Gwen Ames received a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Governors State University and a Master of Social Work degree from Chicago State University in Illinois. She currently holds her LCSW license in the State of Illinois and is one of our full-time clinicians. Gwen specializes in treating children and adolescents, but also works with adults, families and couples.

Therapy Style:
Gwen is a strengths based practitioner who believes change is possible and that the human spirit must at all times be valued and supported. Clients and coworkers find her genuinely empathic, kind, caring, committed to helping others, and dedicated to her work. Her clinical work has focused on issues of trauma, mental illness, loss of original family, aggression, conduct disorders, and severed attachments.

Gwen’s unique and diverse background has shaped the way she views problems and strategizes interventions. Not only do her internal drive, creative energy, and heart go a long way, but she is dedicated to building a therapeutic alliance with her clients which she considers the foundation of therapy.

Gwen holds the perspective that problems exist within the context of families, intimate relationships, peer groups, school, work, communities, and sometimes political structures. Therapy must therefore, be multifaceted, empower, instill hope, and sustain motivation throughout the change process. These are things Gwen feels she does well. She has consistently demonstrated the ability to reach and nudge clients in unique ways.

Specialties:
Child and Adolescent Therapy
Individual Adult Therapy
Marital / Couples Therapy
Trauma and Abuse
Attachment Disorders
Behavioral Problems
Parenting Training / Support
Serious Mental Illness (SMI) in Children