Therapy for Adolescents and Young Adults in Chicago & Northfield
Navigate the transition to adulthood with confidence and clarity.
The teenage and young adult years are filled with transition, growth, and big decisions. Our compassionate therapists help teens and young adults build coping skills, navigate challenges, and create the future they want.
You Don't Have to Figure It All Out Alone
The teenage and young adult years are filled with transition, future planning, decision-making, and personal growth. Although this life phase often feels challenging, it can also be a very exciting and empowering time.
When you’re taking on personal responsibility and developing your own worldview while facing all the challenges that come with growing up, it’s normal to feel confused, out of control, lonely, or scared. These feelings don’t mean something is wrong with you. They mean you’re human, and you’re navigating a lot.
At Third Coast Wellness, we provide therapy for adolescents and young adults in Chicago and Northfield. In therapy, you’ll receive a caring, nonjudgmental space to talk openly about your thoughts, emotions, and current challenges. It’s an opportunity for self-exploration, growth, and unconditional support.
Talking and sharing your inner thoughts in a safe environment with a trained therapist is a truly helpful and transformative way to feel more at peace in your life and to intentionally create the future you desire.
Who Therapy for Teens and Young Adults Is For
Therapy is for any adolescent or young adult who’s feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or unsure how to navigate this complex stage of life. You don’t have to be in crisis to reach out. If something feels off or hard, that’s reason enough.
This therapy is right for you if you’re experiencing:
✓ Anxiety about school, college, career, or the future
✓ Depression or feeling disconnected from things you used to enjoy
✓ Substance use or experimenting in ways that worry you
✓ Academic pressure or job performance stress
✓ Relationship struggles with friends, romantic partners, or family
✓ Behavioral issues or impulsive decisions you regret
✓ Family conflict or feeling misunderstood at home
✓ Uncertainty about your identity, sexuality, or gender
✓ “Failure to launch” feelings or insecure dependence on parents
✓ Body image issues or struggles with eating and self-worth
✓ Social media stress or feeling like you don’t measure up
✓ Big life transitions like graduation, moving out, or starting college
Why Choose Therapy for Teens and Young Adults at Third Coast Wellness
Our approach recognizes that adolescents and young adults aren’t just “little adults.” This developmental stage has unique challenges, and you deserve specialized support that truly gets it.
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Expert Understanding of This Life Stage
Our therapists specialize in adolescent and young adult development. We understand the pressure you’re under, the identity questions you’re wrestling with, and the complexity of navigating relationships while figuring out who you are.
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Judgment-Free, Confidential Space
This is your space. Not your parents’, not your teachers’, not your friends’. You can be completely honest about what you’re thinking and feeling without judgment. Confidentiality is protected (with rare exceptions for safety), so you can talk freely.
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Real Skills for Real Life
We don’t just talk about feelings. We help you build practical coping skills for managing anxiety, communicating your needs, handling conflict, making decisions, and creating healthy boundaries. Tools you’ll use long after therapy ends.
Our Approach to Adolescent and Young Adult Therapy
We use evidence-based, developmentally appropriate approaches designed to help you understand yourself better and build the life you want.
CBT helps you identify thought patterns that fuel anxiety, depression, or self-doubt. You'll learn to challenge negative thinking, manage overwhelming emotions, and respond to stress in healthier ways. This approach is particularly effective for school anxiety, social stress, and perfectionism.
DBT teaches practical skills for managing intense emotions, tolerating distress, and improving relationships. You'll learn mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. These tools are especially helpful for impulsivity, mood swings, and relationship drama.
Adolescence and young adulthood are all about figuring out who you are. We create space to explore your values, interests, identity, sexuality, and goals without pressure to have it all figured out. This work helps you develop authentic self-understanding and confidence.
Sometimes the issues you're facing are connected to family dynamics. We can help you understand these patterns, communicate more effectively with family members, and establish healthy boundaries while maintaining important relationships.
We focus on your strengths, not just your problems. By identifying what you're already good at and what matters to you, we build on those foundations to help you tackle challenges with greater confidence and resilience.
How Therapy Works for Teens and Young Adults
Starting therapy can feel intimidating, especially if you’ve never done it before. We make the process straightforward and comfortable.
Step 1: Schedule a Free Consultation
Reach out through our online booking or call us directly. We offer a free 10–15 minute phone consultation to discuss what’s bringing you to therapy, clarify your goals, review insurance and payment options, and ensure we’re the right fit.
Step 2: Complete an Initial Assessment
Your first two sessions are assessment sessions lasting about 55 minutes each. We’ll explore your personal history, current symptoms, and therapy goals. Together, we’ll build a collaborative treatment plan that reflects your values and desired outcomes.
Step 3: Start Your Therapy Journey
After your assessment, ongoing individual therapy sessions last 50–55 minutes. They’re focused, collaborative, and paced according to your comfort level. We believe therapy works best when you feel safe, supported, and empowered to lead your own healing process.
The Benefits of Therapy for Teens and Young Adults
Our work together helps you develop skills and insights that transform how you navigate this stage of life and beyond.
You can expect to:
✓ Develop new and effective coping skills for managing stress and emotions
✓ Discover effective ways to navigate relationship challenges with friends, partners, and family
✓ Acquire healthy communication skills that help you express your needs
✓ Learn stress management techniques for school, work, and life
✓ Receive unbiased support outside of family and community pressures
✓ Develop a stronger sense of who you are and what you value
✓ Build confidence in your ability to handle challenges
✓ Create healthier patterns that serve your future
Support That Meets You Where You Are
“In therapy, an adolescent or young adult will receive a caring, nonjudgmental space to talk openly about their thoughts, emotions and current challenges.”
At Third Coast Wellness, we understand that the teenage and young adult years are incredibly complex. You’re expected to have your whole life figured out while your brain is still developing, hormones are all over the place, and the world feels like it’s changing faster than you can keep up.
We specialize in therapy for adolescents and young adults in Chicago and Northfield, providing depth-oriented, compassionate care that honors where you are right now. We don’t talk down to you or dismiss your concerns as “just teen drama.” Your feelings are valid, your struggles are real, and you deserve real support.
Our therapists are trained in evidence-based approaches for anxiety, depression, identity development, family conflict, and the unique challenges of this life stage. We create a space where you can be completely yourself, explore hard questions, and build the tools you need to thrive.
You’re not broken. You’re not too much. You’re navigating one of the most challenging phases of life, and having support through it doesn’t make you weak. It makes you wise.
Our Dedicated Team
Founder & Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
Alison Kramme, M.A., LCPC
Currently seeing clients in-person at Northfield or virtually via TeleHealth.
Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
Courtney Rankin, MA, LCPC
Currently seeing clients in-person in Chicago or virtually via TeleHealth.
Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
Sandra Stevens, MA, LCPC
Currently seeing clients in-person in Chicago or virtually via TeleHealth.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Get Started
Taking this step takes courage, whether it’s your choice or someone else encouraged you. Either way, we’re here to make the process as comfortable as possible.
Free phone consultations are available.
You (or a parent) can get in touch by calling, emailing, or booking online. We’ll answer questions, discuss what you’re going through, and help you feel comfortable starting therapy.
For clients 18 and older, therapy is completely confidential. For minors (under 18), confidentiality is still protected with a few important exceptions: if there's risk of harm to yourself or others, abuse, or if a court orders information. We discuss confidentiality boundaries in the first session so everyone is clear.
That's completely normal. A lot of teens start therapy because a parent made them, not because they wanted to. We get it. Our goal isn't to force anything. It's to create a space where, if you choose to engage, it can actually be helpful. Many teens who start reluctantly end up finding therapy really valuable once they realize it's their space, not their parents'.
It depends on what you're working on and what you need. Some people come for a few months to work through a specific issue. Others benefit from longer-term support as they navigate this whole stage of life. We'll check in regularly about your progress and adjust as needed.
Yes! We offer secure virtual therapy throughout Illinois. Many teens and young adults prefer online sessions because they're more convenient and feel less awkward than sitting in an office. It's just as effective as in-person therapy.
Please tell us. Seriously. If something isn't working or you're not connecting with your therapist, that's important feedback. We can adjust our approach, or if needed, help you find a better fit. The therapeutic relationship matters, and it's okay if it takes time to find the right match.
You Deserve to Feel at Peace
Taking the first step toward feeling better takes courage, and you’ve already shown that by being here. You don’t have to have everything figured out. You don’t have to navigate this alone.
Our therapists are here to support you and help you navigate the challenges of the transition to adulthood. Whether you’re dealing with anxiety, depression, relationship stress, or just feeling lost, we’re here to walk alongside you.
Give yourself permission to get the support you deserve.
Available in-person in Northfield and Chicago, or virtually throughout Illinois