Katherine Hilbing, MA
Licensed Professional Counselor
(she/her)
Finding the right therapist can make it easier to take the next step.
Whether you’re struggling with anxiety or depression, recovering from trauma, navigating a major life change, exploring your identity, experiencing relationship or family concerns, or finding that ADHD or executive functioning challenges are making everyday life harder, you don’t have to figure it all out on your own.
I provide a supportive, collaborative, and nonjudgmental space where you can better understand what you’re experiencing, recognize your strengths, develop practical skills, and work toward meaningful change.
I work with children, adolescents, adults, and older adults from a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences. I have particular interests in anxiety, depression, trauma, ADHD, neurodivergence, executive functioning, LGBTQIA2S+ affirming care, identity exploration, relationships, grief, and significant life transitions.
Areas I Can Help With
I work with clients experiencing:
Anxiety
Depression
ADHD
Neurodivergence
Executive functioning challenges
PTSD and trauma-related concerns
Bipolar disorder
Grief and loss
Life transitions
Relationship and interpersonal concerns
Divorce and family changes
Interpersonal violence
DCFS involvement
Identity exploration and development
LGBTQIA2S+ concerns
Multicultural and diversity-related concerns
Caregiver stress and fatigue
Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other memory-related concerns
ADHD, Neurodivergence & Executive Functioning Support
ADHD and other forms of neurodivergence can affect much more than attention. You may struggle with organization, planning, time management, motivation, task initiation, follow-through, emotional regulation, transitions, or feeling overwhelmed by everyday responsibilities.
I work with children, teens, and adults who are navigating ADHD, neurodivergence, and executive functioning challenges. My goal is to help you better understand how your brain works, recognize your strengths, and develop practical strategies that fit your individual needs rather than expecting you to fit into a one-size-fits-all approach.
For children and teens, executive functioning challenges may show up as difficulties with schoolwork, homework, routines, organization, transitions, managing emotions, or completing tasks independently. When appropriate, I can also collaborate with parents and caregivers to help them better understand and support their child’s needs.
For adults, these challenges can affect work, school, relationships, household responsibilities, routines, and everyday life. We may work together on organization, time management, procrastination, task initiation, prioritizing responsibilities, emotional regulation, and finding strategies that are realistic and sustainable for you.
My goal isn’t to change who you are. Instead, we’ll work toward understanding what works for you, reducing frustration and overwhelm, and developing tools that can make everyday life feel more manageable.
Children & Adolescents
Children and teens don’t always have the words to explain what they’re feeling—or why certain situations and expectations feel so difficult.
I welcome children and adolescents who may be struggling with anxiety, depression, ADHD, neurodivergence, executive functioning difficulties, trauma, grief, family changes, relationships, identity concerns, or other emotional and behavioral challenges.
I work to create a comfortable and supportive environment where younger clients can express themselves, better understand their emotions and experiences, develop coping and executive functioning skills, and build confidence.
When appropriate, I collaborate with parents and caregivers to help them better understand their child’s needs and support progress outside of therapy.
LGBTQIA2S+ Affirming Therapy
You deserve a space where you can be fully yourself.
I especially welcome LGBTQIA2S+ clients and am committed to providing an affirming environment where you can openly explore your identity, relationships, mental health, family dynamics, life transitions, trauma, or other concerns without feeling that you need to explain or defend who you are.
Therapy can also provide a supportive space for exploring identity, navigating coming out or disclosure decisions, managing family or relationship concerns, coping with discrimination or minority stress, and building greater confidence and self-acceptance.
Trauma, Relationships & Life Transitions
Difficult experiences can continue affecting the way you think, feel, relate to others, and move through the world long after the experience itself has ended.
I have experience working with individuals affected by trauma, PTSD, interpersonal violence, relationship difficulties, family changes, and DCFS involvement.
Whether you’re processing something that happened recently or experiences from your past, I work to create a space where you can explore what happened at a pace that feels manageable, understand how those experiences may still be affecting you, and begin developing a greater sense of safety, confidence, and connection.
I also work with clients navigating grief, divorce, relationship changes, identity development, and major life transitions. Therapy can give you space to understand what you’re feeling, adjust to change, and determine what you want your next chapter to look like.
Older Adults, Memory Changes & Caregivers
I also have experience supporting older adults experiencing Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and other memory-related conditions, as well as the family members and caregivers who support them.
Caring for someone you love can bring complicated emotions alongside the practical demands of caregiving. Therapy can provide a space to process stress, grief, changing family roles, difficult decisions, caregiver fatigue, and the emotional impact of watching someone you love experience cognitive changes.
My Approach to Therapy
I believe therapy should be collaborative, individualized, and grounded in your unique strengths, experiences, identities, and goals. My goal is to create a space where you feel heard, respected, accepted, and comfortable being yourself.
I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to therapy. Instead, we’ll work together to understand what’s happening in your life, identify patterns or barriers that may be contributing to distress, and develop practical strategies that fit your individual needs.
Depending on your needs and goals, I may incorporate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Relational-Cultural Therapy (RCT), mindfulness, trauma-informed approaches, executive functioning strategies, expressive and creative interventions, person-centered therapy, and strengths-based approaches.
Most importantly, I want therapy to be a place where you can better understand yourself while developing tools that help you create meaningful and sustainable change outside of the therapy room.
Education & Professional Experience
I earned my Bachelor of Science in Clinical/Community Psychology, with a minor in Informatics, from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and my Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Illinois Springfield.
My professional experience has included work with individuals affected by trauma and interpersonal violence, LGBTQIA2S+ individuals and communities, individuals and families involved with DCFS, and older adults experiencing memory-related conditions and their caregivers.
I have also participated in research examining youth emotional development, mental health, risk, and resilience.
Licensed Professional Counselor – Illinois License #178.032769
Ready to Get Started?
Whether you’re looking for therapy for your child or teenager, yourself, or an older family member, finding a therapist who makes you feel comfortable, understood, and accepted is an important first step.
If you’re navigating anxiety, depression, ADHD, neurodivergence, executive functioning challenges, trauma, grief, LGBTQIA2S+ or identity concerns, life transitions, relationship challenges, or caregiver stress, and think I may be a good fit, I’d be happy to help you take that next step.
Call Brighter Pathways at (224) 723-5772
Our patient assistant can answer your questions, help determine whether I may be a good fit for your needs, schedule your first appointment, and verify your insurance coverage.