THERAPY GROUPS NOW OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT

Aging with Grace: Queer Older Adults Support Group

• Sundays 9am – 10:30am, starting June 5 (12 sessions, ends September 4)
• Group does not meet Juneteenth (June 19) or Chicago Pride Day (June 26)
• In-Person (The Loop)
• Facilitators: Mario Alvarez Serrano, LCPC; Sylvester J. Merritt, MS
• Sliding Scale Qualifying Individuals Only
• To sign-up, click here & submit an Inquiry Form

This Support Group is for members of the LGBTQ+ community, age 50+.

Aging with Grace is a support group aimed at providing a safe space for LGBTQ+ folx age 50 and older, who experience anxiety or stress related to aging or life transitions. This group will explore, process, and reflect on important topics about dismantling and overcoming the “gay death” related to ageism. Participants will share and learn from each other’s lived experiences regarding being an LGBTQ+ person committed to aging gracefully. The group will affirm and validate the struggles, challenges, and successes of navigating everyday life in a complex world that’s obsessed with youth. A primary goal of the group is to increase participants’ connections and support systems within the Chicago’s aging LGBTQ+ community. To start the enrollment process, click here & submit an online Inquiry Form.

Queer & Trans Black, Indigenous, People of Color (QTBIPOC) Support Group

• Mondays 7pm – 8:30pm, starting June 6 (12 sessions, ends August 29)
• Group does not meet Independence Day (July 4)
• In-Person (Clark St / Andersonville)
• Facilitators: Dr. Pablo Pagán Rivera, PsyD; Naomi Gargiulo, MSW, LSW
• Sliding Scale Qualifying Individuals Only
• To sign-up, click here & submit an Inquiry Form

This Support Group is for members of the LGBTQ+ community (18+) who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or as a Person of Color (BIPOC).

This Support Group will serve as a safe, therapeutic space developed to address the specific needs and challenges of BIPOC folx within the LGBTQ+ community. Participants will have an outlet to share their unique experiences living within the intersections of multiple marginalized identities, offer support to one another, and connect with others holding similar identities and cultural backgrounds. Members will explore how discriminatory systems in society and their intersecting identities have impacted their mental health and sense of belonging in both the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. Participants will learn from and support one another in cultivating an inclusive community / group environment, building culturally relevant self-care practices and coping skills, and fighting systems of power and oppression. To start the enrollment process, click here & submit an online Inquiry Form.

Intersections of Queerness & Chronic Illness Support Group

• Tuesdays 1pm – 2:30pm, starting June 7 (12 sessions, ends August 23)
• Telehealth / Online
• Facilitators: Dr. Jamie Gayle, Ph.D.; Brittany Egan, MSW
• Insurance Accepted, or $50/session OOP
• To sign-up, click here & submit an Inquiry Form

This Support Group is for members of the LGBTQ+ community (18+) with a diagnosis of at least one chronic illness that impacts day-to-day life.

Living with chronic illness, whether newly or long ago diagnosed, can and regularly does involve living with the painful, constant challenges of confronting ableism, feeling invisible, and struggling to manage the associated powerful confluence of physical and emotional stressors “behind the scenes.” This support group is intended to provide a safe, reliable space for queer folx coping with chronic medical illnesses, within which they can gather together to be with one another, connect emotionally around the unique challenges they face, and to serve as much needed witnesses to others’ experiences. Members will be encouraged to share their experiences, vulnerabilities, strengths, and insights with the goals of finding acceptance, connecting with others to decrease social isolation, and stomping out health-related shame. To start the enrollment process, click here & submit an Inquiry Form.

Queer Men’s Process Group

• Saturdays 4pm – 5:30pm, starting June 11 (12 sessions, ends August 27)
• In-Person (Clark St / Andersonville)
• Facilitators: Angel Caracheo, Jr., LPC; Alayni Frizzell, MA
• Insurance Accepted, or $50/session OOP
• To sign-up, click here & submit an Inquiry Form

This Process Group is for members of the LGBTQ+ community (18+) who identify as men.

The Queer Men’s Process Group is a therapy group for members of the LGBTQ+ community who identify as men. The group adopts an expansive definition of identity, allowing for a diverse representation of male and queer identities. Participants in this group are men who have identified an interpersonal goal that they would like to address such as forming and maintaining friendships, improving their capacity for closeness with others, and fostering healthy relationships. Group members can expect sessions to focus on giving and receiving genuine and constructive feedback to one another, increasing self-awareness, and learning how their ways of communicating promote or sometimes hinder more meaningful relationships. This group will be facilitated by one male-identified therapist & one female-identified therapist, each committed to help participants share more openly, explore better ways of interacting with others, and find increased authenticity in relationships in and out of the therapy room. To start the enrollment process, click here & submit an online Inquiry Form.

Gender Journey: Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) Process Group

• Sundays 12pm – 1:30pm, starting July 10 (12 sessions, ends September 25)
• Telehealth / Online
• Facilitators: Dr. Leesa Contorino, PsyD; Jamie Warren, MSW, LSW
• Insurance Accepted, or $50/session OOP
• To sign-up, click here & submit an online Intake Form

This Process Group is for members of the LGBTQ+ community (18+) who identify as TGNC and/or who are questioning their gender. 

This group will provide a safe and affirming space for TGNC folx to increase self-awareness, explore patterns in their relationships and work towards increasing healthy connections. This process group is beneficial for members that would like to improve aspects of their social interaction. Group members can expect sessions to focus on the here-and-now: sharing, communication, and interaction between group members. Here, participants can learn more about effective and ineffective interpersonal  patterns they might engage in with others, receive and provide interpersonal feedback, and engage in new patterns of relating that lead to fostering mutually beneficial relationships.The group will be facilitated by one cis queer female therapist & one nonbinary trans therapist, each committed to helping participants share more openly, explore better ways of interacting with others, and find increased authenticity in relationships within and outside of the group. To start the enrollment process, click here & submit an online Inquiry Form.

Additional Therapy Groups Will be Added Soon, Check Back for Details

For more information about IntraSpectrum Counseling’s Group Therapy Program, upcoming Groups, answers to specific questions, or to opt-in to our Group Therapy Newsletter, please click here. You may also leave a message on our office line for a callback: 312-379-9476. We look forward to connecting with you soon.