Trauma Therapy & PTSD Treatment
Trauma therapy is not retelling the worst thing that happened to you until it stops hurting. Done properly, it is paced, and you stay in control of it.
Trauma is not defined by the size of the event. It is defined by what it did to your nervous system — and a car accident, a medical procedure, a childhood spent walking on eggshells and a single violent night can all leave the same imprint.
A common reason people avoid trauma therapy is the fear of being made to describe everything in detail at the first appointment. That is not how good trauma work runs. Stabilisation and skills come first; processing comes when you are ready and at a pace you set.
We see clients at our Northbrook office on Academy Drive and our Libertyville office on Hollister Drive, and by telehealth anywhere in Illinois.
What trauma can look like later
- Intrusive memories, flashbacks or nightmares that arrive uninvited
- Hypervigilance — scanning for threat, startling easily, never quite settling
- Avoiding places, people or conversations that bring it back
- Emotional numbness, or a sense of watching yourself from outside
- Anxiety or depression that has not responded to treatment aimed at those alone
- Difficulty trusting people, including people who have given you no reason not to
How we work with trauma
Our clinicians work from a trauma-informed stance, and the team includes a Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist. In practice, trauma-informed means the pace is yours, the room is predictable, and nothing gets forced open before there is something to hold it.
The work typically begins with stabilisation and skills — managing the physical state trauma leaves you in — before any processing. For many people, a substantial part of the benefit arrives in that first phase.
Where trauma sits underneath anxiety, depression or a relationship difficulty that has not budged, treating it directly is often what unlocks the rest. Which specific approach fits you is decided with your clinician rather than in advance.
Clinicians who work in this area
Matched from each clinician's own stated specialisms. Our Intake Team will pair you with the right person for your situation rather than the next available slot.
- Marina Shakhman, Psy.D.Licensed Clinical Psychologist · Clinical Director
- Debra P. Wolff, Psy.D.Licensed Clinical Psychologist
- Marisa Kunz, Psy.D.Licensed Clinical Psychologist
- Christine Petersen, Psy.D.Licensed Clinical Psychologist
- Jauren D. Kelly, Psy.D.Licensed Clinical Psychologist
- Benjamin Michaels, Psy.D.Licensed Clinical Psychologist
- Carol Dreyer, LMFT, LCPCMarriage & Family Therapist
- Andrew Hamlyn, LCPCLicensed Clinical Professional Counselor
Insurance, including Medicare
Grand Oaks Behavioral Health is in-network with most major plans — Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Aetna, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Evernorth (Cigna), UnitedHealthcare, BCBS Community Medicaid, Oscar — and with Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans, which a good number of behavioral health practices in the area do not accept. We also take BCBS Community Medicaid. Our Intake Team verifies your specific benefits and tells you your cost before your first appointment.
Where we see clients
604 Academy Drive, Northbrook, IL 60062 and 1800 Hollister Drive, Suite 201, Libertyville, IL 60048, plus telehealth anywhere in Illinois. We regularly see clients from Northbrook, Glenview, Deerfield, Highland Park, Northfield, Wilmette and across Lake County and the North Shore.
Common questions
Not at the start, and not before you are ready. Good trauma work begins with stabilisation and coping skills; processing comes later, at a pace you set, and you can stop. If a clinician pushes you into detail in an early session, that is a reason to raise it rather than a necessary part of treatment.
Yes. Our clinicians work with post-traumatic stress and with trauma that does not meet the full PTSD criteria but is affecting your life — which is a large share of what we see. Several clinicians list trauma and PTSD among their specialisms, and the team includes a Certified Clinical Trauma Specialist.
Yes. A great deal of trauma work happens decades after the events, often when something in adult life — becoming a parent, a bereavement, a relationship — brings it forward. Time passing does not make it untreatable.
Yes, with developmentally appropriate approaches and parent guidance alongside. Children process trauma differently from adults, and what helps most is often the adults around them understanding what they are seeing.
Related
Not sure which of these fits? That is what the first call is for. Phone (847) 549-1189 and our Intake Team will talk it through with you before anything is booked.
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