Therapy Session in Illinois

As a bilingual Spanish-speaking mental health counselor, I am passionate about supporting children, adolescents, and young adults as they navigate life’s challenges. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in social work from Northeastern Illinois University and a Master’s degree in social work from Dominican University. Throughout my career, I have worked with clients of all ages, with a particular focus on children and adolescents, helping them build coping skills, improve communication, and develop confidence in themselves. I provide a safe, empathetic space where clients can explore who they are, manage stress, and build practical coping skills. My mission is to help them gain confidence, reduce mental health symptoms, and develop resilience so they feel empowered to overcome barriers and thrive in their communities. I also enjoy working with families and parents, helping strengthen communication and understanding within the home. I believe healing happens when individuals feel seen and accepted for who they are, while also being supported in their personal growth. My areas of specialization include anxiety, depression, trauma, ADHD, adjustment issues, cultural identity, and life transitions. Above all, I want clients to know that they are not alone — reaching out for help is a powerful first step, and I am here to walk alongside them on their journey toward wellness and success.

Hi, I'm a licensed therapist dedicated to helping young adults and adults navigate life’s challenges with clarity, resilience, and self-compassion. I work with individuals from diverse backgrounds, including both South Asian and non-South Asian clients, providing culturally sensitive and inclusive care. My experience includes supporting clients through anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, life transitions, trauma, and self-esteem concerns. My approach blends empathy, collaboration, and evidence-based practices, creating a safe, nonjudgmental space where clients feel heard and supported. I believe therapy is a partnership, together, we identify goals, explore new perspectives, and develop practical strategies for meaningful change. My aim is to empower each client to strengthen their sense of self, improve emotional well-being, and build tools to move forward with confidence.

I am a clinical social worker who is personable and authentic. I lead my practice with humor and connection and always put my clients first. I graduated from Boston College School of Social Work with my MSW and a focus of Children, Youth, and Families. Through my specialty and training, I have been able to utilize my strong skillset working with school-aged children (5-18). I specialize in anxiety, depression, anger management, PTSD, and self-esteem concerns. My approach is solution-focused and prioritizes client empowerment and well-being. I am a nonjudgmental practitioner and am inclusive of all clients and backgrounds. My beliefs in therapeutic practice center on empathy and meeting clients where they are at, while also promoting growth and self-worth.

Hey Hey Hey! My name is Maliya Smith and I am a master’s level licensed mental health clinician with over 7 years of experience. However, I have been intuitively counseling and working as a healer my whole life.  I have worked with various populations and multiple settings from working as a domestic violence counselor, with college, highschool and middle school aged students, with families, couples and toddlers.  As a therapist, I counsel from a holistic perspective, therefore when working with my clients we will look at their experience through a multidimensional framework. This process will allow you to understand your layers of generational and childhood trauma,  maladaptive behaviors, beliefs and repressed emotions; while being able to analyze how this all plays out in your daily life.  I use person centered, psychoanalytic, interpersonal, somatic based interventions, mindfulness meditation and yoga. I am also a certified kemetic yoga instructor, therefore I incorporate deep breathing, postures and movements (by request) to help heal subconscious multigenerational wombs. My goal is to empower you holistically by allowing you to understand that life is not happening to you, you are the co-creator of your own reality and you can be your own healer, I am just a tool to help you see it :)