Populations: Adults, Couples
Throughout life, we can find ourselves feeling stuck or frustrated by challenges that seem to persist despite our efforts to move forward.
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You may notice the same patterns appearing in your relationships, struggle to adjust to a change, or feel unsure how to manage anxiety, grief, stress, or the effects of earlier experiences. You may know that something needs to shift but feel uncertain about where to begin.
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My goal is to support and guide you as you develop greater self-awareness, gain insight into the patterns affecting your life, and identify practical ways to create change—or “shifts,” as you may hear me call them.
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I view therapy as a collaborative process. Together, we can build a safe therapeutic relationship, explore the concerns that brought you to therapy, and develop strategies that reflect your individual needs and goals.
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I provide therapy through Calm Mind Counseling Center in Willowbrook and through telehealth.
Meet Sam
I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional Level II, Clinical Advanced Grief Counseling Specialist, Certified Somatic Therapy Foundations Practitioner, Adult ADHD Specialist, and EMDR-trained therapist.
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I view therapy as a collaborative process in which we will work together to gain insight and awareness, regulate the nervous system, and share some laughs along the way. I most enjoy helping clients work through relational challenges and the impact relationships have in our lives,both past and present.
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I also work with adults experiencing anxiety, adjustment concerns, attachment-related challenges, grief, ADHD, life transitions, family conflict, stress, trauma, and concerns involving self-esteem or coping.
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Therapy can provide an opportunity to slow down, consider how different experiences may be connected, and begin making intentional changes. My goal is to provide an empathetic, validating, and compassionate environment where you can feel seen and heard while engaging in that process.
Who I Work With
I work with adults seeking support for concerns that may include:
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Relationship and attachment challenges
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Anxiety
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Adjustment to change
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Adult ADHD
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Grief and loss
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Trauma and post-traumatic stress
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Family conflict
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Stress and coping
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Life transitions
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Career-related concerns
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Peer relationships
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Self-esteem
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Women’s issues
These concerns often affect more than one part of life. Anxiety may influence your relationships or ability to make decisions. ADHD may affect organization, emotional regulation, work, or communication. Grief may change the way you relate to yourself, other people, and the future you had expected.
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Our work will focus on how your experiences are affecting you rather than assuming that one explanation or method applies to everyone.
What Therapy With Me Is Like
I recognize that beginning therapy can feel overwhelming.
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My intention is to meet you where you are and provide a space where you feel safe enough to discuss what has been difficult. We will work collaboratively to understand the concerns affecting you and identify goals that feel relevant and achievable.
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Therapy may involve exploring patterns, relationships, past experiences, emotional responses, or current stressors. It may also include identifying coping strategies that can be applied outside the therapy room and used to improve the quality of your daily life.
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I tailor my approach to the person in front of me. That means our sessions may look different depending on your experiences, goals, strengths, and what feels most important at a particular point in therapy.
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My role is to support you as you develop greater insight, consider new perspectives, and determine what meaningful change looks like for you.
My Approach to Therapy
My approach is eclectic, collaborative, and trauma-informed.
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Rather than relying on one fixed treatment model, I draw from several therapeutic approaches based on each client’s needs. These may include:
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Person-Centered Therapy
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Strengths-Based Therapy
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
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Dialectical Behavior Therapy
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Solution-Focused Therapy
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Family Systems Therapy
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Ego State Therapy
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Attachment-based approaches
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Mindfulness-based practices
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Somatic therapy
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EMDR
Some approaches may help us examine relationships between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Others may focus on family or relationship patterns, coping strategies, physical responses to stress, or the influence of earlier experiences.
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My hope is to help you identify strategies that fit your life rather than offering tools that feel disconnected from your individual needs. The approaches we use will be determined collaboratively and may change as your goals and circumstances evolve.
Relational and Attachment Concerns
Relationships are one of the primary areas I enjoy exploring with clients.
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Past and present relationships can influence how we communicate, respond to conflict, establish boundaries, express our needs, and understand ourselves. Some people may notice recurring patterns in their relationships without fully understanding why those patterns continue. Others may be navigating a specific conflict, separation, family concern, or significant change.
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Our work may include exploring how relationships have shaped your expectations, emotional responses, or beliefs about yourself and others.
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The purpose is not to assign blame or assume every current concern comes from the past. It is to understand the patterns affecting your life so that you can approach relationships with greater awareness and intention.
Adult ADHD Support
As a neurospicy gal myself, I also enjoy working with adults with ADHD to provide applicable, practical coping strategies to implement in your daily life.
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Clients may seek support around organization, follow-through, emotional regulation, competing responsibilities, relationships, work, self-esteem, or patterns that have been difficult to understand.
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My approach includes helping clients develop greater awareness of their individual challenges and identify practical coping strategies suited to their needs. ADHD does not affect every person in the same way, so our work will be shaped around your experiences rather than a predetermined set of assumptions.
Trauma-Informed, Somatic, and EMDR Therapy
I believe in the importance of trauma-informed therapy and have completed advanced training related to trauma, somatic therapy, and EMDR.
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I am a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional Level II, a Certified Somatic Therapy Foundations Practitioner, and was trained in EMDR through the EMDR Institute.
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When appropriate, our work may include exploring how past experiences continue to affect your thoughts, emotions, relationships, or physical responses in the present. Somatic approaches may help bring awareness to how stress and emotional experiences are felt in the body. EMDR may also be incorporated based on your history, goals, and readiness.
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These approaches are tools within a broader therapeutic relationship rather than automatic treatment plans. We will determine together what feels appropriate and useful.
Grief and Life Transitions
I am also a Clinical Advanced Grief Counseling Specialist and work with clients navigating grief, change, and adjustment.
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Grief may be connected to the death of someone important, but it can also accompany the end of a relationship, a change in health, a career transition, family changes, or the loss of an expected future.
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Major transitions can affect identity, routines, relationships, and emotional well-being. Therapy can provide a place to acknowledge those experiences, explore how they are affecting you, and identify ways to move through change without minimizing what has been lost.
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This profile establishes grief as one of my areas of training. More detailed information should remain on Calm Mind’s current or future grief-counseling page.
Experience in Education
Before becoming a therapist, I worked as an educator for eight years and taught English Language Arts at both the middle-school and high-school levels. I continue to hold an active educator’s license.
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That background allows me to understand some of the pressures experienced by educators, parents, and families navigating school-related concerns.
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I enjoy guiding parents and teachers in relation to mental health and can relate to people facing the personal and professional challenges associated with education.
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My experience as an educator also informs my interest in helping clients understand patterns, develop practical strategies, and apply what they learn in therapy to their daily lives.
Credentials and Professional Background
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Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
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Illinois professional counselor license 180.016997
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Certified Clinical Trauma Professional Level II
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Clinical Advanced Grief Counseling Specialist
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Certified Somatic Therapy Foundations Practitioner
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Adult ADHD Specialist
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EMDR trained through the EMDR Institute
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Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
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National Louis University, 2022
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Licensed educator with eight years of prior teaching experience
Outside the Therapy Room
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When I am not busy disturbing my cat’s peace, I enjoy reading mystery and thriller novels and accepting my dog’s kind offers to take me on walks.
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I also enjoy exercising, baking, decorating for holidays, and spending time with my family, including my nephew and many nieces. For fun, you can catch me melting into a puddle at a hot yoga class.
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 Sam
You may be feeling stuck in a persistent challenge, trying to understand a relationship pattern, adjusting to a change, or looking for practical ways to manage daily life more effectively.
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You do not need to have everything clearly defined before reaching out.
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Therapy can provide a collaborative space to better understand what you are experiencing, identify the patterns affecting you, and begin creating meaningful shifts.
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To ask about working with me, contact Calm Mind Counseling Center.
