Clea Mirza James, LMFT, CST

APPROACH

My approach to therapy is collaborative, whether you come in alone, with a partner, or with your family. Together we explore your therapeutic goals. I firmly believe in the power of relationships to foster resilience and healing. In my work, I strive to cultivate connection and curiosity in an active, direct, and compassionate manner as you explore life's challenges -- deepening your understanding of yourself and learning to connect more meaningfully with others.

I specialize in relationship difficulties, sex therapy, grief and trauma using a relational, trauma-informed, and systemic approach.

In my practice people of all identities are welcomed to a professional and compassionate atmosphere inclusive to all sexual orientations, gender identities, relationship configurations, and belief systems.

Experience

Clea Mirza James is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the State of Illinois. She is a clinical fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), an AAMFT Approved Supervisor, and a Certified Sex Therapist by the American Association of Sexuality Educators Counselors and Therapists (AASECT). As an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, she has completed the clinical training and supervision necessary to specialize in the clinical treatment of sexual concerns. She has additional post-graduate training in Feminist-Relational models of working with trauma, and the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model.

She received her Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy from the Family Institute at Northwestern University with extensive training in integrative and systemic models. She completed her clinical practicum at The Family Institute’s Bette D. Harris Family and Child Clinic, providing therapy for couples, families, and individuals. There, she completed an additional internship in the Parents in Charge (PIC) Clinic at The Family Institute, specializing in interventions for families with children who have challenges with emotion regulation and disruptive behavior. Prior to starting a private practice, she worked in a small group practice and an agency providing comprehensive services to survivors of domestic and gender-based violence specializing in work with immigrants, refugees, and asylees.

• AASECT Certified Sex Therapist

• Clinical Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

• American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy Approved Supervisor

• Clinical Supervisor at the Family Institute at Northwestern University

• Clinical training with The Family Institute’s Bette D. Harris Family and Child Clinic

• M.S. The Family Institute at Northwestern University

• B.S. Skidmore College

• Advanced postgraduate training in Feminist-Relational models of working with trauma

• IFS Level 1 training

Areas of Clinical Passion and Expertise