Why this page exists
The silent dinner, the slammed door, the sibling who became the referee — family therapy in Des Plaines is about the pattern, not a designated problem child.
You do not have to get every relative on the call to start. We work with whoever will show up, and we keep the door open for the rest.
Families are systems — when one person hurts, everyone feels it. Family therapy helps Des Plaines households untangle conflict, improve communication, and function as a stronger unit.
Mental health is health. In a city the size of Des Plaines — home to roughly 60,000 people — countless neighbors quietly wrestle with the same things you do. Family Therapy is how many of them are finally turning the corner.
Here is the local load, named without a brochure: Dense urban and inner-suburban life: winter darkness, transit or expressway commutes, and high-pressure careers. The old in-office version meant O’Hare / I-294 traffic around a session. Family Therapy does not erase that — it gives Des Plaines community members a licensed place to stop carrying it alone.
Whether you have been searching for family counseling, family therapy appointment, or family therapy sessions in Des Plaines, you are in the right place — it is all part of the family therapy care we provide to Illinois residents.
Results only matter if they last — which is why the next part matters.
From First Call to First Session
Family sessions bring everyone to the same table — virtually — with a clinician who helps each voice be heard. The work focuses on patterns, not blame, so the whole family can move forward together.
Christina’s teen and family work is built for real houses: privacy lines for adolescents, honest updates for parents, and no surprise triangulation.
After the free consultation, most clients begin weekly sessions. As you build momentum and skills, you and your clinician may space sessions out — the goal is always lasting change, not endless appointments.
In the first session, your therapist takes time to understand your history, your goals, and what brought you in. Together you set a direction, and from there each session builds steadily on the last.
The good news is that none of this is permanent.
Family Therapy Wherever You Are in Des Plaines
We are proud to serve community members throughout Cook County, from the center of Des Plaines out to the surrounding communities. Wherever you are, quality family therapy is within reach.
Living near Des Plaines Metra or out toward the edges of Cook County makes no difference to the quality of your sessions — online family therapy reaches every corner equally.
Our Illinois clinicians understand the rhythm of life here. Airport-corridor workers and northwest-suburban families.
Results only matter if they last — which is why the next part matters.
When Family Therapy Can Help
Maybe you typed family counseling into a search bar late one night, or maybe a friend mentioned family therapy appointment. However you arrived, family therapy in Des Plaines is a place to start.
There is no threshold you have to cross to deserve support. If something has been weighing on you — quietly or loudly — that is reason enough to reach out for family therapy.
Many Cook County community members come in carrying things they have never said out loud. Family Therapy offers exactly that: a confidential space to finally put words to what you have been holding.
Here's what that looks like in practice.
The Weight Cook County community members Carry
Before anything changes, it helps to name what you are carrying. For many Des Plaines community members, it sounds something like this:
Home doesn't feel like home anymore?
Everyone's walking on eggshells. Family dinners are silent battlefields. You miss when being together actually felt good.
Same patterns, different generation?
You swore you'd do things differently than your parents—and somehow you're repeating the same cycles. The patterns run deep, and breaking them feels impossible.
Watching your teen struggle and feeling powerless?
You see the warning signs—the closed door, the one-word answers, the grades slipping. You want to help but everything you say makes it worse.
That brings us to the part most people wonder about.
The Difference Online Family Therapy Makes
Here is what Des Plaines community members gain when they start family therapy with us:
We treat the family, not just the "problem" person
Family dynamics are complex. We look at the whole system—patterns, roles, communication styles—not just symptoms.
Licensed experts with 25+ years of experience each
Illinois-licensed experts serving the Chicagoland area and beyond.
No insurance games, no surprise bills
Straightforward self-pay pricing. You know exactly what you're paying before you book. No claims, no denials, no drama.
What happens in therapy stays in therapy
HIPAA-compliant, encrypted, and completely confidential. Your private life stays private.
Here's what that looks like in practice.
In-Office or Online: What Fits Your Life
In-office visits ask you to rearrange your life around an appointment. Telehealth family therapy does the opposite — it fits into the life you already have. The therapeutic relationship is just as real; only the commute disappears.
For parents, caregivers, shift workers, and anyone short on time, online family therapy is often the only version of therapy that actually fits. That accessibility is exactly why so many Des Plaines community members choose it.
Telehealth also widens your options. Instead of choosing from whoever happens to be nearby, you are matched with a clinician licensed in Illinois who genuinely specializes in what you need.
There is a clear path forward from here.
How We Actually Practice Family Therapy
Parent-teen boundary setting that is clinical, not a lecture.
Pattern work (roles, alliances, the person who became the family therapist).
Communication structure so one person cannot dominate the hour.
Between sessions, you leave with something small enough to actually do. The work is supposed to live in Des Plaines, not only inside a 50-minute window.
Licensure is the floor. You must be physically in Illinois during the session. We will not pretend a video call erases a state line.
Who this is for
Des Plaines households in a teen storm, a blended-family stretch, or a conflict that has a zip code inside the house.
Also a fit
Parents who are tired of being the only ones “working on it.”
Here's what that looks like in practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does everyone have to log on for family therapy?
Family work is strongest when the people who live inside the pattern are in the room — virtually. We can start with whoever will show up. Teens often need a confidential lane; parents need updates that are honest without being a surveillance report. We will set those boundaries out loud in Des Plaines households the same way we would in an office. If a key person refuses, we still work the system with the people who are willing, and we keep the door open. You do not have to wait for unanimity to get help. Christina’s family and teen work is built for real houses: no surprise triangulation, and no designated villain so everyone else can relax.
Do you have a therapy office in Des Plaines?
Our home office is real: 20715 North Pima Road, Suite 108, Scottsdale, Arizona 85255. We do not invent a storefront in every city on this site. Family Therapy for Des Plaines residents is licensed Illinois telehealth — you meet by secure video while you are physically in Illinois. That is a service-area practice, not a fake local clinic. If you need the address for records or a map pin, it is North Scottsdale. It is not a Des Plaines waiting room we pretended to open so a page would rank. The clinician is named. The license is the state you sit in during the session.
Are your therapists actually licensed to treat people in Illinois?
Yes. Telehealth is licensed by the state where you are sitting during the session, not by the city on the URL. Dr. Lisa Lavella, PsyD, BC-TMH is licensed in Arizona and Illinois. Christina Liakopoulos, LCSW, BC-TMH is licensed in Arizona, Illinois, and Indiana. If you live in Des Plaines, you simply need to be physically in Illinois when we meet. We do not “see” clients in states where we are not licensed, and we will not pretend a video call erases that rule. The free consult is also where we confirm fit, timing, and whether self-pay or an accepted plan makes sense for you.
Who would I actually work with for family therapy?
Dr. Lisa Lavella, PsyD, BC-TMH (Arizona and Illinois) and Christina Liakopoulos, LCSW, BC-TMH (Arizona, Illinois, and Indiana). They are named clinicians with decades of practice — not a matching engine and not a new intern every month. The free consult is how you meet the person, ask about family therapy, and decide if the fit is right. Credentials live on the about pages. We will not hide behind a brand voice when you deserve a human being. If the pairing is wrong, we would rather say so than keep a mismatched hour.
Is online family therapy in Des Plaines as real as sitting in an office?
For most of the concerns we treat, the research says yes — outcomes track the relationship and the method, not the waiting room. What changes in Des Plaines is logistics. You skip the commute, the parking, and the “who saw me walk in” problem. Sessions run on encrypted, HIPAA-compliant video. You still get a named clinician, a plan you both can explain, and homework that lives in your actual week. If video is a poor fit (safety, technology, or preference), we will say so in the consult rather than force a format that does not serve you.
Do you take insurance for family therapy in Illinois?
We are primarily a cash-pay practice and currently accept some insurance plans. Many clients in Des Plaines choose self-pay for privacy (sessions do not automatically hit a medical record the way a fully billed insurance episode can) and for simplicity — no surprise denials mid-treatment. We will tell you, before you commit, whether your plan is one we can bill and what a self-pay session costs. We do not advertise “we take everything” because that would be untrue. Call or use the consult form and we will be specific about fee, frequency, and whether a superbill is available. If money is the only barrier, say so in the consult; we would rather have an honest conversation than a bait-and-switch about coverage.
What actually happens in the first family therapy session?
The first session is an honest conversation, not an interrogation. We cover what brought you in, what you have already tried, how family therapy has (or has not) helped before, and what “better” would look like in your life in Des Plaines — sleep, work, relationships, the stuff you can feel. You will leave with a sense of the clinician, the pace, and whether the fit is right. There is no pressure to unload your whole history on day one. If it is not a fit, we would rather help you redirect than keep a mismatched pairing.
If I live in a smaller Des Plaines community, is this actually private?
Your sessions are protected by law and by ethics, with the usual mandated-reporting exceptions (risk of harm, abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult). Telehealth adds a practical privacy layer a storefront office cannot: nobody in Des Plaines watches you park at a clinic. You still need a closed door and headphones on your side. We use encrypted video. We will not discuss you in the grocery store, on a sideline, or in a Facebook group. If you share a house or a campus, we will help you plan a setting that is actually private — a parked car with a headset counts.
