Compassionate, Culturally-Responsive Behavioral Health Services
At Tides Mental Health, we provide specialized trauma-informed, identity-informing care Chicago residents trust. Our comprehensive approach recognizes how traumatic experiences intersect with your cultural identity, offering personalized behavioral health services that honor your unique background and lived experiences.
Our clinicians understand that working with trauma requires more than insight alone. We provide trauma-informed, culturally responsive care that centers safety, pacing, and lived experience. Whether you’re working through adverse childhood experiences, ongoing stress, or major life transitions, therapy is grounded in steadiness, respect, and practical support.
What Is Trauma-Informed, Identity-Informing Care?
Trauma-informed care recognizes that traumatic experiences can shape how you see yourself, relate to others, and move through daily life. Our identity-informing approach considers how trauma interacts with cultural background, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other aspects of identity that influence your lived experience.
This framework focuses on understanding what you’ve been through, how it has affected your sense of self, and what supports healing now. We acknowledge that trauma is experienced within cultural and relational contexts, and we work to create a space where those influences are understood, respected, and integrated into the therapeutic process.
Key Components of Our Trauma-Informed Approach:
Safety & Trust-Building: We move with care and intention to create a space where safety and trust can develop over time.
Cultural Responsiveness: Care is informed by the psychological impact of systemic oppression, discrimination, and social inequity on well-being and recovery.
Collaboration & Empowerment: You maintain control over your healing process through collaborative treatment planning and shared decision-making.
Strengths-Based Focus: We identify and build on the resilience, skills, and cultural strengths you already carry, using them as foundations for healing and growth.
Our Comprehensive Behavioral Health Services
Individual Trauma-Informed Therapy
Our individual therapy services provide personalized support for adults, young adults, and teens who have experienced trauma. Using evidence-based practices, we address a wide range of traumatic experiences including:
- Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and developmental trauma.
- Interpersonal violence and relational trauma.
- Racial trauma and discrimination-related stress.
- LGBTQIA+ identity-related trauma and family rejection.
- Medical trauma and impacts of chronic illness.
- Challenges related to grief, loss, and life transitions.
Therapeutic Modalities We Offer:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help you address trauma-related thoughts, emotions, and behavioral patterns.
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) to aid in strengthening emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal skills.
- Somatic Therapy (Polyvagal-Informed) to support nervous system regulation and body-based trauma healing.
- Mindfulness-Based Therapy to build present-moment awareness and steadier emotional responses.
- Narrative Therapy to explore and reshape the stories that influence identity and meaning.
- Attachment-Based Interventions to support relationship patterns, emotional bonds, and attachment-related concerns.
Couples and Family Trauma-Informed Care
Traumatic experiences can impact not only individuals but also the relationships and family systems around them. Our couples and family work supports healing within these relationships and helps strengthen connection through trauma-informed interventions that:
- Address how past trauma impacts current relationships.
- Develop healthy communication and coping skills.
- Process family trauma and intergenerational patterns.
- Support parents navigating their children’s trauma responses.
- Strengthen attachment and emotional safety within families.
Specialized Programs for Marginalized Communities
We provide targeted behavioral health services for communities that face unique trauma-related challenges:
BIPOC Community Support: Our therapists recognize how racial trauma, microaggressions, and systemic racism affect mental health and daily life. We provide culturally responsive care that integrates individual strengths and community supports while addressing real barriers to accessing care.
LGBTQIA+ Affirming Care: We provide affirming care that supports sexual and gender identity while addressing concerns such as identity-related trauma, family rejection, discrimination, and internalized shame. Our work is grounded in cultural responsiveness, safety, and respect for lived experience.
Neurodivergent-Friendly Services: Our services adapt to different neurotypes and support clients in working through experiences related to masking, rejection, and pressure to conform. Care is shaped to respect cognitive differences while addressing the emotional impact of these experiences.
Multilingual & Immigrant Support: We work with individuals who navigate multiple languages and cultural contexts, recognizing how trauma, stress, and healing can be experienced differently across these environments. Our care honors multicultural identities and supports clients in integrating these experiences with clarity and steadiness.
Why Choose Tides Mental Health for Trauma-Informed Care?
Expertise in Evidence-Based Practices
Our team consists of Social Workers (LSW/LCSW), Professional Counselors (LCP/LCPC), and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT) who specialize in providing trauma-informed care. We stay current with the latest research in trauma treatment while maintaining deep commitments to cultural humility and social justice.
Personalized Treatment Planning
Care is tailored through a collaborative process that centers your needs, values, and lived experience. Our programs include:
- Comprehensive trauma-informed assessment.
- Collaborative goal-setting and treatment planning.
- Regular progress reviews and plan adjustments.
- Integration of your strengths and community resources.
Safe, Welcoming Environment
Our practice is designed with trauma survivors in mind. From our physical space to our communication style, every detail promotes safety and healing. We’ve created an environment where you can feel comfortable bringing your full self without fear of judgment or discrimination.
Flexible Service Options
We understand that accessing behavioral health services needs to fit your life circumstances:
- In-Person Therapy: Available at our Chicago location with comfortable, private spaces.
- Online Therapy: Secure telehealth options for convenience and accessibility.
- Flexible Scheduling: Evening and weekend appointments available.
- Multiple Session Formats: Individual, couples, and family options.
What to Expect: Your Journey with Us
Initial Consultation (Free 15-Minute Call)
We begin with a no-obligation consultation to ensure we’re the right fit for your needs. During this call, we will:
- Learn about what brings you to therapy.
- Answer questions about our trauma-informed approach.
- Discuss our programs and services.
- Help you feel comfortable about taking the next step.
Comprehensive Assessment
Your first session focuses on building rapport and creating safety rather than immediately diving into your full history. Our trauma-informed assessment process includes:
- Understanding your strengths and resources.
- Exploring your goals for therapy.
- Learning about your cultural background and identity.
- Assessing your support systems and community connections.
- Developing initial safety and stabilization plans.
Ongoing Treatment and Support
We provide consistent, reliable care through evidence-based interventions tailored to your needs:
- Weekly or bi-weekly sessions based on your preferences and treatment goals.
- Skill-building interventions including building coping skills to aid in managing triggers and stress.
- Processing support for working through traumatic experiences at a pace that works for you.
- Community connection assistance linking you with additional resources and social supports.
- Progress monitoring with regular check-ins about your healing process.
Collaborative Care Approach
Throughout your treatment, you remain in control of your healing journey. We collaborate with you on:
- Setting and adjusting therapeutic goals.
- Choosing intervention strategies that feel right for you.
- Determining session frequency and format.
- Connecting with community organizations and social services when helpful.
- Planning for treatment completion and ongoing wellness.
Specialized Support for Young Adults
Young adults face unique challenges when dealing with traumatic experiences, often while simultaneously navigating identity development, educational pressures, and major life transitions. Our specialized programs for young adults include:
Identity Development Support: Support for young adults as they make sense of past experiences and integrate them into an emerging sense of self, values, and cultural identity.
Educational & Career Stress Management: Support for managing academic and career pressures, including how trauma and chronic stress can affect concentration, motivation, confidence, and performance.
Relationship Development: Exploring how trauma shapes patterns in friendships, dating, and family dynamics, and supporting healthier connections during this stage of life.
Transition Support: Providing steadiness during major life changes—such as college transitions, early career steps, or moving away from familiar supports—while attending to how trauma may influence these adjustments.
Community-Based Healing Approach
We understand that healing also happens within community contexts, in addition to individual therapy sessions. Our approach includes:
Community Resource Connection: We maintain relationships with community organizations, faith-based organizations, and social services to provide comprehensive support networks.
Cultural Community Integration: We help you strengthen connections to your cultural communities as resources for healing and ongoing support.
Social Support Development: Our interventions include building and strengthening your natural support systems and social connections.
Advocacy & Empowerment: We support you in developing skills for self-advocacy and community engagement as part of your healing process.
Building Coping Skills for Long-Term Well-Being
Our trauma-informed care emphasizes developing practical coping skills that serve you long after therapy ends:
Emotional Regulation Techniques: Learning to manage intense emotions and trauma responses through evidence-based interventions.
Mindfulness & Grounding Practices: Building present-moment awareness to support regulation, especially when trauma shows up as dissociation, numbness, or feeling disconnected.
Interpersonal Skills: Building healthier relationship patterns and communication skills that support ongoing connection and intimacy.
Self-Care & Wellness Planning: Creating sustainable self-care practices that support your ongoing mental health and well-being.
Crisis Prevention & Safety Planning: Developing personalized strategies for managing difficult periods and accessing appropriate support when needed.
Take the First Step Toward Healing
If you’re ready to begin your healing journey with trauma-informed, identity-informing care, we’re here to support you. Our compassionate team understands the courage it takes to reach out for help, particularly if you’ve had difficult experiences with behavioral health services in the past.
You deserve care that honors your full identity, addresses the impact of traumatic experiences, and empowers you to reclaim your sense of self and relationships. Our evidence-based programs provide the foundation for lasting healing while celebrating your cultural strengths and resilience.
Contact Tides Mental Health Today
Our trauma-informed care programs are designed to create the safe space you need to process difficult experiences while building the coping skills and connections that support lasting well-being.
Ready to take the next step? Contact us today to schedule your free consultation and learn more about how our trauma-informed identity informing care can support your unique healing journey. We’re here to walk alongside you with expertise, compassion, and respect for all aspects of who you are.