Dr. Carla Beatrici received her Psy.D. at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology. She is a clinical psychologist with over 20 years clinical experience working with children, adolescents, parents and adults and also has experience directing an outpatient, non-profit counseling agency. Dr. Beatrici is an Assistant Professor at Loyola University Medical Center in the Department of Psychiatry, where she treats patients, supervises interns and teaches child development to psychiatry residents.

Ms. Nancy Ponton holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Dominican University in River Forest, IL and has twelve years experience with marketing and communications in the insurance industry. A native Oak Parker, Nancy has volunteered in the community for close to two decades. Most recently she has volunteered as a trained domestic violence advocate for Sarah’s Inn in Oak Park.

Darcy Barkal is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Human Sport and Performance at Adler University. Her experience includes working with children, adolescents and athletes. Drawn to Smart Love by its warm, relationship-centered approach, Darcy values the opportunity to learn from experienced clinicians to support children, adults and families with empathy and understanding. She is passionate about providing care that helps clients feel understood, supported, and empowered, while fostering resilience, strong relationships, and emotional well-being.   

Ms. Pam Bourdeau has been working for Smart Love for over 10 years.

Laura Bentley, is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor who graduated from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology with a M.A. in Counseling Psychology. She is experienced working with children, adolescents, and families involved with the juvenile justice system and has provided individual therapy, family therapy, parent guidance and group therapy in other outpatient settings. Laura is committed to journey with her clients to achieve happier, healthier lives.

Mr. Binns' early social work career included call center work with The Depression Line and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (now known as 988). He then shifted to public health research for several years, studying behavioral health communication and tobacco-use prevention. He returned to social work, receiving his MSW from the Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago, in 2025. During his MSW program he practiced group work for intimate partner violence intervention. He then joined Smart Love Family Services in 2025 to focus on individual and couple's therapy, appreciating the presence and importance of direct practice.

Dr. Stephen Budde received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. He is a psychotherapist who has over 20 years experience in child welfare as a clinical social worker, researcher, teacher, and administrator. He has had extensive experience as a Senior Researcher and Assistant Professor at Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago and a Lecturer at the University’s School of Social Service Administration (SSA). Dr. Budde is Associate Executive Director at the Juvenile Protective Association.

Coming soon

Ms. Carper earned her Bachelor of Arts in Community Art and Psychology from Wheaton College, IL and her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Adler University. Regarding academic and professional interests, Ms Carper desires to learn more about the intersectionality of creativity, community engagement, and mental health—ultimately working towards social justice. With a passion in both the arts and psychology, she desires to use creative approaches to support genuine happiness with her clients at Smart Love.

Dr. Paula L. Ciccarone earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Delaware with a Child Clinical emphasis. She has worked in diverse community and clinical settings with people of all ages. Her expertise is focused on healthy child development and family relationships. Paula values the unique life experiences each person brings to the therapeutic relationship. She partners with clients to develop personalized treatment plans that allow for children, adults, and families to grow in happiness and self-fulfillment.

Ms. Katherine Ford, LCSW, recently graduated from Erikson Institute with a Master’s Degree in Social Work and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. She has experience working with children and families doing dyadic parent-child therapy and parental guidance in outpatient settings. Katherine is committed to creating an alliance with her clients to help them achieve their goals.

Mrs. Yesenia Garcia is a Licensed Professional Counselor who earned her M.S. in School Counseling from National Louis University and her B.A. in Psychology from UIC. She is passionate about working in the counseling field in both a clinical and school setting. Her experience has been mostly working with at-risk youth and their families, but she enjoys working with diverse populations of all ages. Yesenia values building strong therapeutic relationships that are culturally respectful and create a safe space for clients to work towards their desired treatment outcomes.

Sara Johnson received her Master’s and Ph.D. in social work from Loyola University Chicago. She has over 15 years of clinical experience working with children, adolescents, adults and families in a variety of settings including outpatient mental health, foster care, and substance abuse programs. Dr. Johnson is committed to helping clients have happier and healthier experiences in their lives.

Dona Loe, LPC, received her Master's in Clinical and Mental Health Counseling at Adler University. She has a strong, compassionate, authentic, and dedicated care for the client and family. Dona would describe Inner Humanism Therapy as an approach that is grounded in meeting the client where they are at and helping gain understanding of where the highest self, strongest internal self-esteem, and genuine happiness meet. Inner Humanism helps parents build relationships with their children by focusing on how the child's genuine happiness is expressed and observed. This leads to a higher understanding of one another in the parent-child relationship. As aligned with the Inner Humanism approach, Dona's work is grounded in being a multicultural competent counselor, showing and opening up space for clients of all cultural backgrounds to share their experiences and ideals that connect them with their race, gender, sexual orientation, spirituality etc. Dona is dedicated to care and support her clients and has a strong grounding of working with children and families with Autism and other intellectual developments and disabilities.

Ms. McTague has provided diagnostic evaluations, psychological testing and individual, family and group psychotherapy in a range of mental health and psychiatric settings in the Chicago area. She has worked with children, adolescents and adults struggling with a wide range of emotional, behavioral, social, developmental and adjustment issues. Ms. McTague is working toward her doctorate in clinical psychology and is supervised by Dr. Bill Pasola.

Grace Melon is currently pursuing her Masters of Education in Mental Health Counseling at Loyola University Chicago. She has spent much of her professional life working with children ages 2–11 as a teacher, acting teacher, art therapist, and camp counselor. She values working with children and she is particularly drawn to supporting teenagers and young adults as they navigate the exciting and often challenging process of self-discovery, increasing independence, and important life decisions. Prior to beginning her graduate studies, Grace worked as a Therapeutic Tutor at Smart Love, where she developed a deep appreciation for Intrapsychic Humanism and its compassionate, holistic approach to healing and growth. She strives to create a collaborative, supportive space where clients feel safe bringing all parts of themselves into therapy, helping them recognize their resilience, strengthen their sense of agency, and move toward healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Dr. Pascale Moise provides psychological evaluation and treatment to children, adolescents and families in a broad range of settings including community based, inpatient, outpatient settings, and therapeutic day schools. Dr. Moise enjoys collaborating with parents in her work by engaging in dyadic parent-child therapy and parental consultation sessions. Dr. Moise values the unique qualities that all clients and families bring to the therapeutic relationship and uses that to empower her clients to navigate their challenges. She received her Psy.D from Adler University.

​Allison Nash received her doctorate in clinical psychology at Roosevelt University. She has experience across a variety of clinical settings, including community mental health, integrated primary care, outpatient psychotherapy, residential substance use treatment, and LGBTQ+ affirming healthcare. She particularly enjoys working with LGBTQ+ clients and individuals navigating substance use challenges and is excited to further develop her skills working with children, families, and couples. Drawn to Smart Love through her previous supervisory relationship with Dr. Carla Beatrici and her training in Intrapsychic Humanism, Allison values the approach's focus on understanding developmental experiences, strengthening self-caretaking motives, and fostering meaningful growth. She is passionate about building authentic, attuned therapeutic relationships that help clients break generational patterns, deepen self-understanding, and move toward healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Ms. Ilinka Novakovic received her MSW at Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work. She is a psychotherapist, parent educator and coach who has extensive experience both writing and presenting child development seminars and courses to parents and professionals. She has worked in several outpatient mental health agencies providing psychotherapy to children, adolescents and adults.

Dr. Bill Pasola received his Psy.D. from Roosevelt University, where he specialized in child, adolescent and family therapy. He has experience serving a diverse array of clients and his clinical work has spanned short term crisis intervention to long term individual and family therapy. His previous settings of practice include: outpatient clinics, parochial schools, a therapeutic day school, a psychiatric hospital, and residential treatment.

Ms. Blaire Paulsen is a staff therapist who graduated from Adler University with an M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She is experienced working with children and families of all ages in multiple settings and has provided services within Riley’s Children Hospital, preschools, and ABA therapy centers. Blaire is committed to the therapeutic alliance with her clients and the cohesive process of working towards healthier and happier lives.

Ms. Janine Phan received her M.A. in Counseling Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor with experience focused on grief and loss; identity concerns; couples therapy; parent guidance and anxiety and depression symptoms. She has extensive experience in working with people of all ages and multicultural backgrounds in various clinical settings. She appreciates the opportunity to work with families to help strengthen relationships and better understand one another's experience of themselves and each other.

Kaelyn Pineo, LPC graduated from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology with her M.A. degree in Counseling Psychology with a focus on children and adolescents. Ms. Pineo completed her full time internship at Smart Love Family Services where she gained valuable experience working with children, teens and their parents. She has experience working with children and adolescents in transitional living facilities and working with adults in inpatient settings. Ms. Pineo is passionate about creating a safe therapeutic relationship for individuals of all ages and backgrounds so they have the opportunity to get support for themselves, allowing them to thrive.

Ms. Haley Rosenthal is a Licensed Professional Counselor who graduated from Roosevelt University with an M.A. in Clinical Psychology (Counseling Practice). She has worked with children, adolescents, and adults in a broad range of settings, including elementary schools, high schools, and long-term care facilities. Haley is passionate about collaborating with clients to help them reach their treatment goals and utilizes a positive, strengths-based humanistic approach. She focuses on creating meaningful therapeutic relationships in order to promote her clients’ overall well-being. 

Dr. Marian Sharkey received her Ph.D. from Loyola University Chicago.  She is a psychotherapist with over twenty five years of clinical experience working with children, adolescents, adults and families in a variety of inpatient and outpatient community mental health, hospital and private practice settings. Dr. Sharkey is on the adjunct faculty in the School of Social Work at Loyola University Chicago and has taught at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. Dr. Sharkey directs the training program at Smart Love and provides clinical supervision.

Dr. Sara Stone received her Psy.D. at The Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. She is a clinical psychologist with over 20 years of clinical experience working with adults, couples and families in outpatient hospital and community clinic settings, as well as children and adolescents in school settings.

Dr. Kari Terrill is a licensed clinical psychologist with over 10 years of experience providing therapeutic services to children, adolescents, parents, and adults in a variety of settings including community mental health agencies, schools, and outpatient clinics.  She has specific training in conducting psychological and psychoeducational evaluations for children, adolescents, and adults, and she is especially passionate about helping children and young adults receive the necessary support to achieve success in academic settings.  Dr. Terrill received her Psy.D. from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology.

Ms. Olivia Tinati is a licensed clinical professional counselor.  She received her Masters of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern University in 2018. Olivia has had experience working in non-profits providing community support, group therapy, and individual and family counseling to children, teenagers, and adults. Olivia currently provides individual and couple’s counseling services to children, adolescents, and adults from diverse backgrounds. Olivia is passionate about understanding her clients’ unique experiences and individual needs in order to help them live their happiest and most fulfilled lives.

Jane Wilkie-Ashner is currently pursuing a Masters of Social Work at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. Her experience includes working with children, adolescents, and young adults in caregiving, coaching, counseling, and residential treatment settings, as well as contributing to quality improvement and research initiatives at a community mental health program. Jane enjoys working with children, teens, young adults, families, couples, LGBTQ+ individuals, and neurodivergent clients. Drawn to Smart Love by its welcoming community and foundation in Intrapsychic Humanism, Jane values the approach's focus on understanding developmental experiences and fostering meaningful growth. She is passionate about providing culturally responsive, compassionate care that helps clients feel understood, empowered, and supported in creating positive change.  

Ms. Julia Wright is a licensed clinical social worker. She received her MSW from the Jane Addams College of Social Work and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Ms. Wright’s 15 years of experience include working with children and families of diverse backgrounds in residential and school settings. Ms. Wright joined Smart Love Family Services in 2015 helping children, adolescents and adults pursue their innate desires for well-being.  She also enjoys providing parent guidance counseling, helping parents to better understand their children’s behavior and enjoy their relationships with their children.

Dr. Michael Zakalik received his Psy.D. at The Illinois School of Professional Psychology. He has over 17 years of experience working with diverse populations of children, adolescents, couples, parents, and adults. He has worked within residential facilities, public and therapeutic day schools, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, and outpatient services. Dr. Zakalik has experience in all these settings with helping children and families effectively cope with trauma and loss. He has also provided parent education seminars on important mental health topics to parents in the community.