Tovah Means, MS, LMFT, Owner
Tovah Means, MS, LMFT is the founder and co-owner of trauma specialty group practice, Watch Hill Therapy, located in downtown Chicago. She is uniquely trained to work with individuals who are recovering from childhood emotional, physical, sexual trauma, neglect, dissociative process, somatic issues, extreme trauma, and deep soul injuries.
Tovah received her Masters of Marriage and Family Therapy from The Family Institute at Northwestern University in 2009. After graduating, she completed a 2 year fellowship at Womencare Counseling Center where she began developing her specialty in treating complex, developmental trauma and dissociation. In addition to running the practice, Tovah speaks, teaches and consults about treating complex trauma through local universities, group practices, medical practices, and Watch Hill Therapy.
Tovah developed a passion for humanism and anthropology in college before becoming a therapist, which enabled her to travel and experience many different cultures and broaden her lens of how trauma impacts all human beings. She has lived in Ghana, West Africa and spent time in many other international countries with a wide diversity of economies, political leaders and uprisings, and traumatic experiences. Tovah diligently works to understand the effects of historical trauma, structural abuse, dissociation, and relevant cultural realities that impact survivors such as denial, racism, sexism, transphobia, and the discrimination against the expression of one’s true self by society. Finding and recovering the authentic self is at the core of Tovah’s clinical work and consultation.
Connect with her on LinkedIn!
Jennifer L. Rolnick, PSY.D., Owner, Certified TRE® Provider
Jennifer is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, who received her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology. Her clinical practice focuses on individual therapy with children, adolescents, and adults. Her areas of interest include trauma, mood and anxiety disorders, and life transitions. She uses an insight-oriented, relational approach with an emphasis on collaboration, connection, and empowerment. The therapeutic relationship facilitates growth by identifying and exploring both past and present patterns that keep people feeling stuck. Jennifer sees therapy as a collaborative effort that allows people to observe and more deeply understand themselves, their relationship patterns, and their characteristic ways of thinking and feeling.
A particular area of passion and specialty for Jennifer is working with child and adult survivors of trauma. When traumas occur within the context of a relationship, those traumas need to be healed within a safe and trusting relationship. Her goal is to be that safety and connection for her clients.
Jennifer is also available for professional consultation and to lead workshops or provide trainings for organizations and individuals wanting to deepen their skills and knowledge base in providing excellent care for trauma survivors.
Ana Ferraz, MA, LCPC
Ana is person-centered, insight-oriented psychotherapist specializing in the treatment of trauma, anxiety, depression, and grief and loss. She is a trauma-informed Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and works with children, adolescents, and adults. She is committed to providing a non-judgmental, collaborative, and supportive space to clients through their healing journeys.
The foundation of Ana’s therapeutic work reveals a deep understanding of how the impact of early life experiences and stresses of everyday life shape the way we carry ourselves in the world. When working with clients, she focuses on their strengths and inner resources, leading to an experience of more stability and agency. With great attention to her clients’ stories, Ana uses tools that aid in bottom up trauma processing such as mindfulness, building greater awareness, self-compassion, EMDR, and insight. Her goal is to foster connection and trusting relationships that can pave the way towards healing and growth.
Ana’s unique multicultural background allows her to work with clients of varying identities and intersections. She practices with a culturally sensitive lens, has a broad background of work and education, and values making clients feel comfortable and at ease.
Jessica Heiman Freilich, PSY.D.
I work with adolescents, young adults and adults who struggle with anxiety, depression, life transitions and trauma. I am committed to helping individuals foster well-being and positive relationships despite the challenges they face. My approach is to utilize relational and insight-oriented therapy while collaborating with clients to personalize my work in order to most effectively aid in the implementation of useful strategies and coping skills to improve quality of life. I bring warmth, genuineness and a sense of empathy to the therapeutic relationship.
My particular areas of specialty and passion include treating individuals who are recovering from traumatic experiences and working with new parents to help navigate and cope with the transition to parenthood and providing support surrounding parenting. I have specialized training in treating trauma and perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. I am also dedicated to supporting marginalized individuals and recognize the significant impact culture, race and intergenerational transmission of trauma has on one’s emotional and physical health.
Teri Cicurel, MA, LCPC
Teri is a relational, insight-oriented psychotherapist specializing in the treatment of trauma, depression and anxiety. She is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor who earned a master’s degree in Clinical Counseling from National Louis University. Teri works with individuals and couples and is committed to providing a compassionate, non-judgmental space where her clients can begin to deepen their understanding of how they relate to themselves and others, and how patterns and behaviors act as barriers to living the life they would most like to live. She supports clients as they explore issues of self-esteem and identity, grief and loss, parenting and family concerns, social and relational difficulties, substance use and process addictions and posttraumatic stress.
Teri recognizes the importance of adapting her approach to meet the unique needs, goals and experiences of her clients. Teri’s relational, reparative, strength-based approach to therapy is augmented by utilization of EMDR, mindfulness practice, DBT, CBT and somatic awareness, to name a few. She has extensive experience and certifications in providing support, advocacy and crisis intervention for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and childhood trauma.
Taking the first step towards self-discovery and more meaningful connections may feel daunting. It is with this understanding that Teri joins her clients to ensure that they are seen, heard and valued as they embark on their healing journey.
Becky Jenkins, MA, LCSW
Becky is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in the relational treatment of trauma. Becky earned her master’s degree in clinical social work from Loyola University Chicago and is a graduate of Womencare Counseling and Training Center’s 2-year Postgraduate Fellowship program, where she developed her specialization in treating complex and developmental trauma.
In her practice, Becky works with adolescents and adults as they navigate complex areas of life involving trauma, identity, and profound loss and change. Becky holds an inquisitive space for storytelling and collaboration that honors all experiences and parts of ourselves. She recognizes the significance of the therapeutic relationship and its role in building competency, experiencing connectedness, and cultivating resiliency. She also has strong interest in working with athletes navigating issues around abuse, identity and body image, and is engaged in post-graduate training to deepen this area of her work.
Becky is committed to supporting individuals who hold BIPOC and other marginalized identities and honors each person’s intersectionality with care and compassionate curiosity. She acknowledges the impact that culture, race, and historical context can have on our stories, and actively works to create a brave space for the therapeutic relationship to effect change in both the client and the therapist.
Eliza Wells, MS, AMFT
I’m very aware of how vulnerable therapy can feel, and I’m a firm believer that therapy needs to meet you where you are. You deserve to have at least one place and one relationship where you can truly be yourself and feel validated in your emotional experience.
I value authenticity and show up in the therapy room very much the same way as I show up everywhere else in my life. I want my clients to feel comfortable being their genuine self with me, and learning how they can take more of that out into their personal and professional lives. The more we can live a life that is in line with our personal values and goals, the more present we will want to be in the world and in our relationships.
I work from a humanistic, person-centered framework and use a systemic, relational, and integrative approach. What this means is that I see each individual in front of me as just that: a unique, complex person, who is the expert of their lived experience, and I consider the entire system at play (work, school, family), even if I only have one person in the room. Our relationships with others (and ourselves) make up a great portion of our lives—they influence how we view the world, how we behave in it, and how we feel within it. But unfortunately, they are often where we struggle the most. I pull from a number of different models to fit each individual and their needs, but I often pull the most from Attachment, Internal Family Systems, and Object Relations theories.
I have experience working with depression, anxiety, developmental trauma and high sensitivity (HSP). I enjoy working with fellow therapists and healthcare providers, adult children of alcoholics or other substance misuse problems, and adult children of otherwise out of touch or emotionally unavailable parents.
Through our work together, my goal is to support you in being the most whole and cohesive version of yourself that you can be–where your choices are yours to make, and your internal experience is something you can feel safe with and even empowered by.
I received my training from Northwestern University’s Family Institute and also hold a master’s degree in English (because communication is just that important to me!) People are made up of stories–our histories, the stories we tell ourselves, and the hopes and goals we have for the future; therapy is an opportunity for us to share and create those stories.
