Illinois

Betsy is a Harvard-educated criminal defense attorney with 15 years of experience in the most serious and complex of criminal cases. She specializes in sentencing advocacy. As a sentencing advocate, Betsy compiles information about her client's life, environment, and health in an effort to put the criminal charges into context and reduce any potential sentence the client might face.

Braden Berkey, Psy.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist. He has maintained a private practice focused on sexual minorities and those impacted with HIV/AIDS for over 20 years. He works with individuals, couples and those in alternative relationships. Dr. Berkey served as the Director of Behavioral Health and Social Services at Howard Brown Health Center for six years. In 2006 he joined the Center on Halsted, where he served as the founding director of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Institute. Recognizing the unique clinical dilemmas faced by providers within the leather community, Dr. Berkey created the Kink-Identified Clinicians Discussion Group 15 years ago. This served as the impetus for the annual Alternative Sexualities Conference which has been held in Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Braden is the founder and executive director of Projects Advancing Sexual Diversity (www.ProjectsAdvancingSexualDiversity.org), where he is currently working on the development of clinical guidelines for work with members of alternative sexuality communities. Dr. Berkey is an Associate Professor in the Clinical Psy.D. Program at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

As Oscar Wilde once said, "One's real life is so often the life that one does not lead." But, for you, today can be your first step on a path of growth, personal understanding and authenticity. With a background in both clinical social work and literature, I am skilled in helping you first identify and then reimagine the themes and storylines of your life. My objective is to help you rediscover your potential and lead a more satisfying, self-aware existence. We can work together to better understand and resolve your past and current challenges and meet your goals. Working together, we can uncover long-standing behavior patterns to help you write your new life story and take the next step on your path to a more fully realized life. I provide individual and couples counseling with specializations including depression, anxiety, life transitions, loss and grief recovery, LGBTQ issues, sexuality and gender concerns, teens and young adults, body image, disabilities and chronic illness, work and career challenges, education/school support, conflict resolution and communication difficulties.

I have 33 years of experience providing psychotherapy and counseling to individuals, couples and poly families. I am practical, down-to-earth and interactive. I have been involved in kink for many years and have worked with a wide range of interests and practices. I am a Clinical Member of AAMFT and I am in the process of becoming a sex therapist. I also have a lot of experience working with alcohol and drug use issues and I approach these issues in a balanced way. I accept Blue Cross and private pay.

Licensed Professional Counselor serving multiple communites with Mental Health services, not as illness, or based on a medical model, but a Bio-Psycho-Social and Existential approach. Specilaizing in talk therapy, time management and stress reduction techniques, I particularly serve people whose work, avocation or passion includes using inspiration, generating ideas or the study and mastery of craft or technique. I'm open to alternative lifestyles, and am experienced in yoga practice and philosophy.

Aidan is a professional Spiritual Advisor and director with over a decade of experience. He holds a Masters of Divinity from an accredited, liberal seminary, and provides spiritual support to people of all faith backgrounds, and no spiritual/religious background at all. Aidan identifies as queer, trans masculine, and genderqueer. He also identifies as a mystical Atheist. Aidan has been queer, kinky, and poly for several years, and has experience providing professional services within those communities. Aidan is available for spiritual counseling, guidance, wedding officiating, and funerals/memorial services. Fees depend on services provided.

I earned my doctorate in clinical psychology (PsyD) from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and am currently working at Live Oak as a Licensed Professional Counselor while working toward becoming a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. As a therapist, I have experience with clients in many different types of relationship configurations and clients within the Kink community. I do individual, relationship, and family therapy with clients both within and outside the Kink community, and I approach every new therapeutic relationship with respect and non-judgment. I believe that therapy involves exploration. The focus varies depending on the needs of each client, but exploration is always present in some form. In my work with clients, we sometimes explore their past to identify pivotal moments that shaped them, we sometimes explore the underlying beliefs that influence their perception of the world, and we sometimes explore their routines to identify those habits that are helpful and those that are not. Regardless of the direction and depth of our exploration, I am consistently honored when I am allowed to accompany someone on their journey. I see clients at both Live Oak locations, which are 1300 W. Belmont Ave. Ste. 400 and 30 N Michigan Ave. Ste. 508. Live Oak is in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield and we can also bill out-of-network to many other providers. Sliding fee scales are also available. For more information, or to schedule an appointment, please call me at 773.880.1310 ext. 7293.

I'm a family friendly photographer in the Chicago area. I'm someone who any family should feel comfortable coming to for their photos regardless of the orientation, gender identity, age identity, or even the number of its members. I've seen my colleagues turn families away simply because they weren't comfortable with the subject's identity. That won't happen with me. In addition to family portraiture, I do event photography ranging from birthday parties to corporate events, headshots for business use, and I do kink photography both for private individuals and advertising use for sex workers of all types. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Adam ('he', 'him', 'his') works to build a genuine relationship between himself and his clients, emphasizing teamwork and encouraging the client's active participation in the counseling process. Adam trusts his clients as the true 'experts' with the lived experience to help identify realistic solutions to individual challenges. He helps clients maximize inner strengths and self-compassion, while instilling hope and confidence to overcome the obstacles that may be preventing personal growth, health & wellness, and greater life fulfillment. Adam strives to approach all of his client relationships with a desire and willingness to learn. Adam brings particular training and expertise from the University of Michigan related to sexual health concerns, sexual functioning & behavior, and sexual expression. He is kink-knowledgeable and experienced working with alternative relationships and lifestyles. He works primarily with adults & couples experiencing a wide array of other concerns including anxiety, depression, grief & loss, trauma, relationship & family conflict, and sexual & gender identity concerns. Adam is passionate about supporting the existence and development of diverse identities and perspectives. He is sensitive to political and cultural events that may be of particular importance to his clients, and understands the complexities associated with multiple, intersecting identities.