Joshua Williams

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

    • Early adults

    • Adults approaching or navigating midlife

    • Older adults & elders

    • Life transitions

    • Anxiety

    • Depression

    • Grief and Loss

  • I draw from psychodynamic, existential, and attachment-based approaches, integrating mindfulness and trauma-informed care. My work is focused on helping clients feel safe, seen, and steady as they navigate change and build trust in themselves.

    • Psychodynamic Therapy – Looks at how past experiences shape your present, uncovering patterns that may be holding you back.

    • Attachment-Based Therapy – Helps repair relational wounds, strengthen self-worth, and build healthier connections.

    • Internal Family Systems (IFS) – Helps explore different parts of yourself, heal inner conflicts, and build self-trust.

    • Existential Therapy – Focuses on meaning, identity, and navigating life’s uncertainties with more clarity and purpose. 

    • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) – Supports psychological flexibility, helping you move forward in line with your values.

    • Mindfulness-Based & Trauma-Informed Therapy – Creates a grounding, steady space for reflection, healing, and emotional safety.

About me

I’ve worked in mental health for almost 15 years, provided individual and group therapy in hospitals, small clinics, long-term care facilities, and—over the last three years—in private practice at Prairieland Therapy. As the administrator of a nursing home, I learned the importance of seeing a person as the accumulation of many different selves over time—something that deeply informs my work as a therapist. I also have an eclectic background outside of mental health. I spent a few years in a Ph.D. program studying history, which gave me a toolbox for thinking through problems and an appreciation for context that I bring to session. I taught while in graduate school, and after, at the City Colleges of Chicago, an experience that strengthened my ability to listen, communicate complex ideas, and work with people from a place of understanding and respect.

I currently live in Chicago but am planning a move in the next couple years to be closer to family and try my hand at some prairie reconstruction. Or atleast a larger garden. I’ve lived in Illinois my whole life but have deep family roots in the Southeast, with formative time spent in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia.

I stay sane through photography, reading, long meditative walks, gardening, exploring, and getting out to the lake. I keep hope alive in myself, same as everybody. I live with my partner and our cat, Gertrude—both of whom I love very much.

Education

  • Illinois State University, B.S. 2003

  • Northwestern University, M.A. 2009

  • Loyola University, M.S.W. 2012