Here we are. Together connecting in this present moment. Let’s pause to take a breath together as we ease into being really present with each other right here, right now.

 

I’m grateful to have this opportunity to connect with you. My life has served as my classroom. I have been in recovery for 13 years, my parents are hard-working immigrants – both physicians - and I too was on a path to become a doctor when, begrudgingly in my twenties I had to explore therapy for the first time. Therapy took me on a different illuminating life path. Today and over the past decade, I’ve had the privilege of accompanying my clients on a similarly transformative personal exploration. 

 

The therapeutic process is a sacred journey. Here we can share intimately in a safe, non-judgmental place. We can uncover aspects of ourselves that need healing. As the darkness of our ignorance is gradually removed, we can recognize what needs our healing attention.

 

I believe personal growth rests on the bedrock of self-awareness. It is actually healing to know, as Pema Chodron teaches, all the ways that we are sneaky, all the ways that we hide out, all the ways that we shut down, deny, close off, criticize people, all of our weird little ways. We can know all of that with some sense of humor and kindness. By knowing ourselves, we’re coming to know humanness altogether.

 

The quality of our lives is directly connected to the quality of our relationships. When our relationships are suffering, everything is impacted. For that reason, we  explore whatever is unfolding in your relationships, and we explore how to bring awareness and skill to these crucial connections. Your spirit can be restored when it has been broken; the therapeutic process can help you begin to heal the heart and mind so they can find the peace and resolution they deserve.

 

In our sessions, we laugh, we may cry together, we might meditate -- or if you like, we might even pray. We explore how to have compassion for the parts of ourselves that we have cut off, self-medicated or judged. 

 

My approach to therapy is integrative – a mind-body-spirit healing process developed in my early spiritual counseling work. I incorporate practical tools for clarifying and strengthening my client's existing strengths, including mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral approaches. We explore how to make peace with what is, and find ways to reframe our difficulties as opportunities.

 

My graduate work at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology offered me the tools and modalities I needed so that I can provide you with powerful interventions and supportive psychotherapies. I work with trauma as a trained EMDR therapist, and specialize in working with addiction and abuse - including sexual assault, depression, anxiety, family and relationship issues.

 

I developed a range of community resources where I have given classes and workshops on personal development and wellness. I am honored to engage in a therapeutic relationship with you if you are ready to join me in the healing process of therapy.

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Visit Biana at Foundations Recovery Network in Chicago:

www.foundationsrecoverynetwork.com/outpatient-treatment/foundations-chicago

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Visit Biana at Monarch Counseling and Consulting:

www.monarchcounselingandconsulting.com

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