About Still Oak Counseling
Still Oak Counseling is a small therapy practice in downtown Chicago, founded in 2023 by Elizabeth Bodett Dresser, LCPC. We are two therapists, not a directory of twenty. That is on purpose. It means you will always know exactly who you are working with and why, and it means the person you meet on the intro call is the person you will be sitting across from every week after that.
We work with capable, thoughtful adults who have spent a long time managing life from their heads. High-achievers, perfectionists, people-pleasers, the ones everyone else leans on. People who have often already tried talk therapy, understand themselves well, and can feel like that understanding alone has stopped moving them forward.
Why we do it this way
Small is a feature.
Larger practices match you to whoever has an opening. We match you to the therapist whose training fits your needs best, and if neither of us is the right person, we will tell you and point you in the right direction. You should never have to wonder whether you landed with the right therapist.
We go past insight.
Most of the people who find us are excellent at explaining themselves. They can trace the pattern back to childhood, name the belief underneath it, and describe the whole thing with real precision. And yet it is still happening. Our training is in methods that go deeper than insight: Internal Family Systems, EMDR, and somatic, body-based work that helps your nervous system release what’s holding you back..
We are honest with you.
About fit, about progress, about what is and is not working. Therapy goes faster when nobody is being polite for the sake of it, and the people we work with tend to appreciate that.
How we work
Internal Family Systems (IFS). IFS is built on a simple idea: the parts of you that push, protect, and criticize all developed for a reason, and they can learn to trust something steadier underneath. Elizabeth is IFS Level 2 trained and it is the foundation of most of her work. Learn more about IFS therapy in Chicago.
EMDR. EMDR helps the brain finish processing experiences that got stuck, whether that is a single event or years of low-grade pressure that never felt bad enough to count as trauma. Both of us are EMDR trained, and Meg also offers EMDR intensives for people who want to move faster than weekly sessions allow. Learn more about EMDR therapy in Chicago.
Somatic work. Your body has been keeping score of everything your mind has been managing. Somatic therapy works at that level, and it runs through both IFS and EMDR rather than sitting off to the side. Learn more about somatic therapy in Chicago.
Couples. Meg holds Gottman Level 1 training and works with couples who keep having the same argument and want to understand what it is actually about. Learn more about couples therapy in Chicago.
Who you will be working with
Elizabeth Bodett Dresser, LCPC
Elizabeth founded Still Oak in 2023 after years of watching high-achieving clients get sent home with coping strategies for problems that needed something deeper. She is IFS Level 2 trained and EMDR trained, and she works with perfectionism, burnout, and the particular exhaustion of building something while being your own harshest critic. Her clients are often entrepreneurs, leaders, and people who look fine from the outside. She works with individuals rather than couples.
Meg Doster, LMFT
Meg is trained in EMDR through an EMDRIA-approved program and holds Gottman Level 1 training. She works with trauma, panic, and relationship patterns, and especially with people carrying shame and a long habit of keeping the peace at their own expense. She is direct, warm, and steady. Meg works with both couples and individuals. Meg is currently accepting new clients, in person and online.
Where and how we meet
In person. Our office is at 30 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 901, in downtown Chicago, a short walk from Millennium Park and easy to reach by CTA or Metra.
Online, anywhere in Illinois. Both of us are licensed in Illinois, so we see clients by secure video across the whole state. Many of our clients live in the suburbs or hours from the city and never come downtown. Learn more about online therapy in Illinois.
Hours. Monday and Tuesday, 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Wednesday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
Fees. Sessions are $250. We are a private pay practice and do not bill insurance directly. We provide a superbill for out of network reimbursement, partner with Mentaya to make that process easier, and accept HSA and FSA payments.
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What happens next
Book a free intro call. It is a fifteen minute conversation about what is going on for you and whether working together makes sense. If it does, you will leave the call with a first session on the calendar. If it does not, you will leave with a better idea of who to call instead.