Dorian Ortega , LCPC

Dorian Ortega is a licensed mental health therapist who centers her work on BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities, drawing from liberation, feminist, and multicultural psychology to inform a compassionate and culturally aware practice. She holds the LCPC credential - Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor - and brings a perspective shaped by her experience as a person of color to emphasize self-love and healing as foundational steps in therapy.

Her approach is rooted in client-centered care and community wellness, with an emphasis on building strengths and finding holistic paths through mental health challenges. She encourages clients to cultivate self-compassion and to honor their relationships with themselves and others as part of creating healthier futures for themselves and their loved ones.

Outside of traditional therapy, she is a co-founder of healing poetry circles aimed at expanding access to mental health support through the arts. For the past 2 years she has organized a series of free poetry healing circles and related events in Humboldt Park that use creative expression as a culturally relevant, inclusive tool for education, resistance, and community healing.

As a community advocate, she integrates poetry, writing, and social media to build intersectional and restorative connections that uplift marginalized communities while offering therapeutic support in a practitioner role.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Support

Dorian Ortega integrates client-centered therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) into her online practice. Client-centered therapy focuses on creating a supportive, nonjudgmental environment where the therapist follows the client's lead and helps them explore their values, strengths, and goals - this approach is especially useful for building self-esteem, improving relationships, and navigating identity-related concerns. CBT is a practical, skills-based approach that helps people identify unhelpful thought patterns and build strategies to reduce anxiety, manage mood, and change behaviors that get in the way of daily functioning.

She also draws from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) techniques to teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness when needed. Together these methods offer both empathetic listening and concrete tools, and she collaborates with each person to find the best fit based on their needs, goals, and preferences. That process is shared and adaptive rather than one-size-fits-all.

Online therapy with Dorian includes video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, providing flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These options make it easier to access consistent care from wherever a person is located and to incorporate therapy into busy lives while maintaining continuity of treatment with licensed professionals.