LCPC
Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, State of Illinois — License #180.017722. National Certified Counselor (NCC). Graduate degree with honors in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northwestern University.
About
Meet Sanna Stella, LCPC, NCC, CTP
My story
A therapist who brings her whole self to the work
As someone who chose a new purpose in midlife by becoming a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, I layered specialized trauma and adoption research and clinical training on a foundation of rich lived experiences. I have lived on three continents but am based in the Chicago area and founded Seeing Your Light Counseling to support people with unique and often invisible challenges — where identity, health, family, and public visibility impact life in ways that most therapists haven't encountered, let alone lived. I bring both clinical training and personal experiences to my work with those affected by adoption, chronic illness, advocacy work, or being known to the public in some way. I understand how deeply these aspects affect every part of our lives, even if it seems unrelated on the surface. These challenges benefit from a therapist who can see the connections, patterns, and roots of your struggles. Sessions are available in-person in Chicago and Oak Park, and via telemental health throughout Illinois.
Book a Free ConsultationCredentials, Trainings & Experiences
Clinical skills & knowledge, personal purpose
Trauma
Certified Trauma Professional (CTP) and Certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies by the Trauma Research Foundation. Worked with different kinds of often severe trauma.
Adoption
Rutgers School of Social Work Adoption Certificate. Qualitative reunion and reculturation research at Northwestern University. Peer-reviewed published author and professional presenter. Lived experiences as an international transracial Korean adoptee.
Chronic Illness
Chronic illness advocate with lived experiences of invisible health conditions, disability, challenges navigating the medical system, clinical research studies, and creating a new life path while caring for chronic health conditions.
Public Life & Advocacy
Professional experiences working with performing artists, religious leaders, advocates, and activists. Enhanced by personal experiences as a health advocate.
My approach
Therapy that connects with your heart, body, and mind
My approach is integrative, holistic, and multicultural: drawing from trauma-informed practice and integrating elements from depth-oriented, psychodynamic, and existential theory and practice; to elements from evidence-based treatments like CBT, DBT, ACT, and SFBT; to humanistic and person-centered skills. I don't believe in a one-size-fits-all model or manualized therapy. My multicultural perspective comes from both working with diverse people and having lived in Asia, Europe, and the US. Sessions are collaborative and paced according to your needs. Come as you are. Bring the messy, the unfinished, the contradictory — that's exactly what this space is for. I work with children, adolescents, adults, and elderly either in-person in Chicago and Oak Park, or via telemental health throughout Illinois. I see individuals, couples, and families. I also offer groups at times. I can provide therapy in English and German.
Book a Free ConsultationIn print & in the media
Sanna's selected publications & media appearances
Academic journal articles and other links are often not accessible without subscriptions. If you'd like a full article sent to you via email, please request it by emailing info@SeeingYourLightCounseling.com, calling (464) 245-5656, or read a printed version in my binder in the waiting room of my in-person offices in Chicago or Oak Park, IL.
Health Advocacy
- Clues to a better understanding of chronic fatigue syndrome emerge from a major study — NPR · February 2024 (opens in a new tab)
- COVID-19 patients could be at risk for chronic fatigue syndrome — Chicago Tribune · July 20, 2020 (opens in a new tab)
- 'I felt betrayed': how Covid research could help patients living with chronic fatigue syndrome — The Guardian · June 30, 2021 (opens in a new tab)
- The NIH Intramural Post-Infectious ME/CFS Study: A Patient-Study Participant Perspective (Part 1) — Solve ME · April 2019 (opens in a new tab)
- ME/CFS Intramural NIH Study Update from Patient Participant Sanna Stella — Solve ME · February 2020 (opens in a new tab)
- NIH Intramural ME/CFS Study — Patient Participant — National Institutes of Health · 2016–2022 — "Sanna was unanimously approved as a study participant by five leading ME/CFS experts in the US." (opens in a new tab)
Adoption
- Liberating Our Ancestors, Finding Ourselves: Colombian Transnational Adoptee First Family Reunions — Adoption Quarterly · February 1, 2023 (opens in a new tab)
- The reclamation of self: Kinship and identity in transnational Colombian adoptee first family reunions — The Family Journal · May 29, 2022 (opens in a new tab)
- Substance Use Disorders and Adoption Status: Implications for Counseling Practice — The Family Journal · September 11, 2020 (opens in a new tab)
The space
Chicago in-person session office
A warm, welcoming space
Original office photograph awaiting restoration.
Chicago in-person session office — a warm, welcoming therapy room with a blue sofa, green armchair, round wooden coffee table, and exposed brick wall with natural light