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 carrying a lot… and something has to give.
You’re lying in bed, wide awake… replaying a conversation from hours ago and 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 tired of masking parts of yourself… trying to fit expectations that were never made for you.
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 you're not.
Maybe you're the person everyone relies on. The one who figures things 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 am I struggling so much when everything seems fine?
Maybe you keep telling yourself you’ll feel better…
When work slows down.
When the relationship gets better.
When the kids need less.
When you figure out what's next.
But somehow, there’s always something else.
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.”
And maybe you can.
But being able to carry something doesn't mean you have to keep carrying it alone.
You don’t have to wait until everything falls apart to ask for help.
You don’t have to know exactly what’s wrong, what kind of therapy you need, or even where to start.
Sometimes, “I don’t want to keep feeling like this” is enough.
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, couples, women, mothers, and families throughout Chicago and Illinois.
What Could Feel Different?
Imagine…
Waking up without your mind immediately racing through everything that could go wrong.
Setting a boundary without spending the rest of the day wondering if you were selfish.
Feeling less overwhelmed by everything everyone needs from you.
Dropping some of the pressure to perform, overachieve, mask, or hold everything together.
Being present with the people you love instead of constantly anticipating what needs to happen next.
Trusting yourself more instead of second-guessing every decision.
Therapy isn't about becoming a completely different person.
It's about helping you feel more at home in your own life.
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 life rarely comes at us one neat challenge at a time.
Anxiety creeps in alongside burnout. Trauma shows up in your relationships. ADHD can make everyday things feel harder than they “should.” And big changes—like becoming a parent—can leave you feeling deep love and total exhaustion all at once.
Sometimes it’s one of these things. Sometimes it’s five at once.
Our Illinois therapists support adults, teens, couples, and families navigating anxiety, trauma, burnout, ADHD and neurodivergence, pregnancy and postpartum concerns, relationships, grief, identity, and major life transitions.
You don’t have to know exactly what to call what you’re feeling. We’ll start right where 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
Fill out our quick matching form. No perfect words required. Just tell us what you're hoping for and what has been feeling hard.
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GET MATCHED
We personally match you with a therapist based on your concerns, preferences, availability, insurance, and the kind of support you're looking for.
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START FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE
Meet securely with your therapist online from a private 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
You are more than a list of symptoms.
Your culture, race, gender, identity, faith, family expectations, and neurodivergence all shape how you experience stress, safety, and healing. Good therapy makes room for all of it.
You shouldn’t have to spend your therapy hour translating your culture, defending your identity, or teaching your therapist the basics of your lived experience.
You get to bring your whole self here—and be fully seen, respected, and welcomed, exactly as you are.
Mindful Healing Counseling provides culturally responsive, identity-affirming online therapy in Illinois for:
Women
Black women and BIPOC communities
Moms, parents, and perinatal clients
LGBTQIA+, transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse individuals
ADHD, autistic, AuDHD, and neurodivergent clients
First-generation adults and professionals
College students, teens, and young adults
Couples and families
Your Therapist Should Feel Like Someone You Can Actually Talk To
Therapy shouldn't feel like another place where you have to perform, and we won't just sit back, nod, and ask, "How does that make you feel?"
We do therapy differently.
You'll get a therapist who remembers what you said last week. Someone who notices patterns you may not see yet. Someone who can sit with the hard stuff, laugh with you when something is genuinely funny, and gently point out when an old habit is getting in your way.
We ask real questions, help you connect the dots, teach practical tools, and work with you so you leave sessions feeling lighter, clearer, and truly supported.
What Makes Therapy Here 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.
All of You is Welcome
Culture, identity, relationships, family, and lived experience aren't side notes here. They're part of understanding you.
More than Just Talking
You'll have space to process what's happening and practical ways to handle it differently outside of therapy.
Therapy That Fits Real Life
Meet securely online from anywhere in Illinois without adding another commute, waiting room, or extra headache to your week.
What We'll Actually Help You Do
Understanding why you feel this way matters.
But most people eventually want to know:
What do I actually do when this happens again?
Therapy at Mindful Healing Counseling is designed to help what you learn in session show up in your actual life.
Together, we may work on helping you:
Calm constant overthinking instead of exhausting yourself trying to fight every thought.
Understand your stress and survival responses so you can notice them sooner and respond differently.
Heal painful experiences and trauma that still affect how you see yourself or relate to others.
Set boundaries with less guilt and more trust in your own needs.
Stop automatically putting everyone else first while disappearing from your own life.
Build relationships that feel safer, deeper, and more connected.
Feel more like yourself again. Not the version everyone needs you to be. You.
Our therapists draw from evidence-based approaches including CBT, DBT, ACT, mindfulness, attachment-based therapy, trauma-informed care, and other approaches tailored to your goals and needs.
A Space Built With You in Mind
“I wanted therapy to be a place where you never have to leave parts of yourself at the door…a real, human space where I’d feel good sending someone I love.”
— Dr. Aretha Steele, PsyD
Founder & Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Why I Created Mindful Healing Counseling
Over the years as a psychologist, I’ve seen how draining it can be to walk into a room already wondering if your therapist will truly get it. Will they understand your culture, your family dynamics, or your identity? Will they see the quiet weight of being the one who always has to hold everything together?
I built Mindful Healing Counseling so you wouldn't have to carry that worry.
I wanted a place where you can talk about anxiety and also talk about how race, gender, or identity may be part of what you're carrying.
Where you can talk about motherhood and be honest about the exhaustion or resentment that can come with it.
Where you can unpack trauma, work on your relationships, or celebrate your success while still admitting that you're tired.
You shouldn't have to choose between really good therapy and feeling genuinely understood.
That belief shapes every therapist I bring onto our team and guides how we care for the people who trust us with their stories.
You don't have to edit who you are or make yourself easier to understand to get the care you deserve.
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. Because therapy works best when you feel like your therapist actually gets you.
Our psychologist-led team brings different identities, backgrounds, clinical specialties, and ways of connecting. We built our team that way on purpose. What ties us together is a deep commitment to thoughtful, compassionate care.
The goal isn't to find the therapist who looks best on paper. It's to find someone you can imagine actually talking to.
Someone you can exhale with. Someone you don't have to perform for. Someone who feels like they might really understand.
Meet our team and see who feels like the right fit for you.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
She is currently opening a limited number of therapy appointments.
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.
Online Therapy Wherever You Are in 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
We don't want the cost of therapy to be a mystery.
Mindful Healing Counseling is in-network with:
Before your first appointment, we'll verify your benefits and help you understand your expected copay, coinsurance, or deductible.
Not sure what your plan covers?
We'll help you figure it out.
We also offer self-pay options for clients who prefer not to use insurance or whose plan is out of network.
(Please note: We not currently able to accept Medicaid or Medicare.)
Common Questions About Beginning Therapy
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If your usual ways of coping aren't bringing you relief anymore, or if you feel like you are constantly just trying to survive the day rather than actually living it, therapy can help.
You don't have to wait for a major crisis or a complete burnout to deserve support. If you are exhausted from holding everything together by yourself, that is more than enough reason to reach out.
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It absolutely can.
Many of our clients have spent years functioning at a very high level while carrying deep anxiety, heavy pressure, or old family hurts underneath. Because we look at how stress is held in your body and your nervous system, instead of just talking about it in circles, we can help you shift long-standing patterns that willpower alone hasn’t been able to change.
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Therapy works best when you feel a genuine connection with your therapist. During your first few sessions, notice how it feels to talk with them: Do you feel safe? Do you feel truly heard and unjudged? We put a lot of heart into our matching process, but if it ever feels like it’s not the right fit, you won't hurt our feelings. We honor that completely and will gently, seamlessly help you connect with another therapist on our team who clicks better with you.
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We absolutely do.
We believe you should never have to exhaust yourself translating your background, explaining your culture, or defending your identity to your therapist. Mindful Healing Counseling was intentionally founded by a Black woman psychologist to be a space where your lived experience is fully honored, not treated as a footnote.
Our team specializes in providing deeply compassionate, identity-affirming care for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, first-generation professionals, and neurodivergent adults. You are welcome to show up exactly as your full, unedited self, without having to perform or apologize for who you are.
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That is completely normal, and you are entirely welcome here just as you are.
You never need a script, a plan, or an agenda to show up. Our therapists are right there with you, helping to guide the conversation, ask gentle questions, and untangle the thoughts that feel messy. And if you cry? This is the one place where you don't have to stay strong. Crying is just your body finally letting go of the weight.
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It’s incredibly common to minimize your own pain by telling yourself “others have it worse.” But if something is stealing your peace, disrupting your sleep, affecting your mood, or straining your relationships, it is absolutely important enough. You don't have to earn the right to feel well, and you don't have to wait until things get worse before you get help.
Our goal is to help you feel comfortable, understood, and supported from the very beginning.
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Not all therapy is the same, and finding the right approach matters. If you’ve tried traditional talk therapy in the past that felt like just venting about your week without giving you real change, it makes complete sense that you feel skeptical. We do therapy differently by working with your mind and your body together, targeting the root of stress in your nervous system so you can find real, lasting relief.
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Yes, online therapy is incredibly effective, and it has become the preferred choice for busy adults. It offers the exact same depth of clinical care as an in-person session, but with the added relief of staying in your own safe, comfortable space, without adding a stressful commute or a public waiting room to your day.
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Yes. Because we are a psychologist-led team, we have clinicians with deep, varied specialties rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. When you connect with us, we look at the specific challenges you are navigating and pair you with a provider who truly understands and specializes in that exact area.
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We don't leave your care up to automated computer algorithms. When you fill out our brief intake form, our leadership team personally reviews what you're experiencing, your preferences, your goals, and your lived identity. We use our real human insight to match you with the therapist on our team best suited to walk alongside you.
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Most clients begin with weekly sessions. This helps us build a strong relationship, build momentum, and practice new tools together. How long you stay in therapy is entirely up to your unique goals and needs. Some people find the focus and relief they need in a few months, while others value therapy as a consistent, ongoing space for their personal growth and self-care.
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We believe specialized care should be accessible and transparent. We are proudly in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, Blue Choice PPO, and Aetna PPO. Before your very first appointment, our team will verify your specific benefits for you so you know exactly what your co-pay or deductible responsibility will be with no financial surprises.
Please note that we are unable to accept Medicaid or Medicare at this time.
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.