Black woman relaxing with coffee, representing the sense of calm and connection supported through online therapy in Chicago and Illinois
Black woman relaxing with coffee, representing the sense of calm and connection supported through online therapy in Chicago and Illinois

ONLINE THERAPY IN CHICAGO & ACROSS ILLINOIS

Talk to Someone Who Actually Gets It.

Because you don't have to be the “strong one” here.

Warm, culturally affirming therapy for adults, teens, and couples. Trauma-informed care for anxiety, burnout, postpartum, identity, and the relationships that ask a lot of you.

In-network with BCBS PPO Illinois, Blue Choice PPO & Aetna PPO. We verify your benefits before your first session so you have a clearer understanding of your expected costs.

MAYBE YOU’RE HERE BECAUSE…

You’ve been carrying a lot… and something has to give.

You’re lying in bed, wide awake… replaying a conversation from hours ago and wondering if you said the wrong thing.

You’re sitting in your car for a few extra minutes… because you need five minutes where no one needs anything from you.

You’re looking at your inbox or today’s to-do list… already feeling ten steps behind before your feet even touch the floor.

You’re tired of masking parts of yourself… trying to fit expectations that were never made for you.

You’re lying next to someone you love… wondering how you can feel so close to someone and so disconnected at the same time.

Or maybe you’re simply tired of saying “I’m fine” when you know you're not.

Maybe you're the person everyone relies on. The one who figures things out. The one who keeps going, even when you're running on empty.

Or maybe no one really knows how much you’re carrying because, from the outside, you seem fine.

You might look capable, successful, or like you have it all together. But inside, you’re overthinking everything, feeling disconnected from yourself or the people you love, or quietly wondering:

Why am I struggling so much when everything seems fine?

Maybe you keep telling yourself you’ll feel better…

  • When work slows down.

  • When the relationship gets better.

  • When the kids need less.

  • When you figure out what's next.

But somehow, there’s always something else.

Hands holding a warm coffee mug at home, representing a moment of calm and online therapy support in Chicago and Illinois

Nothing is wrong with you

Let’s be real… you've been carrying a lot for a long time. So, of course it feels like this.

Maybe you’ve been thinking about therapy for weeks or months.

Maybe you’ve opened websites like this before and closed them because you told yourself, “I can probably handle this.”

And maybe you can.

But being able to carry something doesn't mean you have to keep carrying it alone.

You don’t have to wait until everything falls apart to ask for help.

You don’t have to know exactly what’s wrong, what kind of therapy you need, or even where to start.

Sometimes, “I don’t want to keep feeling like this” is enough.

That's exactly why we created Mindful Healing Counseling. Our psychologist-led team provides compassionate, evidence-based virtual therapy and telehealth care for adults, teens, couples, women, mothers, and families throughout Chicago and Illinois.

What Could Feel Different?

Imagine…

  • Waking up without your mind immediately racing through everything that could go wrong.

  • Setting a boundary without spending the rest of the day wondering if you were selfish.

  • Feeling less overwhelmed by everything everyone needs from you.

  • Dropping some of the pressure to perform, overachieve, mask, or hold everything together.

  • Being present with the people you love instead of constantly anticipating what needs to happen next.

  • Trusting yourself more instead of second-guessing every decision.

Therapy isn't about becoming a completely different person.

It's about helping you feel more at home in your own life.

You don’t have to keep doing this on your own.

Takes less than 2 minutes • No perfect words required

Support for What You’re Carrying

Because life rarely comes at us one neat challenge at a time.

Anxiety creeps in alongside burnout. Trauma shows up in your relationships. ADHD can make everyday things feel harder than they “should.” And big changes—like becoming a parent—can leave you feeling deep love and total exhaustion all at once.

Sometimes it’s one of these things. Sometimes it’s five at once.

Our Illinois therapists support adults, teens, couples, and families navigating anxiety, trauma, burnout, ADHD and neurodivergence, pregnancy and postpartum concerns, relationships, grief, identity, and major life transitions.

You don’t have to know exactly what to call what you’re feeling. We’ll start right where you are.

We match you. You never have to guess.

Your to do list is already a mile long, so we made this part simple.


01

SHARE YOUR STORY

Fill out our quick matching form. No perfect words required. Just tell us what you're hoping for and what has been feeling hard.

02

GET MATCHED

We personally match you with a therapist based on your concerns, preferences, availability, insurance, and the kind of support you're looking for.

03

START FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE

Meet securely with your therapist online from a private space anywhere in Illinois. You don’t need to know exactly what to say. You just need to show up.

We can start there.

Therapy That Sees the Whole You

Diverse group of adults, including LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals, sharing a relaxed moment together, representing inclusive, culturally affirming therapy in Chicago and Illinois

You are more than a list of symptoms.

Your culture, race, gender, identity, faith, family expectations, and neurodivergence all shape how you experience stress, safety, and healing. Good therapy makes room for all of it.

You shouldn’t have to spend your therapy hour translating your culture, defending your identity, or teaching your therapist the basics of your lived experience.

You get to bring your whole self here—and be fully seen, respected, and welcomed, exactly as you are.

Mindful Healing Counseling provides culturally responsive, identity-affirming online therapy in Illinois for:

  • Women

  • Black women and BIPOC communities

  • Moms, parents, and perinatal clients

  • LGBTQIA+, transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse individuals

  • ADHD, autistic, AuDHD, and neurodivergent clients

  • First-generation adults and professionals

  • College students, teens, and young adults

  • Couples and families

Black woman laughing while using a laptop at home, representing online therapy for Black women in Chicago and Illinois

Your Therapist Should Feel Like Someone You Can Actually Talk To

Therapy shouldn't feel like another place where you have to perform, and we won't just sit back, nod, and ask, "How does that make you feel?"

We do therapy differently.

You'll get a therapist who remembers what you said last week. Someone who notices patterns you may not see yet. Someone who can sit with the hard stuff, laugh with you when something is genuinely funny, and gently point out when an old habit is getting in your way.

We ask real questions, help you connect the dots, teach practical tools, and work with you so you leave sessions feeling lighter, clearer, and truly supported.

What Makes Therapy Here Different

A space where you can finally stop surviving and start feeling like yourself again.

Our therapists specialize in culturally affirming care for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and first-generation individuals.

Diverse hands holding a heart, representing inclusive and culturally responsive therapy in Chicago and Illinois

All of You is Welcome

Culture, identity, relationships, family, and lived experience aren't side notes here. They're part of understanding you.

Hand holding soil with a small plant sprouting, symbolizing healing, growth, and mental health support in Illinois

More than Just Talking

You'll have space to process what's happening and practical ways to handle it differently outside of therapy.

Laptop with heart icon representing secure online therapy and virtual counseling in Chicago and Illinois

Therapy That Fits Real Life

Meet securely online from anywhere in Illinois without adding another commute, waiting room, or extra headache to your week.

Hispanic woman holding a journal during a peaceful moment of reflection, representing healing and culturally affirming therapy in Chicago and Illinois

What We'll Actually Help You Do

Understanding why you feel this way matters.

But most people eventually want to know:

What do I actually do when this happens again?

Therapy at Mindful Healing Counseling is designed to help what you learn in session show up in your actual life.

Together, we may work on helping you:

  • Calm constant overthinking instead of exhausting yourself trying to fight every thought.

  • Understand your stress and survival responses so you can notice them sooner and respond differently.

  • Heal painful experiences and trauma that still affect how you see yourself or relate to others.

  • Set boundaries with less guilt and more trust in your own needs.

  • Stop automatically putting everyone else first while disappearing from your own life.

  • Build relationships that feel safer, deeper, and more connected.

  • Feel more like yourself again. Not the version everyone needs you to be. You.

Our therapists draw from evidence-based approaches including CBT, DBT, ACT, mindfulness, attachment-based therapy, trauma-informed care, and other approaches tailored to your goals and needs.

A Space Built With You in Mind

Interracial couple walking through a park, representing diverse clients seeking online therapy in Chicago and throughout Illinois

“I wanted therapy to be a place where you never have to leave parts of yourself at the door…a real, human space where I’d feel good sending someone I love.”

Dr. Aretha Steele, PsyD
Founder & Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Why I Created Mindful Healing Counseling

Over the years as a psychologist, I’ve seen how draining it can be to walk into a room already wondering if your therapist will truly get it. Will they understand your culture, your family dynamics, or your identity? Will they see the quiet weight of being the one who always has to hold everything together?

I built Mindful Healing Counseling so you wouldn't have to carry that worry.

I wanted a place where you can talk about anxiety and also talk about how race, gender, or identity may be part of what you're carrying.

Where you can talk about motherhood and be honest about the exhaustion or resentment that can come with it.

Where you can unpack trauma, work on your relationships, or celebrate your success while still admitting that you're tired.

You shouldn't have to choose between really good therapy and feeling genuinely understood.

That belief shapes every therapist I bring onto our team and guides how we care for the people who trust us with their stories.

You don't have to edit who you are or make yourself easier to understand to get the care you deserve.


Meet the Therapists Who Get It

Different therapists. Different strengths. One shared belief: you deserve to feel genuinely seen and understood.

Finding the right therapist matters. Because therapy works best when you feel like your therapist actually gets you.

Our psychologist-led team brings different identities, backgrounds, clinical specialties, and ways of connecting. We built our team that way on purpose. What ties us together is a deep commitment to thoughtful, compassionate care.

The goal isn't to find the therapist who looks best on paper. It's to find someone you can imagine actually talking to.

Someone you can exhale with. Someone you don't have to perform for. Someone who feels like they might really understand.

Meet our team and see who feels like the right fit for you.

  • Briana Booker, LSW, Black online therapist supporting women, young adults, couples, and moms with anxiety, relationships, trauma, and burnout in Illinois

    Briana Booker, LSW

    For the woman whose mind never seems to turn off—and who is tired of repeating the same patterns.

    Briana supports women, young adults, and couples navigating anxiety, overthinking, burnout, relationship patterns, communication challenges, LGBTQIA+ experiences, and neurodivergence.

  • Samreen Ahmed, LSW, South Asian and Muslim therapist providing culturally responsive online therapy for teens and young adults with anxiety, trauma, grief, and life transitions in Chicago and Illinois

    Samreen Ahmed, LSW

    For those whose minds and bodies have been carrying stress for far too long.

    Samreen provides culturally responsive, trauma-informed support for anxiety, trauma, grief, nervous system stress, life transitions, and the intersection of culture, faith, family, and identity. She has a particular understanding of South Asian, Muslim, BIPOC, and first-generation experiences.

  • Therin Slayton, PsyD, trans and LGBTQIA+ affirming therapist providing online therapy for LGBTQIA+, trans, nonbinary, and neurodivergent clients in Chicago and Illinois

    Therin Slayton, PsyD

    For the outliers, deep thinkers, creatives, and people who are tired of masking who they are.

    Therin provides LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent-affirming care for transgender, nonbinary, gender-diverse, ADHD, autistic, AuDHD, disabled, and neurodivergent adults navigating burnout, masking, anxiety, identity, relationships, and self-discovery.

  • Summer Stewart, PsyD, Black therapist providing online therapy for Black and Brown women with anxiety, burnout, and trauma in Chicago and Illinois

    Summer Stewart, PsyD

    For the woman who has been “the strong one” for far too long.

    Summer works especially well with Black and Brown women, high-achieving professionals, and young adults navigating anxiety, burnout, perfectionism, relationships, trauma, and the pressure to hold everything together.

  • Fabiola Felix, LSW, Hispanic online therapist supporting first-generation and Latinx clients with anxiety, burnout, depression, grief, and trauma in Illinois

    Fabiola Felix, LSW

    For the first-gen woman who is tired of being “the reliable one” at the expense of herself.

    Fabiola supports first-generation and Latinx clients navigating anxiety, overthinking, cultural and family expectations, boundaries, burnout, grief, identity, and difficult life transitions.

  • Dr. Aretha Steele, PsyD, founder and licensed psychologist providing online therapy for women, anxiety, trauma, postpartum, and motherhood in Illinois

    Aretha Steele, PsyD

    Founder & Clinical Director

    Dr. Steele founded Mindful Healing Counseling around a simple belief: people heal best when they feel genuinely seen, understood, and supported for who they are.

    She is currently opening a limited number of therapy appointments.

You Belong Here.

If you’re looking for a trauma-informed therapist in Chicago or culturally responsive therapy anywhere in Illinois, you have found your home. Your experiences will be approached with curiosity, respect, and care, not treated as something you need to defend or explain away.

Woman sitting comfortably at home with coffee and a laptop, representing convenient online therapy in Chicago and throughout Illinois

Online Therapy Wherever You Are in Illinois

Secure virtual sessions. From your couch, your car, or wherever you can breathe for an hour.

Mindful Healing Counseling was founded by a Black woman psychologist who intimately understands the weight of being "the only one" in the room. Our practice provides culturally responsive, trauma-informed online therapy designed to make specialized care easier to access, without adding a commute or waiting room to your day.

Our therapists provide secure telehealth and online therapy to clients in Chicago, Palos Heights, New Lenox, surrounding suburbs, and communities throughout Illinois. Through our secure teletherapy platform, we support adults, teens, couples, women, moms, professionals, and neurodivergent adults across the entire state.

Commonly Serving Neighborhoods & Suburbs Including:

Lincoln Park • Lakeview • Logan Square • Wicker Park • Beverly • Hyde Park • West Loop • Oak Park • Evanston • Tinley Park • Orland Park • Naperville • New Lenox • Palos Heights

Insurance & Fees

We don't want the cost of therapy to be a mystery.

Mindful Healing Counseling is in-network with:

Before your first appointment, we'll verify your benefits and help you understand your expected copay, coinsurance, or deductible.

Not sure what your plan covers?

We'll help you figure it out.

We also offer self-pay options for clients who prefer not to use insurance or whose plan is out of network.

(Please note: We not currently able to accept Medicaid or Medicare.)

Common Questions About Beginning Therapy

Ready to finally set that weight down?

You’ve carried this by yourself for long enough.

It’s time for someone to be there for you.

You deserve a life that feels lighter, calmer, and more fully your own.

Prefer to ask a few questions first? Schedule a free, no-pressure 15-minute consultation.