

  • Dropping the exhausting pressure to perform, overachieve, or mask who you are just to be accepted.

  • Trusting your choices and deeply knowing you are enough, exactly as you are.

  • Being fully present with the people you love instead of constantly anticipating what's next.

You don’t have to keep doing this on your own.

Takes less than 2 minutes • No perfect words required

Support for What You’re Carrying

Because sometimes it isn’t just one thing.

Our Illinois therapists support adults, teens, young adults, couples, and families navigating anxiety, overthinking, trauma, burnout, ADHD, pregnancy and postpartum concerns, difficult relationships, identity, and major life transitions.

Sometimes it’s one of these things.

Sometimes it’s five of them happening at once.

We can start wherever you are.

We match you. You never have to guess.

Your to do list is already a mile long, so we made this part simple.


01

SHARE YOUR STORY

Click the match button and fill out our quick form. No perfect words required. Just let us know a little about what you’re looking for.

02

GET MATCHED

We personally match you with a therapist whose experience, personality, and approach fit your goals and needs.

03

BEGIN FROM

Meet securely with your therapist online from a private, comfortable space anywhere in Illinois. You don’t need to know exactly what to say. You just need to show up.

We can start there.

Therapy That Sees the Whole You

Diverse group of adults, including LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals, sharing a relaxed moment together, representing inclusive, culturally affirming therapy in Chicago and Illinois

You are more than a list of symptoms and your story matters.

Your culture, identity, relationships, family, community, experiences, and the world you move through can all shape your mental health.

Our therapists provide culturally responsive, identity-affirming care for:

  • Women

  • Moms and parents

  • Black women

  • BIPOC communities

  • First-generation adults and professionals

  • LGBTQIA+, transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse clients

  • ADHD, autistic, AuDHD, and neurodivergent clients

  • College students and young adults

  • Teens

  • Couples and families

You shouldn’t have to spend your therapy hour explaining why your culture matters, defending your identity, or teaching your therapist the basics of your lived experience.

You get to bring your whole self here, and be welcomed and celebrated, exactly as you are.

Black woman laughing while using a laptop at home, representing online therapy for Black women in Chicago and Illinois

Why Clients Choose Mindful Healing Counseling

We do therapy differently.

Because therapy should never feel like another place where you have to perform.

You won't just be heard. You'll be understood. And you'll leave sessions with a clear, supported way forward.

Our therapists don't simply nod and ask, "How does that make you feel?" We actively help you understand why you're stuck, teach practical tools that fit your real life, gently challenge old patterns, and celebrate every single step forward.

Clients often tell us our specialized approach to online therapy feels entirely different because they leave each session feeling lighter, clearer, and more hopeful than when they arrived.

Therapy That Actually Feels Different

A space where you can finally stop surviving and start feeling like yourself again.

Our therapists specialize in culturally affirming care for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and first-generation individuals.

Diverse hands holding a heart, representing inclusive and culturally responsive therapy in Chicago and Illinois

A Space Where All of You is Welcome

Finally, a space where you don’t have to translate your life or perform your strength. Here, you can show up as your full, unedited self, without apology.

Hand holding soil with a small plant sprouting, symbolizing healing, growth, and mental health support in Illinois

Real Relief, Not Just Talk

Move beyond just venting. We combine trauma-informed, evidence-based tools with a deep understanding of the nervous system to help you find lasting relief and self-trust.

Laptop with heart icon representing secure online therapy and virtual counseling in Chicago and Illinois

Flexible, Online Therapy

Secure, virtual therapy across Chicago, Palos Heights, and all of Illinois with care that fits your life, with no commute or waiting rooms.

Hispanic woman holding a journal during a peaceful moment of reflection, representing healing and culturally affirming therapy in Chicago and Illinois

What We'll Actually Help You Do

We partner with you to create practical, felt change outside of session.

Drawing from evidence-based approaches—including CBT, DBT, ACT, mindfulness, attachment-based therapy, and nervous system-informed care—we tailor therapy to your experiences, goals, and needs.

Together, we will help you:

  • Understand why your mind feels stuck in constant survival mode.

  • Calm the constant overthinking instead of exhausting yourself trying to fight it.

  • Learn practical tools you can use between sessions and in the moments you need them most.

  • Heal painful experiences and trauma that still affect your relationships today.

  • Feel safer in your own body, so you can begin understanding the stress responses that keep you tense, shut down, overwhelmed, or constantly on alert.

  • Set healthy boundaries with confidence and peace of mind.

  • Feel less anxious in your body—not just more informed about why the anxiety is there.

  • Stop automatically putting everyone else’s needs ahead of your own.

  • Build relationships that feel safer, deeper, and more connected.

  • Feel more like yourself again. Not the version everyone needs you to be. You.

You Belong Here.

If you’re looking for a trauma-informed therapist in Chicago or culturally responsive therapy anywhere in Illinois, you have found your home. Your experiences will be approached with curiosity, respect, and care, not treated as something you need to defend or explain away.


Meet the Therapists Who Get It

Different therapists. Different strengths. One shared belief: you deserve to feel genuinely seen and understood.

Finding the right therapist matters.

Every therapist on our team is carefully chosen for both deep clinical expertise and genuine human compassion.

You deserve a space where you can finally let your guard down. A place where you don’t have to translate your life, edit your words, or explain the baseline of who you are. Our psychologist-led team is made up of real, compassionate human beings who combine deep clinical expertise with genuine warmth.

We’re here to give you a safe, supportive place to catch your breath, stop just getting through the day, and finally feel like yourself again.

  • Briana Booker, LSW, Black online therapist supporting women, young adults, couples, and moms with anxiety, relationships, trauma, and burnout in Illinois

    Briana Booker, LSW

    For the woman whose mind never seems to turn off—and who is tired of repeating the same patterns.

    Briana supports women, young adults, and couples navigating anxiety, overthinking, burnout, relationship patterns, communication challenges, LGBTQIA+ experiences, and neurodivergence.

  • Samreen Ahmed, LSW, South Asian and Muslim therapist providing culturally responsive online therapy for teens and young adults with anxiety, trauma, grief, and life transitions in Chicago and Illinois

    Samreen Ahmed, LSW

    For those whose minds and bodies have been carrying stress for far too long.

    Samreen provides culturally responsive, trauma-informed support for anxiety, trauma, grief, nervous system stress, life transitions, and the intersection of culture, faith, family, and identity. She has a particular understanding of South Asian, Muslim, BIPOC, and first-generation experiences.

  • Therin Slayton, PsyD, trans and LGBTQIA+ affirming therapist providing online therapy for LGBTQIA+, trans, nonbinary, and neurodivergent clients in Chicago and Illinois

    Therin Slayton, PsyD

    For the outliers, deep thinkers, creatives, and people who are tired of masking who they are.

    Therin provides LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent-affirming care for transgender, nonbinary, gender-diverse, ADHD, autistic, AuDHD, disabled, and neurodivergent adults navigating burnout, masking, anxiety, identity, relationships, and self-discovery.

  • Summer Stewart, PsyD, Black therapist providing online therapy for Black and Brown women with anxiety, burnout, and trauma in Chicago and Illinois

    Summer Stewart, PsyD

    For the woman who has been “the strong one” for far too long.

    Summer works especially well with Black and Brown women, high-achieving professionals, and young adults navigating anxiety, burnout, perfectionism, relationships, trauma, and the pressure to hold everything together.

  • Fabiola Felix, LSW, Hispanic online therapist supporting first-generation and Latinx clients with anxiety, burnout, depression, grief, and trauma in Illinois

    Fabiola Felix, LSW

    For the first-gen woman who is tired of being “the reliable one” at the expense of herself.

    Fabiola supports first-generation and Latinx clients navigating anxiety, overthinking, cultural and family expectations, boundaries, burnout, grief, identity, and difficult life transitions.

  • Dr. Aretha Steele, PsyD, founder and licensed psychologist providing online therapy for women, anxiety, trauma, postpartum, and motherhood in Illinois

    Aretha Steele, PsyD

    Founder & Clinical Director

    Dr. Steele founded Mindful Healing Counseling around a simple belief: people heal best when they feel genuinely seen, understood, and supported for who they are.

    While Dr. Steele is not currently accepting new clients, she provides clinical leadership and guidance to the Mindful Healing Counseling team.

What Therapy Actually Feels Like Here

  • You don't have to know exactly what to say.

    You don't have to arrive with your thoughts neatly organized or worry about finding the "right" words. Some days you'll have a lot to say; some days you won't know where to begin. Both are completely okay. We'll help you untangle what's been feeling overwhelming and move at a pace that feels right for you.

  • You'll feel supported—and gently challenged.

    Therapy with us isn't about someone silently nodding while you carry everything by yourself. Some sessions will bring immense relief, some will help you connect dots you've never noticed before, and sometimes we'll laugh or celebrate wins that once felt impossible. Sometimes we'll just sit together with something painful and gently challenge old patterns that are no longer serving you. Through it all, you'll have someone walking right alongside you.

  • Finding relief that stays with you throughout the week.

    The goal isn't simply to feel better for fifty minutes; it's to help you feel different throughout the rest of your week. Little by little, you'll begin noticing yourself responding differently to stress, speaking to yourself with more compassion, setting boundaries with less guilt, and feeling calmer in situations that once overwhelmed you.

There are no perfect clients, no perfect stories, and no perfect healing journeys. Just real people carrying real things. We'll meet you exactly where you are.

A Space Built With You in Mind

Interracial couple walking through a park, representing diverse clients seeking online therapy in Chicago and throughout Illinois

“Therapy shouldn’t just help you get through it. It should help you actually feel better—deeply, honestly, and in a way that lasts.”

Dr. Aretha Steele, Founder & Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Woman sitting comfortably at home with coffee and a laptop, representing convenient online therapy in Chicago and throughout Illinois

Online Counseling Across Chicago and All of Illinois

Secure virtual sessions. From your couch, your car, or wherever you can breathe for an hour.

Mindful Healing Counseling was founded by a Black woman psychologist who intimately understands the weight of being "the only one" in the room. Our practice provides culturally responsive, trauma-informed online therapy designed to make specialized care easier to access, without adding a commute or waiting room to your day.

Our therapists provide secure telehealth and online therapy to clients in Chicago, Palos Heights, New Lenox, surrounding suburbs, and communities throughout Illinois. Through our secure teletherapy platform, we support adults, teens, couples, women, moms, professionals, and neurodivergent adults across the entire state

Commonly Serving Neighborhoods & Suburbs Including:

Lincoln Park • Lakeview • Logan Square • Wicker Park • Beverly • Hyde Park • West Loop • Oak Park • Evanston • Tinley Park • Orland Park • Naperville • New Lenox • Palos Heights

Insurance & Fees

Quality care that’s within reach.

We believe specialized therapy should be accessible. Before your very first appointment, our team verifies your specific benefits so you know exactly what your co-pay or deductible will be.

Mindful Healing Counseling is in-network with the following PPO plans:

Not sure about your coverage? We are happy to help you check your benefits before your first session.

(Please note: We are unable to accept Medicaid or Medicare at this time.)

Common Questions About Beginning Therapy

Ready to finally set that weight down?

You’ve carried this by yourself for long enough.

It’s time for someone to be there for you.

You deserve a life that feels lighter, calmer, and more fully your own.

Prefer to ask a few questions first? Schedule a free, no-pressure 15-minute consultation.