Populations: Adults
You may be successful in many areas of your life while still feeling caught in patterns that are difficult to change.
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Perhaps you continue to struggle with codependency, boundaries, relationships, shame, or the effects of earlier experiences. You may be in addiction recovery and want to understand what lies beneath the behaviors you have worked so hard to change. Or you may feel disconnected from yourself after spending years adapting to the roles, expectations, and wounds you have carried.
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I help people reconnect with who they are beneath those experiences.
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Therapy with me is not about treating you as if you are broken. It is about approaching the parts of yourself shaped by pain, neglect, or survival with greater understanding, compassion, and care.
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I provide individual therapy at Calm Mind Counseling Center’s Forest Park and Willowbrook offices, with telehealth also available for clients in Illinois.
Meet Tracy
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and EMDR-trained therapist specializing in complex trauma, codependency, addiction recovery, relationship patterns, and identity exploration.
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I work with people who may understand their patterns intellectually but continue to feel caught in them emotionally. You may recognize that you have difficulty setting boundaries, place the needs of others ahead of your own, or respond to stress in ways that no longer feel helpful. You may also carry shame, self-criticism, or beliefs about yourself that developed through earlier relationships and experiences.
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Together, we can explore how those patterns formed, how they may have helped you survive or remain connected to others, and what you need now to live more intentionally.
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I hold deep respect for the complexity and resilience within each person’s story. I believe we are more than what we have done—and more than what has been done to us.
Who I Work With
I work primarily with adults navigating concerns that may include:
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Complex trauma and post-traumatic stress
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Codependency
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Addiction and substance-use recovery
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Emotional neglect
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Shame and internalized negative beliefs
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Difficulty setting or maintaining boundaries
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Relationship challenges
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Anxiety and stress
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Depression and mood-related concerns
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Grief
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Self-esteem
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Identity exploration
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ADHD
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Difficulties regulating intense emotions
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Life after incarceration
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The effects of marginalization or discrimination
These concerns often overlap. Addiction may have developed as a way to manage trauma or emotional pain. Codependency may be connected to earlier relationships in which your safety or sense of belonging depended on caring for others. Shame may affect your ability to establish boundaries, ask for what you need, or believe that change is possible.
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Our work begins with understanding your experiences and the meaning they hold for you, rather than reducing you to a diagnosis or behavior.
What Therapy With Me Is Like
My approach is warm, grounded, collaborative, and rooted in deep respect for your story.
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I offer space to slow down and become more curious about your inner world. Together, we may explore the patterns that shaped you, connect past experiences to present reactions, and consider what healing might look like on your terms.
Therapy with me includes both insight and practical action.
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Developing a deeper understanding of yourself is important, but insight alone does not always change how you respond under pressure. Our work may therefore also include realistic strategies for regulating intense emotions, managing anxiety, communicating more effectively, strengthening boundaries, and responding differently when familiar patterns become activated.
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We will move at a pace that feels collaborative and steady, with room for curiosity, honesty, reflection, and growth. I believe healing happens within a genuine therapeutic relationship—one in which you can feel seen, supported, and gently challenged.
My Approach to Therapy
My work is trauma-informed, relational, and grounded in an understanding of how earlier experiences can shape the nervous system, attachment patterns, coping strategies, and core beliefs.
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Depending on your needs and goals, I may draw from:
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Internal Family Systems and parts work
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Inner-child and reparenting work
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Attachment-based therapy
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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
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Psychodynamic therapy
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Somatic and nervous-system-informed practices
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Mindfulness
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Feminist therapy
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Narrative therapy
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
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Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills
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Motivational Interviewing
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Person-centered and strength-based approaches
Parts-oriented approaches allow us to become curious about the different reactions or internal conflicts you may experience. A part of you may want change while another feels afraid, guarded, responsible for everyone else, or uncertain about what will happen if you let go of familiar patterns.
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Rather than trying to silence those responses, we can explore what they learned, what they may be protecting, and what they need now.
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When past experiences continue to feel activated or unresolved, I may also incorporate EMDR to support deeper processing. The methods we use will depend on your history, goals, preparation, and readiness.
Complex Trauma, Shame, and Emotional Neglect
Not all trauma comes from one identifiable event.
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Some people grow up or live within environments where their emotional needs are repeatedly overlooked, where they feel responsible for maintaining peace, or where safety and connection depend on minimizing themselves. Over time, these experiences can influence relationships, self-worth, emotional responses, and the ability to recognize or communicate personal needs.
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You may appear highly capable while privately struggling with shame, hypervigilance, emotional overwhelm, or a persistent belief that you should be able to handle everything on your own.
My work focuses on helping you understand how earlier experiences shaped your coping strategies and how those strategies continue to affect your life today.
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The goal is not to blame the past for everything you experience. It is to develop enough understanding and compassion to begin responding differently in the present.
Codependency, Boundaries, and Relationships
Codependency and boundary concerns are central areas of my work.
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You may feel responsible for other people’s emotions, have difficulty saying no, or struggle to identify what you need within relationships. You may regularly prioritize keeping the peace, fear disappointing others, or find yourself repeating relationship patterns even when you know they are painful.
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These responses often developed for meaningful reasons. They may have helped you maintain connection, avoid conflict, or feel needed during difficult circumstances.
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Therapy can provide a place to explore those patterns without judgment. Our work may include developing greater awareness of your emotional needs, strengthening communication, practicing realistic boundaries, and building relationships that allow you to remain connected without losing yourself.
Addiction Recovery
I work with people at different stages of addiction recovery, including individuals who are new to therapy and those who have maintained sobriety for many years.
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Recovery may involve much more than stopping the use of a substance or changing a particular behavior. As life becomes more stable, unresolved trauma, shame, grief, relationship patterns, or questions about identity may become more visible.
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Therapy can provide a place to understand what the addiction helped you manage and what support you need now.
Our work may focus on emotional regulation, codependency, boundaries, relationships, identity, self-compassion, and the experiences beneath patterns of use. The goal is to support recovery while also helping you develop a deeper and more sustainable connection with yourself.
Identity-Affirming and Culturally Responsive Therapy
I bring a culturally responsive and identity-affirming perspective to my work.
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As a bilingual English- and Spanish-speaking, queer-identifying, neurodivergent therapist, I am attentive to the layered experiences of people navigating marginalization, intersectional identity, and internalized shame.
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Identity, culture, family, community, relationships, and social experiences can all influence mental health. Therapy should provide room to discuss these parts of your life rather than requiring you to separate them from the concerns that brought you to treatment.
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I strive to meet clients with curiosity, honesty, and respect as they untangle old stories, better understand themselves, and reclaim their voices.
Experience Supporting People After Incarceration
I have more than a decade of experience supporting individuals after incarceration.
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That experience strengthened my commitment to providing therapy that affirms dignity, complexity, and humanity. A person’s history does not eliminate their capacity for healing, connection, accountability, or growth.
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People returning from incarceration may be navigating trauma, stigma, family relationships, identity, recovery, employment, community reintegration, or the emotional effects of institutional environments.
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My work recognizes the complete person rather than defining someone solely by what they have experienced or the choices they have made.
Credentials and Professional Background
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Licensed Professional Counselor
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Illinois professional counselor license 178.018617
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EMDR trained
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Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
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Adler University, 2021
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Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Spanish
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Loyola University Chicago
Outside the Therapy Room
When I am not in session, you can find me hiking, talking to my plants, moving through a hot-yoga class, or planning my next travel adventure.
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I am also a proud cat mom to two very opinionated feline companions.
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 Tracy
You may be working to maintain sobriety, understand a persistent relationship pattern, establish healthier boundaries, or heal from experiences that continue to affect how you relate to yourself and others.
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You do not need to have everything figured out before reaching out.
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Therapy can provide a place to slow down, understand the parts of yourself shaped by pain or survival, and move toward a more intentional and embodied way of living.
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To ask about working with me, contact Calm Mind Counseling Center.
