Our Team

You are the expert of you. I’m just here as a helper…a facilitator of the change you want. As a therapist, I enjoy connecting and relating to my clients. I value the therapeutic relationship and believe it to be paramount to the success of therapy. My style is warm and interactive. I am comfortable both challenging my clients and also sharing in their emotions and experiences. I encourage my clients to connect with their feelings while valuing the importance of finding laughter and gratitude in our lives.

Therapy should not just be about our struggles but also include our celebrations, successes, and strengths. It is my hope to collaborate with you and to assist you in developing your goals for growth. I will help you increase insight and develop tools to change problematic patterns, thoughts, beliefs and behaviors to correct the discomfort you’re feeling today.

Additionally, if applicable, we will address and work toward healing past traumas. In an effort to facilitate change, I utilize a variety of effective, therapeutic approaches dependent on your needs, interpersonal style and your goals for therapy. These approaches will likely include a mix of several theories including psychodynamic therapy, cognitive-behavioral, attachment based, EMDR, and mindfulness practices.

Building Mindworthy Therapy has been a long term dream of mine that I am proud to see coming to life! I am passionate about mental health and psychotherapy and am grateful to make quality mental health services accessible in our community. Outside of my career, I am a wife and a mom to three wonderful kids. Often I can be found chauffeuring my children around town as their unpaid Uber driver and then cheering them on at their sporting events and activities. Life is busy these days so I most enjoy the slower moments of spending time with family and friends sitting around a dinner table, bonfire, or traveling to a new destination.

A dear friend often reminds me that “Life is a Workshop”, a journey during which we face challenges, experience pain and joy, and have our own intrinsic striving towards wholeness, health, and self-actualization.There may be times during this journey, when having someone to work with you in a collaborative and therapeutic partnership, can help to support the insight and healing needed to understand and untangle the challenging and sometimes painful or disturbing emotions that can block a person’s ability to embrace life with confidence.

My goal as a therapist is to empower each client in areas of self-understanding and acceptance as a catalyst for change within the safety of a caring, non-judgmental environment. I see therapy as a collaborative effort on the part of both therapist and client. My passion as a therapist is to help my clients find resolution for past conflicts, and to create a future built on purpose, hope, and resilience.

Please feel free to call me Kamal! This is a nickname that I’ve had most of my life. During my free time, I enjoy spending time with family and friends. I focus on maintaining balance in my life with a personal practice of mindfulness meditation and enjoy quiet walks in nature. Of course there is music (all types), and art! I also enjoy traveling to explore new places in this wonderful world we share.

I tailor my therapeutic services to meet the individual goals and needs of each client. I love to incorporate my personality, smiles, and laughter into sessions to promote genuine and honest relationships. During our time together, you can expect a laidback and supportive environment that helps provide a safe and comfortable space  to address your concerns. I truly care for each person I work with and want to create an open atmosphere in which you will be validated and empowered.

My approach is directive and will help provide you with skills to create actionable change within your life. Not only do I focus on exploring the impact a person’s past has on their current lives, but I also help provide clients with tools to cope with their present concerns. I utilize interventions and techniques from ACT, CBT, ERP, IFS, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. I love learning and as such, I am always continuing my education and training to assist my clients in meeting their therapeutic goals.

Along with being dedicated to my career, I am also very family-oriented and love spending time with those I love, especially my husband and my dog, Oliver. In my spare time I enjoy reading, playing Nancy Drew games, watching television, having movie nights, going on walks with the pup, and exercising. My happy place is either at a music festival or cuddled up on the couch reading a good book. Quite different happy places, I know! One of my favorite things to do is smile, so you can expect that quite often when you meet me.

My number one goal in therapy is to help you feel comfortable being your authentic self, weaknesses and all. I believe that in order to foster an atmosphere of authenticity one must show up authentically themselves, therefore I bring my honesty, compassion, wit and sense of humor into the therapy room. I work hard to provide a safe, supportive and encouraging environment that allows you to explore your goals, strengths and any barriers you may face in your journey toward healing. Exploring vulnerability and acting in tandem with the authentic self can be anxiety provoking yet liberating. I hope to empower you while facilitating trauma informed approaches that allow you a “soft landing” as you come home to yourself.

I believe each individual is the expert in their life, therefore I take a supportive stance in therapy to help you find your own voice and power in your healing. I draw on tools from CBT, ACT, IFS and MI and also enjoy incorporating aspects of mindfulness practices into my sessions. Furthermore, I enjoy educating on topics related to mental health and substance abuse and come with a myriad of resources from worksheets, to Ted Talks and videos that may supplement your experience in the therapy room. I work with adolescents and adults of all ages struggling with issues related to mental health and/or substance use. My passion is helping individuals find a life that is honest, authentic, and of value to them.

Aside from therapy and mental health, I love spending time with my two wiener dogs Lucille and Gus (both of whom I wish I could bring into the therapy room…but they’d probably steal the show!). I just recently moved into the Chicago-land area, so I love exploring my new home and all the activities the city has to offer. In my spare time, I enjoy crafting, reading, listening to music, and attending concerts and festivals. Humor is my muse and I find laughing to be the best therapy, so I enjoy all the memes and funny videos you’re willing to share!

In life, things are going to happen. Thankfully, lots of it will be really good, but there’s no denying there are also challenging times. In those trying times, while difficult to endure, they can also provide us a tremendous opportunity for growth as we learn to overcome adversity and develop resiliency. As your therapist, it is my goal to be there for you through your struggles and triumphs and provide unwavering support and guidance as you navigate this crazy thing we call life.

The therapist-client relationship is unique and powerful, and I consider it an absolute privilege to build relationships with my clients. At its core, I want our time together to be a collaborative and productive process. I hope to serve as a guide that allows you the space to explore your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a warm and non-judgemental environment. You are the expert of your own life and I am committed to helping you unlock and tap into your own inner resources to help you achieve your goals and relieve the discomfort you’re feeling.

In our time together you can expect that I will bring a genuine and positive attitude and sense of humor to our sessions. With a theoretical orientation rooted in person-centered, psychodynamic, CBT and IFS, I will utilize interventions that provide you with actionable change. I look forward to joining you on your journey of healing and growth.

Outside of my career, I think of myself as a fun-loving individual who enjoys spending time with friends and family and is passionate about all things related to movies, television shows, and video games. One of my favorite things to do is laugh, but most of all, make others laugh! So expect some jokes that may or may not land well. Aside from that, my most controversial opinion may be that Star Wars is far superior to Harry Potter… This is something that needs no further explanation!

I consider myself to be an integrative therapist. This means that I do not believe there is a “one size fits all” approach so I adjust my techniques and interventions depending on the needs of the individual client. When working with children, I find myself utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy, child-centered play therapy, and solution-focused play therapy. I also use countless expressive arts techniques and other creative interventions such as sand tray.

When working with teens and adults, I often utilize cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and psychodynamic interventions. I love bringing playfulness into the session (yes, even with adults!) so I may use sand tray or other creative techniques to get my clients thinking. Additionally I am also trained in Tier 1 Clinical Hypnosis, which I have utilized with clients experiencing stress, anxiety, and chronic pain.

Aside from my career, my life revolves around my little family. I love spending good quality time with my husband and our border collie, Archie. We recently moved to Chicagoland from Texas, so our weekends consist of trying new restaurants and checking out our new state! I am a reading enthusiast, so I spend a lot of time cuddled up with a good thriller/mystery and a too-big cup of coffee.

Reality television is my guilty pleasure, so if we need to spend the first few minutes of session catching up on the latest episode of Real Housewives of New Jersey, I will not protest!