Populations: Adults
Hi, I’m Abby.
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I work with adults who want to develop a deeper understanding of themselves—not because they are broken, but because they have spent a long time carrying what life has asked of them.
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You may feel disconnected from yourself, caught in patterns you do not fully understand, or overwhelmed by emotional responses that seem difficult to change. You may also recognize how earlier relationships or experiences continue to affect the way you feel, connect with others, and move through the world.
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My goal is to offer a space grounded in safety, dignity, and mutual respect. Together, we can slow down, listen more closely to what your emotions and protective patterns may be communicating, and help you build a greater sense of self-trust and connection.
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I provide individual therapy for adults at Calm Mind Counseling Center’s Willowbrook office and through telehealth.
Meet Abby
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional, and Clinical Supervisor at Calm Mind Counseling Center.
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I am passionate about helping people reconnect with themselves through relational safety, nervous-system awareness, and embodied practices. Many of the adults I work with have spent years adapting to difficult circumstances, relationships, expectations, or experiences. Those adaptations may have helped them cope, but they can also contribute to feeling stuck, guarded, overwhelmed, or disconnected in the present.
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Therapy can provide an opportunity to approach these patterns with curiosity rather than criticism.
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Instead of asking what is wrong with you, we can explore what happened, how you learned to protect yourself, and what those protective responses may still be trying to accomplish. From there, we can work toward greater emotional flexibility, self-understanding, and connection with the parts of yourself that may have been ignored or pushed aside.
Who I Work With
I work with adults navigating concerns related to:
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Complex trauma and post-traumatic stress
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Anxiety
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Relationship and attachment wounds
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Pregnancy, prenatal, and postpartum mental health
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Grief and loss
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Life transitions
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Identity exploration
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Depression and mood-related concerns
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Dissociation
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Chronic illness
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Infertility
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Body image and self-esteem
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Stress and coping
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Women’s issues
I also welcome clients from LGBTQIA+ communities and am committed to care that is inclusive, identity-affirming, and informed by cultural humility.
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These concerns often overlap. Anxiety may be connected to earlier relationships. A major life transition may bring unresolved grief to the surface. Pregnancy or parenthood may change the way you understand your identity, body, relationships, or past experiences.
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Our work will begin with your individual story rather than a predetermined idea of what therapy should look like.
What Therapy With Me Is Like
I believe healing happens within safe, attuned relationships.
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A strong therapeutic relationship can create space for you to feel seen, respected, and genuinely understood. My intention is to offer an environment where you can approach your experiences without feeling pressured to move faster than you are ready to move.
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Our work will be collaborative. We may explore present-day concerns, earlier experiences, relationships, emotional responses, and the patterns that continue to affect your life. We will also identify the strengths and internal resources that have helped you navigate difficult circumstances.
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Rather than trying to eliminate uncomfortable emotions or protective parts of yourself, we will work toward understanding them. Anxiety, withdrawal, self-criticism, emotional shutdown, or other protective responses may have developed for meaningful reasons. Listening to those responses can help us better understand what they are protecting and what you may need now.
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My hope is that therapy can help you create more space for self-trust, emotional flexibility, and a deeper connection with your authentic self.
My Approach to Therapy
My work is relational, trauma-informed, and guided by compassion and curiosity.
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I draw from several therapeutic perspectives and practices, including:
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Attachment-based therapy
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Internal Family Systems and parts work
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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
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Mindfulness-based practices
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Somatic and embodiment-based approaches
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
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Psychodynamic therapy
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Person-centered and strength-based approaches
These approaches can help us explore how past and present experiences influence your emotions, nervous system, relationships, and sense of self.
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Internal Family Systems and other parts-oriented approaches allow us to become curious about internal conflict and protective responses rather than trying to suppress them. Mindfulness and somatic practices can help bring awareness to what is happening emotionally and physically. EMDR may be incorporated when it is appropriate to your history, goals, and readiness.
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More important than following any single model, however, is creating an approach that responds to you as an individual. We will work together to understand what is keeping you stuck, strengthen emotional regulation, and support a greater sense of connection within yourself and your relationships.
Trauma and Attachment-Focused Work
I especially enjoy working with adults affected by complex trauma and relational or attachment-based wounds.
Some difficult experiences are connected to a specific event. Others develop over time through relationships, instability, loss, unmet emotional needs, or experiences that shape how safe it feels to trust, depend on others, or express what you need.
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You may understand these patterns intellectually while still feeling their effects emotionally or physically. Therapy can help us gently explore how earlier experiences continue to affect your present-day relationships, emotional responses, and beliefs about yourself.
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My work incorporates relational safety, nervous-system awareness, EMDR, parts work, mindfulness, and embodied practices. The purpose of this section is not to define trauma or explain every available treatment, but to help you understand how my training and approach may inform our work together.
Perinatal Mental Health
I hold specialized certification in perinatal mental health and work with adults navigating pregnancy, prenatal, postpartum, and related concerns.
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This period can involve significant changes in identity, relationships, emotional well-being, and the way earlier experiences are understood. Clients may also be navigating infertility, grief, changes in their bodies, anxiety, mood concerns, or the emotional demands associated with pregnancy and parenthood.
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My approach remains individualized, relational, and trauma-informed. We will focus on your experiences and needs rather than assuming that everyone moves through this stage of life in the same way.
Values That Shape My Work
I believe it is important to be transparent about the values that shape my work so that you can choose a therapist whose approach aligns with your needs and beliefs.
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My work is informed by core social-work values, including:
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The importance of human relationships
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Social justice
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Integrity
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Respect for each person’s inherent dignity and worth
I am committed to providing care that is identity-affirming, inclusive, and grounded in cultural humility.
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Your identities, experiences, relationships, and social environment are not separate from your emotional well-being.
Therapy should provide room to explore those parts of your life without requiring you to minimize, justify, or separate them from the concerns that brought you to treatment.
Clinical Leadership
In addition to my work with therapy clients, I serve as a Clinical Supervisor at Calm Mind Counseling Center.
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My role reflects my commitment to thoughtful, trauma-informed clinical care and to the professional growth of the Calm Mind team.
Credentials and Professional Background
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Licensed Clinical Social Worker
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Illinois clinical social-work license 149.026653
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Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, Level II
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Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional
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EMDR trained
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Clinical Supervisor at Calm Mind Counseling Center
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Master of Social Work from Aurora University, 2019
Therapy in Willowbrook and Online
I provide individual therapy for adults through Calm Mind Counseling Center.
Willowbrook Office ​
6713 Kingery Highway (Suite 13)
Willowbrook, IL 60527
Online Therapy
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Telehealth appointments are available for eligible clients located in Illinois.
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Please contact Calm Mind Counseling Center to ask about current availability and whether in-person or online therapy may be appropriate for your needs.
Begin Therapy With Abby
You do not need to have everything figured out before beginning therapy.
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You may be looking for help with trauma, anxiety, grief, a major transition, perinatal concerns, or relationship patterns. You may also simply feel disconnected from yourself and want a place where you can begin listening more closely to what you need.
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Wherever you are in your journey, my hope is that therapy can become a place where you feel safe enough to reconnect with yourself.
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To ask about working with me, contact Calm Mind Counseling Center.
