Therapist for Trauma in Chicago
Trauma Therapy in Chicago
Therapist for Trauma in Chicago
In person at 700 N Green in Chicago. Online anywhere in Illinois.
Trauma is not only what happened. It is what your mind and body learned in order to get through it. Those adaptations kept you safe at the time, and they can keep running long after the danger has passed.
FlashbacksFeeling on edgeNumbnessHyper-independence
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What it actually feels like
Trauma does not always look like remembering
Sometimes it looks like an ordinary week. See whether any of this is familiar.
Feeling calm on the outside while your body is somewhere else entirely.
Something small knocks you sideways and you cannot explain why.
Telling yourself that other people had it worse.
Going somewhere far away in the middle of an ordinary conversation.
Sleep that never quite lands, or dreams you wake up tired from.
Keeping people at a small distance without ever deciding to.
Images that arrive without warning, or memories that show up uninvited.
If you recognized yourself anywhere in that, the recognition itself matters. It is not a diagnosis, and it does not mean you are broken. It means something happened that your body is still carrying, and bodies can put things down.
Some of what we treat has a name. PTSD, complex trauma, acute stress. Some of it never got one, and it does not need one to be worth attention. Both belong here.
How we treat it
There is more than one way into trauma, and more than one way through
EMDR
Works on the memory itself using a guided left to right movement, rather than retelling the details over and over.
ACT
Makes room for the hard thoughts and feelings instead of fighting them, so you can move toward what matters while they are still there.
Relational
Uses the relationship with your therapist as part of the work. What happened to you likely happened in relationship, and repair tends to happen there too.
Trauma-Informed Care
Shapes how everything else is done. Pacing, consent and choice are built in rather than added on afterwards.
Strengths-Based Therapy
Starts from what is still working and what got you through, rather than starting from what is broken.
Before anything else
You do not have to tell the story to start
Trauma-informed means the order matters. Your therapist works on steadiness with you first, and the two of you decide together when, and whether, to go into the details. Nothing about this is on a schedule.
Book a Free ConsultationSome of the therapists you can see
Chelsea Kuk, LPC, CADC
Complex PTSD and PTSD, alongside substance use and disordered eating. Works from existential therapy and harm reduction, with room for the parts of your story you wish had gone differently.
Celia Kokoris, LCSW, CADC
EMDR trained through Level 2, with a trauma-informed certification from the University of Chicago. Works extensively with people carrying trauma, and starts by making the room safe enough to look underneath.
Cole Philippou, LPC
Trauma, identity and relationships, with a relational approach and somatic work for what the body is still holding.
Finding your therapist
Expertly matched
therapy, for life
Tell us what is going on. Our Clinical Coordinator connects with you personally and works to match you with the right therapist.
Start hereLicensed therapists
LSW, LCSW, LPC, LCPC and PsyD clinicians.
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A free consult first
So you can tell whether it is right before committing to anything.
What happens next
Getting started
A free consultation. We believe in the power of the therapeutic relationship, and that starts with working with someone who gets you. The consultation is how you find out.
Getting scheduled. We aim to book you within 24 hours of reaching out, and most people are seen that week.
Your first session. You bring what is on your mind. Your therapist takes some history and you set goals together. Your therapist paces it with you.
In-network with
We are in network with all four plans. We check yours before your first session.
FAQs
Questions about trauma therapy
Do I have to talk about what happened?
No. Many people spend the early sessions on steadiness and coping rather than the details, and some never tell the story the way they expected to. Your therapist will talk through the pace with you.
What is big T trauma versus little t trauma?
Big T trauma is the kind most people picture. A car accident, an assault, a sudden death, a disaster. Something clearly outside ordinary life. Little t trauma is smaller and usually repeated. Being criticised constantly, being left out, growing up around unpredictability, a relationship that slowly wore you down. Neither one is more real than the other, and the little t kind adds up.
Do you treat PTSD?
Yes, and complex trauma as well. You do not need a diagnosis to start, and you do not need to know which one fits. Your therapist will work that out with you, and plenty of people never need the label at all.
Can I have trauma if nothing huge ever happened to me?
Yes. Sometimes it is a series of ruptures rather than one event. What makes something traumatic is not the size of what happened, but what happened inside you while it was happening.
What is EMDR actually like?
You hold a memory in mind while following a repeated left to right movement, usually your therapist’s hand or a light bar. Sessions are structured, and your therapist spends time preparing with you before any processing begins.
Is it too late if this happened years ago?
Time since the event is not what decides whether therapy is useful. People come in months after something happened and people come in decades after. What matters is how much room it is taking up now.
How long do sessions last?
Fifty five minutes, usually weekly to begin with.
Is what I share in therapy confidential?
Yes, with the limited legal exceptions your therapist will explain, such as risk of harm to yourself or someone else.
Do you accept insurance?
MARRA is in network with Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, Aetna, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare PPO plans. We check your plan for you before your first session.