Populations: Teens, Adults, Couples
I believe that fulfillment is often found through connection—with ourselves, with other people, and with a deeper sense of purpose.
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You may be experiencing anxiety or depression, feeling disconnected within a relationship, or navigating a transition that has changed the way you understand yourself. You may also be carrying concerns related to trauma, your body, sexuality, eating, spirituality, or patterns that are difficult to change.
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My goal is to create a supportive space where all parts of your experience are welcome and can be approached with openness and curiosity. Together, we can explore the emotional patterns, beliefs, relationships, and experiences shaping your life while helping you reconnect with your own capacity for growth.
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I work with teens, adults, and couples through Calm Mind Counseling Center in Forest Park, Willowbrook, and online throughout Illinois.
Meet Nicolette
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor who uses a compassionate, integrative approach to therapy.
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My work is grounded in the belief that every person has an innate capacity for growth and transformation. Therapy can provide the time and space needed to better understand yourself, recognize patterns that may be keeping you stuck, and explore what a more connected and meaningful life could look like.
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I do not believe that people can be reduced to a diagnosis, a single experience, or the concern that brought them to therapy. Each person has a complex inner world shaped by relationships, identity, personal history, values, physical experiences, and the ways they learned to navigate difficult situations.
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Our work will be shaped around your individual story, needs, and goals.
Who I Work With
I work with teens and adults, as well as couples seeking support for their relationships.
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My experience includes helping clients navigate concerns involving:
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Anxiety
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Depression
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Relationship difficulties
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Life transitions
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Trauma and post-traumatic stress
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Emotional regulation
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Self-esteem
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Body image
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Eating-related concerns
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Sexual concerns
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Spirituality
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Obsessive or compulsive concerns
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Identity and personal growth
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Marital and premarital concerns
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Women’s and men’s issues
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Difficult or painful past experiences
These concerns frequently overlap. Anxiety or depression may affect relationships and self-esteem. Trauma may influence how safe it feels to connect with other people or remain present in your body. A transition may raise questions about identity, meaning, relationships, or the direction of your life.
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Our work begins by understanding how these experiences affect you rather than assuming that the same explanation or approach applies to everyone.
What Therapy With Me Is Like
I strive to create a therapeutic relationship grounded in compassion, openness, and curiosity.
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You do not need to arrive with the right words or a complete understanding of what you are experiencing. We can take time to explore what brought you to therapy and identify what feels most important to address.
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Our sessions may include:
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Exploring emotional and relationship patterns
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Understanding the influence of earlier experiences
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Identifying beliefs that shape how you see yourself
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Becoming more aware of physical and emotional responses
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Examining the stories you carry about yourself and your life
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Developing skills for managing difficult emotions
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Clarifying values, needs, and sources of meaning
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Strengthening your connection with yourself and others
I believe all parts of your experience deserve room to be understood. A part of you may want change while another part feels uncertain, protective, or afraid. Rather than judging those different responses, therapy can help us approach them with curiosity and understand what they may be trying to communicate.
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The goal is not to force change or eliminate every uncomfortable emotion. It is to create greater awareness, choice, and alignment in the way you live and relate to others.
My Approach to Therapy
My approach is integrative and draws primarily from psychodynamic and somatic perspectives.
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Psychodynamic therapy can help us explore the deeper emotional patterns, beliefs, relationships, and experiences that continue to shape the present. This may include recognizing patterns that developed earlier in life and understanding why they continue even when they no longer feel helpful.
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Somatic approaches bring attention to the connection between emotional experiences and the body. Stress, trauma, anxiety, and relationship experiences may affect physical sensations, tension, energy, or the ability to feel grounded. Becoming more aware of these responses can provide another way to understand what you are experiencing.
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I may also draw from:
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Attachment-based therapy
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Internal Family Systems and parts work
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Narrative therapy
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Person-centered therapy
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Mindfulness-based practices
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Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills
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Trauma-informed approaches
The methods we use will depend on your needs, goals, and way of engaging in therapy. They are tools within an individualized process rather than a fixed treatment plan.
Connection, Relationships, and Couples Therapy
Relationships are an important part of my work.
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The ways we connect with partners, family members, friends, and ourselves may be influenced by attachment experiences, communication patterns, expectations, emotional needs, and the strategies we developed to protect ourselves.
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You may be experiencing repeated conflict, emotional distance, difficulty communicating, or uncertainty about the future of a relationship. You may also want to understand your own relationship patterns more clearly, even when attending therapy individually.
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When working with couples, I provide space to explore the concerns affecting the relationship and better understand the experiences each person brings into it.
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Our work may involve identifying recurring patterns, strengthening communication, exploring emotional needs, and considering what greater connection or alignment would mean for the relationship.
Sexuality, Body Image, and Eating-Related Concerns
I have experience supporting clients with sexual concerns, body image, and eating-related difficulties.
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These experiences can be deeply connected to identity, relationships, self-worth, cultural expectations, trauma, control, shame, or the way someone feels within their body.
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Therapy can offer a private and nonjudgmental setting in which to discuss concerns that may feel difficult to raise elsewhere.
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My somatic and psychodynamic approach allows us to consider both the deeper emotional patterns involved and the ways those experiences may be felt physically. We can also explore the personal, relational, and cultural meanings connected to the concern.
Spirituality, Meaning, and Personal Growth
Questions about meaning, purpose, values, and spirituality can be an important part of emotional well-being.
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You may be reconsidering beliefs you once held, looking for a greater sense of direction, or trying to understand how your values fit with your relationships and daily life. Spirituality may be a source of comfort and connection, or it may be connected to confusion, conflict, loss, or painful experiences.
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Therapy can provide room to explore these questions without assuming that spirituality means the same thing to every person.
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My role is not to prescribe a particular belief system. It is to help you explore what provides meaning, connection, and alignment within your own life. Nicolette’s published professional profile identifies spirituality among the concerns she supports.
Trauma-Informed Therapy and EMDR
I incorporate trauma-informed principles into my work and am currently completing training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.
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Trauma may influence emotional responses, relationships, beliefs, physical sensations, and the ability to feel safe or connected. A trauma-informed approach considers these effects while respecting each person’s needs, boundaries, and readiness.
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Clients interested in learning more about the treatment itself can visit Calm Mind’s dedicated EMDR page.
Credentials and Professional Background
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Licensed Professional Counselor (pending). Currently practining under supervision.
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EMDR training in progress
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Experience working with teens and adults
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Experience providing individual and couples therapy
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Integrative training and experience involving psychodynamic, somatic, attachment-based, narrative, person-centered, mindfulness-based, parts-oriented, and DBT-informed approaches
Outside the Therapy Room
Outside of therapy, I enjoy practicing yoga, playing guitar, reading both fiction and nonfiction, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.
Therapy in Forest Park, Willowbrook, and Online
I provide individual therapy for adults through Calm Mind Counseling Center.
Forest Park Office
7621 Roosevelt Road
Forest Park, IL 60130
Willowbrook Office ​
6713 Kingery Highway (Suite 13)
Willowbrook, IL 60527
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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 Nicolette
You may be navigating anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, trauma, a life transition, or questions about your identity and sense of purpose.
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You may also feel disconnected from yourself or caught in patterns that are difficult to understand or change.
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Therapy can provide a place to approach those experiences with greater openness and curiosity, reconnect with your internal strengths, and move toward a life that feels more connected and meaningful.
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To ask about working with me, contact Calm Mind Counseling Center.
