Therapist
She/Her/Hers
vjreisat@wearehelpful.com
(224) 595-8280
Virginia earned her Bachelor of Sciences in Psychology and International Studies degree at Loyola University Chicago and her Master of Arts in Counseling degree from Northwestern University. Virginia’s clinical training began at The Family Institute at Northwestern where she specialized in treating adults struggling with various personality disorders, relationship struggles, disturbed eating patterns, transitioning, and sexual assault. Virginia then went on to complete a clinical internship at Heartland Health Outreach’s International Faces program where she provided community mental health services, individual, and in-home therapy to refugees and asylum seekers across the Chicago-land area. From here she continued to work in the private practice realm, seeing a range of clients from children with adjustment disorders to adults with varying degrees of depression, anxiety, and mood disorders; and in a more intensive program that specializes in young adults experiencing difficulty launching, past collegiate failures, and interpersonal struggles.
Virginia has expanded her clinical expertise by training in EMDR and continues to focus on refugee mental health across the Chicago area.
How my lived experiences shape my work
Virginia’s therapeutic approach can be described as compassionate, but direct. She believes that in order to usher in real and sustainable change, we must first ask ourselves to get uncomfortable. Using various modalities including Motivational Interviewing, RODBT, and CBT, Virginia hopes to help her clients create plans and goals that address the needs of the moment, while also preparing them for the future. Having received her training from Northwestern University’s Masters in Counseling, she relies on her psychodynamic framework to encourage a strong therapeutic relationship and healthy exploration of all elements of the self.
The clients I work best with
Areas of special interest include emerging adults, life transitions, trauma, and refugee mental health. She has expanded her clinical knowledge by receiving additional training in EMDR and hopes to continue working with this modality in the future.