Ranya Hasan, LCPC, ICAADC, NCC

Ranya is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, Internationally Certified Advanced Alcohol & Drug Counselor, and Nationally Board-Certified with a clinical credential in Child and Family Therapy.

Ranya provides services to children, adolescents, family, couples, and adults.

With over 12 years of behavioral health experience specializing in holistic approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral, Solution-Focused, and Narrative Therapies, Ranya supports clients to reduce distress and achieve their life goals. Clients are empowered to identify areas of focus and apply decision making skills to become authors of their lives. Her work applies clinical knowledge, environmental support, and evidence-based approaches with intentional focus on equity minded therapy to meet the needs of clients.

Currently, Ranya works on behavioral intervention efforts as an Assistant Dean of Students. She serves as Vice President of the Crisis Residential Association Board. She has expertise in building clinical teams and providing training and development to Clinical Teams, Crisis Residential Centers, Adult/Child Crisis Teams, Mobile Crisis Response, Crisis Lines, and Community Support Teams.

In her free time, Ranya domestically and internationally volunteers to provide resource for equity causes, first-generation mentorship, and community development initiatives.

Dr. Elise Belknap, LPC, NCC

Dr. Elise Belknap holds a doctorate of Counselor Education and a M.Ed in Elementary School Counseling. She has provided consultation on counseling services nationally for the past 15 years.

Dr. Belknap is a published expert in the field and currently oversees the consultation for five Head Start sites. Dr. Belknap is certified in restorative practices and applies this in efforts to help aid school systems, children, parents, teachers, and communities. She currently sits on the Board of Trauma and Resilience Initiative. Her publication, “Empty playground and anxious children” is an example of her early childhood development specialty research with children and mental health. Her experience also includes teaching at Penn State University. She is currently a Licensed Professional Counselor and National Board-Certified Counselor.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her children, listening to podcast, and making playlists for friends.

Abisola Smith

Abisola Smith holds a Master of Science in Psychological Science. She currently works in higher education and within youth residential mental health treatment providing complex trauma care.

Abisola specializes in race, advocacy, and community engagement. Her publications and contributions to the field include research that addresses multiracial education, policing in multiracial communities, gun violence, and veterans’ wellbeing. Abisola is currently working on publishing a manuscript presenting a youth-centered model for Black community resilience.

In her free time, Abisola mentors’ youth in after school programs and enjoys learning more about health and wellness.

Kristin Rice, LCSW

Kristin Rice is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has extensive experience in crisis intervention and working with adults who are experiencing chronic and debilitating mental health symptoms. Kristin provides mental health therapy to adults and adolescents.

Kristin is passionate about providing clinical and department/team trainings, mentorship, and leadership to both new and experienced clinicians within the mental health field. Kristin believes strongly in the endless pursuit of self-development in all areas, and that this does not occur without continuous honest reflection of both strengths and weaknesses. Kristin also works with departments and teams in evaluating their current processes and making changes based on their goals, needs, and the data available.

Kristin enjoys spending time with her family and practicing yoga.

Ghada Abdualla 

Ghada Abdulla holds a Master of Social Work and is certified in II LEND (Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities). Specializing in major mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and ADHD. Ghada has extensive experience with family/children therapy. 

Ghada is a compassionate person with extensive experience working with young adults and families in community mental health clinics and schools. Her approach is rooted in the power of connection and relationships. She integrates a variety of evidence-based therapies such as CBT, TF-CBT, ACT, play therapy, and psychoanalysis. She founded a non-profit center to help young parents with trauma and domestic abuse in Egypt. Ghada has extensive experience helping children with mental disabilities. Ghada was a teacher for eight years and continued consultations overseas as a school psychologist. Recently, she worked in group treatment for teens and young adults with disabilities focusing on reducing instances of depression and anxiety.

Aaron Godwin, Ph.D., MSW 

Aaron Godwin holds a master's degree in Social Work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Aaron specializes in mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression, with a particular affinity for working with the LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent communities. Aaron provides therapy with a strong sense of empathy and compassion.

He holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts and a Master's of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois School of Music. Aaron's current research is focused on psychoeducational for performing arts educators. Aaron has worked extensively with young adults and adolescents, both as an academic advisor and as a site coordinator for a federally funded research project testing the efficacy of an evidence-based intervention focused on increasing matriculation and completion rates of post-secondary education for students in the child welfare system. Aaron enjoys working with people of all ages, with a special interest in working with the LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent populations and addressing religious trauma. He takes a person-in-environment, strengths-based approach with clients and uses psychodynamic theory, ACT, and DBT in his practice.

Stephanie Koster

Stephanie believes in being an inclusive counselor who values all people from all backgrounds. She upholds that diversity and culture are some of the most significant threads of our social and intimate relationships, so reflecting this value to her clients is important. Stephanie seeks to aid her clients through active listening, empathy, compassion, and meaningful questioning to help people see themselves holistically with clarity.

Stephanie earned a BA in Secondary English Education with a minor in Creative Writing from Western Illinois University. She spent nearly a decade working in the Illinois public school system as a high school English teacher serving rural, suburban, and urban communities. 

Stephanie wishes to instill a sense of agency, strength, and possibilities while helping clients access their inner knowledge. Stephanie believes that all clients are capable of achieving their goals, and she is excited and determined to help them reach these goals by examining cognitions, behaviors, and emotions that have shaped the clients’ lives. Stephanie considers herself an eclectic counselor and holds interests in theoretical orientations such as Adlerian, Bowenian Family Systems, Existential, and Jungian. She also seeks to utilize counseling modalities such as CBT, Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing. Stephanie is ready and willing to meet her clients where they are and help them achieve a powerful sense of understanding themselves and the world around them. Stephanie specializes in neurodivergent clients and trauma-informed care.

Matilda Smith, LCSW

Matilda Smith is a seasoned clinician with 21 years of professional experience. Matilda is currently a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Illinois.

She uses Geek Therapy in practice, an intervention that integrates multiple media avenues (gaming, books, television, movies) with therapeutic practice. She draws from various theoretical orientations, theories, and perspectives to assist in serving a wide variety of clients across the lifespan: Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Multicultural and Trauma-Informed.

Matilda is particularly interested in the connection between generational and complex trauma and Attachment Theory principles, specifically with marginalized populations.

Her niche populations include graduate students, the elderly, LGBTQIA+, neurodiverse, and BIPOC clients.