Christina Steele-Lietz, LCSW

To be a confidante, friend, teacher, and equal. This is the approach I take to therapy; open curiosity, non-judgmental, identifier of facts, explorer of solutions, and compassionate listener through a person’s life experience. Therapy together will be the creation of a lifestyle determined by you on; how to respond to what cannot be controlled, identifying what you want, learning how to comfort yourself through pain and suffering, healing, resiliency building, identifying who you are, and want to continue to be, with yourself, your people and the world around you. Our brain health is a journey, constantly changing, and like all other aspects of our health, we are taught little about it. Understanding brain health is even harder as it greatly affects how we think, feel, and react. It causes confusion, shame, and fear until you begin to understand and find your relationship with yourself. I began to truly understand aspects of this human experience in the arts during my undergraduate with Columbia College and being a working artist in Chicago. Before I realized or even had a clue about the power of therapy, I used the arts as an expression of all that we did not know how to express and at that time, were not encouraged to express. Being inspired through the visual arts, and wanting to learn and understand more about humans- I went on to receive a Masters in the Science of Social Work. I have 20 years of professional work experience post masters and certified in CBT, TF-CBT, and trained (EMDRIA) in EMDR. In addition, I use many other modalities such as ACT, DBT, TBRI, expressive arts, and other psychodynamic, evidence-based approaches. I specialized for many years in trauma and was a certified forensic interviewer. Aside from trauma, I have many years work with anxiety, depression, lifestyle, and life issues, working with pediatric all the way through to geriatric. In addition to my work here with Clarity, I am a Clinical Supervisor of therapists for an organization providing therapy services to children and families in metro Chicago and Northern Illinois. My role as a Therapist is to assist you in understanding the individuality of your mind/body connection and teaching you all the skills that I know so that you can and will become your best therapist. Our 'work space' together will be an open and safe environment where thoughts and feelings can be shared without fear of judgment or rejection. Taking the first step to seeking a more fulfilling and happier life takes courage. It is possible and you have the right to hope for and be happy. I am here to support you in that process and would be honored to work with you.