Deborah Goodwill

I've spent more than 30 years working at the intersection of trauma, behavioral health, substance use, and the legal system — the places where people's lives get the most complicated. My background includes community mental health, child welfare, residential treatment, and forensic social work throughout the Chicago area. I've worked with courts, directed multi-site programs, and served populations that most therapists don't encounter. Now I bring all of that experience into one-on-one telehealth sessions for adults across Illinois.I work best with people who have been through real complexity: trauma that runs deep, co-occurring mental health and substance use challenges, grief that doesn't follow a timeline, life disrupted by legal system involvement, or histories that are hard to explain to someone who hasn't seen it before. If you've worked with other therapists who didn't quite get it — I understand, and I'm not starting from scratch with you. I'm also currently completing my Doctorate of Social Work at the University of New England, which reflects my commitment to staying at the leading edge of clinical practice. My work is grounded in evidence-based approaches — CBT, Trauma-Focused CBT, Motivational Interviewing, Strength-Based Therapy — applied with warmth, directness, and 30 years of real-world experience behind them.

My approach starts with curiosity, not assumptions. Every client who comes to me has a unique history and a particular way they've made sense of their life — and I want to understand yours before I offer anything else. I'm direct, honest, and I will tell you the truth with compassion — not platitudes.I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Trauma-Focused CBT as core frameworks, which means we work on both how you think about what happened to you and how those experiences live in your body and behavior. I draw on Motivational Interviewing for clients navigating substance use or ambivalence about change — a non-judgmental approach that meets you wherever you are in your readiness. Strength-Based and Solution-Focused approaches help us identify what's already working and build on it rather than only focusing on what's broken.Above all: I believe that every person — regardless of their history, diagnosis, or what the world has decided about them — holds both the wound and the capacity to heal. My job is to create conditions where both can be true at the same time.

The first session is a conversation, not an intake form. We'll spend time getting to know each other and I'll ask about what brought you here, what's gotten in the way before, and what you're hoping therapy might make possible. You don't need to have it all figured out to start — that's what we're here to do together.I'll be honest with you about what I'm hearing and what I'm noticing, and I'll explain how I approach the specific challenges you're dealing with. By the end of the first session, you should have a sense of whether this feels like the right fit. If it does, we'll talk about what a realistic treatment plan looks like and what to expect going forward.I offer secure telehealth sessions and am currently accepting new clients. Afternoon and early evening appointments are available. The first step is just reaching out.