Katie Feyh, MSW, LSW

(they/them)

Languages: English, Russian

* Welcome *

Stress, distress, relationship conflict, traumatic experiences - all of these and more can send us in search of care. Therapy provides a unique opportunity to explore our identities, find our strengths, increase our skills, manage our anxieties, and improve our relationships. Therapy works best in a relationship of trust and safety, where getting vulnerable actually can make us stronger. 

I work with adults individually and together to help people discover existing strengths, develop new skills, navigate their gender and sexual identities, identify and live into their values, heal from traumatic experiences, resolve conflicts, and increase overall capacity to weather challenges. 

* My Focus *

None of us exists in a vacuum. We exist in relationships with families of origin, kin of choice, partners, co-workers, communities, and systems, each of which can be sources of nourishment or harm, helpful or less-helpful habits, and affirming or invalidating perspectives. Healing from trauma requires us to explore our own identities and relationship experiences so that we can find our own way towards a life of meaning, lived as our authentic selves.

We are more than our hurts, symptoms, and social positions. Our motivations and desires change throughout our lives. For all that is common in the human condition, each of us is unique. Together we can find opportunities to thrive, even in a world that militates against our well-being.

* My Approach *

I utilize both behavioral and psychodynamic approaches to tailor treatment to each person. Most important for me is to establish a relationship of trust and safety that honors each person’s autonomy in connectedness. 

* My Philosophy on Therapy *

Therapy, at its most useful, starts with a relationship of trust, is collaborative in determining goals, and relies more on clients’ self-determination than on therapists’ expertise. As with the experiences that have shaped our current worldviews, values, beliefs, and perspectives, therapy is a collaborative project. It honors the individual in relation to self, close relationships, and broader connections and helps move the individual towards the greatest good in each of these areas.

* Credentials & EXPERIENCE *

A Master’s degree in Social Work provided me with clinical training to help people navigate challenges and improve their mental and emotional well-being. A PhD in Communication Studies provided me insight into how the words we use to describe ourselves and our experiences help shape our sense of self and the sense we make of the world.

LSW in Illinois. 

* MORE ABOUT ME *

 I’m queer, trans/NB, neurodivergent, and contentedly fat. All bodies, minds, bodyminds, and orientations are safe with me. I enjoy moving my fabulous mass around the city by bike when I can and chilling with feline companions at home when it’s time to be still. 

Primary language: English. Additional language: Russian.