Watch Hill Therapy

03/05/2026

***This virtual workshop is recorded and sent to registered participants. CEUs can be obtained after viewing.***

“Our understanding of trauma and effective approaches to its treatment have increased dramatically over the last two decades. Much of the focus has centered on neurobiology and physiology, leading to invaluable insights into how trauma is experienced and stored in the mind as well as the body.

While our knowledge of the biological processes resulting from traumatic experiences has grown, our appreciation for the role of the psyche has diminished. This often leaves therapists unequipped to access areas of traumatic experience and recovery that are less material, yet still of vital importance.

This presentation proposes the need to reclaim and reintegrate the psyche in trauma work and investigates how this supports the potential of the symbolic to emerge as a conduit for cohesion, meaning, and transformation.” Ryan Maher, MA, LMCH, Presenter

Link in bio to register!

03/04/2026

We are very excited to welcome Caitlin Lawler, LPC! Caitlin is an EMDR-trained Licensed Professional Counselor who works with adults who have experienced childhood abuse, domestic violence, sexual violence, and attachment or relational trauma.

Many of Caitlin’s clients arrive to therapy feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or disconnected as they try to make sense of past or ongoing traumatic experiences.
Trauma often affects not only emotional well-being but also the body, showing up as anxiety, chronic tension, difficulty sleeping, or a persistent sense of unease. Caitlin offers a steady, compassionate space where clients can explore their experiences at a pace that feels safe, collaborative, and empowering.

Her trauma-focused work is grounded primarily in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), supported by a strong attachment-based lens and integration of Internal Family Systems (IFS)–informed approaches. She also incorporates Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills, grounding techniques, somatic practices, and cognitive coping strategies. Treatment is always tailored to each client’s history, strengths, and goals, allowing therapy to be both structured and responsive.

Caitlin is open for referrals! www.watchhilltherapy.com/caitlin-lawler

03/03/2026

03/02/2026

This week we welcomed Aspen to our team!!! Aspen is a Licensed Social Worker and a graduate of the University of Chicago’s Crown School of Social Work. They provide psychotherapy for teens, young adults, and adults who are navigating complex experiences, identities, and the lasting impact of trauma.

Their work centers on relationships, sexual and gender identity, parenting, and complex trauma. They support clients across the lifespan, including members of the LGBTQIA+ community, who are working through grief, PTSD, developmental and relational trauma, or exploring and questioning their gender and/or sexuality.

Aspen is open for referrals! Welcome, Aspen! Link in bio…

02/15/2026

Don’t miss this unique in person training for therapists that work with dissociative clients.

02/12/2026

Dissociation defined with Brandon Gimbel of Northstar Behavioral Health

02/06/2026

Rest is a great intention, and is needed to heal, but it’s complex, just like everything else in healing from trauma.

02/03/2026

We are tied of people not seeing the shadows and also seeing them and doing nothing about it.

01/30/2026

Did you know that we work with children at Watch Hill Therapy? We have a child and teen space in Downtown Chicago and Ravenswood. Our child & teen therapists work with trauma, ADHD, AuDHD, Autsim, loss, anxiety, and depression.

A dysregulated or traumatized child may not be able to tell you what they’re feeling, what’s happened, or what they need, and often will communicate instead through behaviors that can be confusing or distressing to parents or caregivers.

Depending on the developmental age of the child at the onset of trauma, symptoms and signs will look different and may be more difficult to interpret. Trauma is always difficult to process verbally, and particularly in children this is difficult given the impact of the trauma on their development and likely a lack of awareness of the trauma.

Children look to others around them to know how to process emotions and respond to distress, and if they don’t have examples that align with their experiences they may become overwhelmed and turn inward or shut themselves off entirely.

Child Therapy is a way for children to express and work through their experiences and emotions at whatever level of consciousness they present. Play therapy also reinforces the child’s control over their own narrative and agency and choice in what is shared which can inherently be healing.

Check out our child and teen services! Link in bio or watchhilltherapy.com

01/22/2026

Our survival brains know what to do when we are faced with extreme overwhelm, pain, and terror.

01/19/2026

If childhood wasn’t safe, then you might know what it’s like to build a place to escape inside your mind to go when it didn’t feel safe to be present. Many people are still living on the inside because the world still isn’t safe. Dissociation saves us from the unbearable. It is life’s only escape that isn’t death.

01/05/2026

***This workshop is in person in downtown Chicago. It will not be recorded***

In this 6 hour in person CEU workshop, therapists will learn about the internal system of dissociative parts that complex trauma survivors bring to treatment and how to work with them. Learn how parts are defined and created by trauma and how to forge complex and meaningful relationships with them in trauma treatment. Learn some interventions for doing effective and safe memory work.

Presenters: Tovah Means, LMFT & Meredith Glick, LCSW. Victoria Doobay, Ph.D. gentle yoga

Link to register in bio!