License 178012295 -Doctor of Psychology
Dr. Santiago is a clinical psychology Licensed Professional Counselor. She has extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and adults. Her previous training and career experiences include working with the YWCA Shelter for battered women and their children, private practices, and Alexian Brothers Behavioral Hospital in Hoffman Estates. She has also had extensive work with therapeutic day schools and Individualized Education Planning. As a Clinical Director, she provided individual and family therapy within a therapeutic day school with students diagnosed with School Anxiety and School Refusal Issues, who also exhibited a wide range of emotional and behavioral issues, as well as, the medically fragile.
With her work at ArtWell Therapy Center, Dr. Santiago’s goals is to build an effective therapeutic relationship with her clients. Her role is to create a safe, nurturing environment and construct a positive, non-judgmental collaborative process. She is direct in her therapy style which assists clients in a more structured approach to set effective goals. She has experience working with ages five years old through the lifespan, including those with Autism Spectrum Disorder, college life transitions, developmental milestones, parenting education needs, couples counseling, individuals who identify as LGBTQ+, and multicultural/diverse individuals/couples.
As a Latina professional, cultural competence is fundamental to her clinical work. She finds it important to recognize and discuss aspects of multicultural and diverse topics in her clinical practice, as well as, celebrate our cultural differences. She will help clients discuss their personal stories of prejudice, racial oppression, social privilege, and mico/macroaggressions.
She uses a variety of therapies such as Adlerian Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Client Centered approaches during her treatment process. The focus of Adlerian therapy addresses social justice issues, values, and lifestyle of the client. Her use of CBT application is building insight and awareness into patterns of behavior and understanding the re-experiencing of historical triggers in present day situations. Client Centered approaches use the client and therapist as a collaborative team that encourages the client to lead the session toward positive change.