Are you looking for compassionate and professional support after experiencing trauma?

Our expert team of clinicians specializes in trauma therapy and is dedicated to helping individuals like you navigate the complex journey of healing. We provide a safe, non-judgmental space where you can process your experiences and begin to heal.

The Family Institute at Northwestern University has a specialized team of Trauma Therapists providing specialized treatment for adult services.

We understand the urgency to receive care when experiencing trauma. Initial appointments are available within one to two weeks depending on registration and in-take from a new client. Your therapist will respond to you within a timely manner.

How to Know When Your Family Should See a Therapist

Taking the first step toward mental health support can feel daunting but recognizing when to seek help is an important act of self-care. Discover how therapy can provide the tools and guidance to navigate life’s challenges.

BIPOC person smiling at camera

Common Reactions to Trauma:

  • Unwanted Intrusive Memories
  • Flashbacks/Memories that feel like reliving the trauma experience(s)
  • Disassociation/Feeling outside or untethered to your body
  • Avoidant Behaviors
  • Lapses in Memory
  • 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
  • Substance Use

What makes The Family Institute Different? Why Choose Us?

Care from our specialized team of Trauma Therapists

  • Our therapists specialize in evidence-based approaches that prioritize your safety, trust, and empowerment throughout the healing process.
  • Relational therapy approaches along with additional specializations, which include: EMDR, Somatic Experiencing therapy, Grief/Bereavement therapy along with other specialized treatment foci.

Personalized Treatment Plans

  • We tailor collaborate on every aspect of therapy to account for your unique needs, experiences, and goals.
  • Evidence-based practices, personalized treatment along with emotional support and validation.
  • The pace of treatment is based on your own unique process and goals for treatment.

Emotional Support and Validation

  • You’ll find a safe space to process your emotions, where your experiences are met with compassion and understanding.  
  • We promote a non-judgmental space to process and share vulnerabilities to promote healing and validation of experience.

Skills for Coping and Healing

  • We equip you with practical tools to manage triggers, reduce distress, and rebuild a sense of control to manage symptoms.  Skills and coping strategies are often unique to the person and are explored for efficacy and usefulness.

Improved Self-Awareness and Resilience

  • Gain insights into how trauma has impacted your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, while building resilience for the future.
  • Learn ways to re-establish a greater sense of safety, as appropriate, in your life experience.

Building Resilience for Positive Change

  • Along with hope for growth and change, we promote an emotionally safe space to build resiliency and to promote emotional healing from past trauma(s).
  • Therapy offers the opportunity to gain insight and to create positive changes from within.  
  • By strengthening resilience, individuals can navigate life’s challenges with greater confidence, self-awareness, and a renewed sense of purpose.

Get Started with the Adult Trauma Team Today

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.

Options for Therapy

In-person Therapy

Face to face support in a welcoming and private setting at any one of our four locations.

Teletherapy*

Access expert care from the comfort of your home through secure online sessions. Consider teletherapy if you do not live close to one of our four locations.

Book Online Today! Learn More About How to Get Started

*In order to book a teletherapy appointment, you need to reside in Illinois or be present in the state of Illinois for your sessions.

Meet our Specialized Team of Trauma Therapists

Daniel Lopez

Daniel Lopez, M.S.W., LCSW

Associate Director, Trauma
Therapist

Mr. Lopez specializes in trauma and has been certified in ARC (Attachment, Self-Regulation & Competency) since 2013. Including ARC, which is an evidence-based framework for therapy using a trauma-informed perspective, Mr. Lopez has extensive training and experience in trauma-informed therapy practice.

Leon Abbey

Leon I. Abbey, M.A., LCPC

Therapist

Leon Abbey, M.A., LCPC is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and Certified Trauma Professional with over four years of experience in community mental health. Mr. Abbey prioritizes creating a collaborative, safe, and culturally sensitive space that honors client autonomy and identity.

therapist pam baldinelli

Pam Baldinelli, M.A., LCPC

Therapist

Pam Baldinelli has focused her practice on working with depression, anxiety, self-harming behaviors, life transitions and identity issues. She has extensive training in both CBT and DBT and incorporates these treatment models into her work with clients.

Paichence Maze

Paichence Maze, LPC

Therapist

Paichence Maze, LPC (she/her) takes a trauma informed approach to treatment, being mindful of an individual's past experiences, as well as their social, psychological, and physical needs. She strives to create a safe, honest, and non-judgmental space where clients can learn what they need and unlearn what's no longer working for them.

Megan Dyer, therapist

Megan Dyer, M.A., LCPC, NCC

Therapist
Megan Dyer (she/her) works to create a collaborative and safe space with all her clients. She works with individuals and groups utilizing an integrative approach drawing from trauma informed, psychodynamic and strengths based techniques to promote recovery and healing.
heidi hayden therapist chicago

Heidi J. Hayden, M.A., LCPC

Therapist

Ms. Hayden works with individuals, couples and families. Her areas of interest include working through the impact of trauma in all its forms as well as grief, loss and life transitions. She has completed The Natalie Haimowitz Postgraduate Training Program, a three-year postgraduate fellowship focusing on the relational treatment of trauma.

Relational therapist Catherine Matteson

Catherine Matteson, LCSW, CADC

Therapist
Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor
Catherine Matteson (she/her) has over ten years of experience in social work collaborating with clients of all different ages and cultural backgrounds. Ms. Matteson is a relational therapist who is interested in the intersections of identity, mental health, trauma and methods of coping.
Lauren Miller

Lauren E. Miller, MSc, A.M., LSW

Therapist

Lauren Miller (she/her) is a licensed social worker (LSW) and a client-centered, relational therapist who works with adolescents, young adults, adults, couples, and families.

Melissa Prusko, PsyD

Melissa Prusko, Psy.D.

Therapist
Dr. Prusko (she/her) strives to provide a compassionate and empathic therapeutic relationship that allows for feeling safe enough to explore and to make sense, together, what may bring someone to therapy. While she practices from a psychodynamic perspective, she is skilled at delivering techniques in a relational manner for those who are seeking new skills for symptom relief.