Processing trauma in therapy is an extremely vulnerable endeavor and is one that is respected. In working with us, you will partner with your therapist and work at your own pace to reach your treatment goal.
Adult Trauma Services
Reasons to contact us for specialized services:
- You are 18 years or older and recognize you have experienced trauma, and you are looking to process this trauma in therapy.
- You have lost a loved one and would like to process your grief in therapy.
- You have experienced a loss that has negatively impacted your life and you are interested in processing it in therapy.
- You are repeatedly exposed to other people’s trauma, and you are seeking support due to impacts on your own life experience.
- You have an interpersonal relationship with someone who has experienced trauma, and you would like have a deeper understanding of trauma and you would benefit from having your own space to process feelings and thoughts (e.g. Spouse, partner, family member, friend).
- You have been exposed to global, local and intergenerational traumas and would like to process your own thoughts, feelings and impacts within the context of therapy.
What is Trauma?
Trauma is typically described as a lived experience(s), where you directly or indirectly have been exposed to death, serious injury, sexual violence, and or have been repeatedly exposed to other people’s traumas (DSM-5).
Along with the definition, what else should be considered?
Your own life experience and perspective also help define trauma. What might be traumatic to one person may not be traumatic to another, therefore we work to validate your experience and provide support which is necessary for you and your emotional healing.
Some Common Reactions to Trauma:
- Unwanted Intrusive Memories
- Flashbacks/Memories that feel like reliving the trauma experience(s)
- Disassociation/Feeling Outside of Your Body
- Avoidance Behaviors
- Lapses in Memory as it relates to Trauma Event(s)
- Negative View of Self
- Negative World View
- Feelings of Guilt
- Feeling Alone/Isolation
- Emotional Numbness
- Anger/Irritability
- Engaging in risky behaviors
- Heightened Responses to Trauma Triggers
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Grief/Loss
- Increased Substance Use
If you are an adult who has experienced trauma and are looking for more specialized care, please reach out to us. When contacting our care coordination team, please inform them of your specialized care request. You may also email Daniel Lopez, M.S.W., LCSW, Associate Director of Adult Trauma, at dlopez@family-institute.org.
How to Get Started With The Family Institute
To get started, you can book an appointment online, call our Client Care Team at 847-733-4300 or start a chat in this window by clicking the chat bubble in the lower right corner of this webpage.
At this time, online scheduling is only available for new clients scheduling with therapists in our staff practice for standard behavioral health therapy services.
If you are interested in psychiatry services, neuropsychological assessments or therapy services in the Bette D. Harris Family & Child Clinic, please call our Client Care Team at 847-733-4300 to get started. In addition, if your therapy is court-ordered, please contact our Client Care Team.
Appointment and provider availability is based on your reason for visit, age and insurance. After you’ve booked your appointment online, please expect a phone call from a member of our Client Care Team to review your client account and complete any missing information prior to your initial session with your therapist. Please note, your appointment time is reserved for your first session; you and your clinician will confirm mutual availability to schedule future appointments.
Check your Insurance
We recommend that you check with your insurance provider about your coverage for behavioral health services. Some of our therapists are “in-network” with BCBS PPO. If you do not have BCBS PPO or want to see a therapist who is not paneled with BCBS, you may use your “out-of-network” benefits.
No Cost Therapy Available
If you do not have insurance, you may qualify for services through the Bette D. Harris Family & Child Clinic. Call our Client Care Team at 847-733-4300 to be matched with a therapist-in-training.
Teletherapy Availability
In order to book a teletherapy appointment, you need to reside in Illinois or be present in the state of Illinois for your sessions.
Learn more about billing, insurance, costs & payment options
Register in the portal
After your appointment is scheduled, you will receive an invitation to register for our Patient Portal. Once registered, you can review and sign the service agreement and fill out the intake form we ask all new clients to complete before their first session. You can also set your messaging preferences for appointment reminder notifications.
Complete intake measures
If you are seeing a therapist in the staff practice, you will receive a text from our technology partner, Blueprint, 24 hours before your session with a link to complete intake measures. The link is secure, unique to you, and your answers are private. The questions ask about things that are relevant to your mental health — there are no right or wrong answers — and are designed to help your therapist, help you better.
Over the course of your treatment, you will periodically receive check-in measures to see how therapy is going, this is called measurement-informed care, or measurement-based care, the practice of client data informing clinical care, and decades of research indicate it improves treatment.
Your first session
If you are seeing your therapist in person, please arrive 15 minutes early to check in with a receptionist.
Learn more about our locations
If you have a teletherapy appointment, your therapist will send you a secure link before the session. If you don’t already have Zoom downloaded, you can visit zoom.us/support/download to install it on your computer or find it in your mobile or tablet app store.
A quick guide to accessing your teletherapy appointment
Learn more about the security of your teletherapy session
More information about HIPAA & Zoom
Depending on therapy services, your first session(s) — up to three — may include an initial diagnostic assessment, which is charged at 125% of your therapist’s regular fee.
Learn more about billing, insurance, costs & payment options
Right fit
We recognize the importance of “right fit” with your therapist. If, at any time, you feel that you would like to work with a different therapist, please either speak directly with your therapist or contact the Client Care Center via the Patient Portal (Ask a Question to “General Q&A”) or call 847-733-4300 #2.
Learn more
The Family Institute is one of the nation’s leading relationship-based behavioral health organizations committed to strengthening children and adolescents, couples, families and individuals. As researchers, educators and therapists, we work with our clients and partner to see change. Your care is rooted in research and supported by our leading network of therapists.
We look forward to working with you.
Cancellation policy
We request the standard 24-hour notice to cancel an appointment. If 24-hours’ notice is not given, or you miss an appointment, you may be charged the full-fee for your session. This “no show” fee is not covered by insurance.
Please note that 5 business days’ notice is required to cancel neuropsychological assessment appointments.
New client forms
Staff Practice Service AgreementClinic Practice Service AgreementNeuropsychological Assessment Service AgreementPrivacy PolicyStaff Practice Service Agreement (Spanish)Clinic Practice Service Agreement (Spanish)Privacy Policy (Spanish)