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Rana Hong, PhD, LCSW, RPT-S
Executive Director, Licensed Child Psychotherapist

Dr. Rana Hong is a Certified Theraplay® therapist/supervisor/trainer, and Certified Parent-Child Interaction therapy® (PCIT) therapist, and Approved Trainer for Gestalt Therapy with Children and Adolescents. Dr. Hong has specialized in treating children and their parents with issues of children’s behavioral and emotional issues including but not limited to attachment, anxiety, trauma, and oppositional defiance. With her expertise in attachment based models, she integrates trauma-informed Gestalt approaches and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing® (EMDR) in working with severely disrupted children, adolescents, and adults Dr. Hong is dedicated to promoting and enhancing the likelihood of restoring integrative self of each individual. She completed her Masters of Social Worker (M.S.W) Degree from the Jane Addams School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2000 and earned her doctor of Philosophy Degree (Ph.D.) in Social Work at Loyola University of Chicago in 2014, where she currently works as an Adjunct Faculty and Senior Research Associate. 

 

Jessica Rosenthal, MSW, LCSW
Licensed Psychotherapist

Ms. Jessica Rosenthal has extensive experience in outpatient mental health settings, both in non-profit and private sectors. She provides individual, couple and family treatment across the age spectrum. Ms. Rosenthal is trained in play therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Specifically, Ms. Rosenthal helps children, adolescents, parents and families manage a variety of issues which have included those related to divorce/post-divorce, blended families, academic struggles, social skills, anger management, and mood disorders. She emphasizes building a solid working relationship with clients. She places great importance on creating a safe and non-judgmental environment in which clients can freely explore their thoughts, feelings and sources of stress. As a result, she feels her clients are able to better understand themselves, enabling them to achieve personal growth and positive change. She earned her bachelor degree from University of Kansas in 1998 and completed her Master of Social Worker Degree (M.S.W.) from the Loyola University Chicago in 2006.

 

Claire Avellone, MS, MSW, LCSW

Ms. Avellone is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in the treatment of children and families.  She completed her Masters of Child Development at Erikson Institute and her Masters of Social Work at Loyola University Chicago in 2008.  She uses play therapy to help children learn how to express and manage their emotions, practice ways to solve issues in real life and come to terms with difficult experiences.  She is also trained in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, which is an evidence-based treatment for young children with behavioral problems.  She believes that through play, children are better able to share their thoughts, worries, troubles and wishes.  Ms. Avellone enjoys working with parents to help them gain a better understanding of what their child is struggling with and give them the tools they need to best support their child’s growth and development.  She offers her clients a safe, non-judgmental environment to explore and work through problems and has worked with children on such issues as aggression, anxiety, attachment, divorce, select mutism and self-esteem.

 

Ruri Kim, MA, LPC
Licensed Professional Counselor

Ms. Kim is especially passionate about working with disruptive children and their families. During her graduate studies, she received her training at the Parents in Charge program of The Family Institute, focusing on helping children with disruptive behaviors and the dynamics with their parents. This included a focus on providing developmentally sensitive child and family therapy sessions and educating parents on successful parenting skills. Ms. Kim oversaw a support group for elementary-age children dealing with loss, divorce, and familial change through Rainbows program at The Family Institute where she worked as a clinical intern at The Family Institute providing therapy for adults of various presenting problems practicing psychotherapy treatments tailored for each client. With her clinical belief of therapeutic alliance with clients, Ms. Kim approaches therapy from thinking of her clients as “fellow travelers” instead of making distinctions between clients and therapists. Ms. Kim offers her services to adults and children as well as families with treatment modalities best suited to her clients. Ms. Ruri Kim completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at the University of Iowa and her Masters Degree in Counseling with an emphasis on child and adolescent psychotherapy at Northwestern University.