About Us

SamaraCare is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, dedicated to providing quality mental health counseling, psychological assessments and testing services for individuals, couples and families from diverse backgrounds and varied financial means. We maintain a highly credentialed staff of therapists in order to maintain high standards of professional care; many of whom have post-graduate degrees at the masters and doctoral levels.

SamaraCare offers as wide variety of client-focused and goal-oriented counseling support in a broad range of specialty areas so that clients can find the right emotional, behavioral and spiritual balance they are seeking. Speciaty areas include, but are not limited to:

• Anxiety and depression
• Austism spectrum disorders
• Depression and stress
• Divorce and blended families
• Geriatric issues
• Grief and loss
• Leaning disabilities
• Marital and family conflict
• PTSD
• Social and emotional functionng
• Substance abuse and addiction
• Trauma recovery

We also provide customized mental health presentations and workshops to schools, service clubs and faith/community groups. The presentations are preventative in nature and are designed to provide tools to address issues before they become insurmountable problems and to help end the stigma.

We serve clients in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall,  Lake and Will and counties in northeastern IL. Populations served include children, adolescents, adults, seniors, couples, families, clergy, police officers, LGBTQ, trauma survivors, veterans and anyone else needing quality mental health care. Our clients range in age from 2 to 92.

History

SamaraCare was founded as the Interfaith Family Life Center  in 1971 by three local Naperville congregations (Knox Presbyterian Church, Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church and St. Raphael Catholic Church) to address the unmet mental health needs of the community. The center provided preventative and therapeutic counseling in family living and related concerns for all, regardless of religious affiliation or financial resources.  Since then, we have evolved to become one of the largest counseling organizations in Chicago’s west and southwest suburbs serving nearly 1,600 clients annually.

On July 1 2019, SamaraCare joined forces with Winnetka-based Samaritan Counseling Center to become a regional provider of high quality mental health services. Samaritan Counseling Center dissolved its corporate charter, folded into SamaraCare’s organizational structure and adopted SamaraCare’s existing federal tax ID number. The new SamaraCare continues to serve clients from Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake & Will counties in NE Illinois, and is managed by SamaraCare’s current CEO/President. The merger created a more sizeable regional organization that can now realize administrative efficiencies and strengthen negotiating power with insurers. It also enables SamaraCare to recruit and retain more highly qualified clinicians and staff as they offer a wider array of services and enhanced clinical expertise. The new SamaraCare remains dedicated to making mental health counseling services more affordable and accessible to anyone with financial limitations, including the under-resourced.

Since 1983, SamaraCare has been accredited by the Solihten Institute (formerly Samaritan Institute), a national network of over 50 non-profit counseling centers. Solihten issues accreditation based on standards of organizational structure, financial management, personal accountability and ethics.

How We Are Unique

We are unique in providing the option of spiritually-integrated counseling to those individuals seeking this approach. We do not promote or proselytize any religion.  We respect all faith perspectives or no faith at all, and help our clients engage their faith as they see fit as part of the overall healing process. Many of our therapists have formal training in integrating spirituality into counseling when working with religiously divergent clients. Research has shown that spirituality can be an invaluable factor in the process of instilling and facilitating positive coping, psychological well-being and resilience in religious clients.

We also believe everyone should have affordable access to the mental health care they need and deserve. Our Mental Health Access Program (MHAP) provides fee discounted mental health services on a sliding scale basis to eligible clients with financial limitations or hardships. We provide, on average, over $478,000 in fee subsidy assistance to approximately 400 primary clients per year.

About Our Name?

The word “Samara” has a duel meaning. It is a botanical term for a dry winged seed, that can spin down to fertile ground where it can grow and flourish. It also has its origins in Hebrew and Arabic and means “guardian” or “protected by God”. Both meanings suit us perfectly because they tie-in to the relationships and aspirations we have with our clients and partners, and because it relates to our founding congregations.

The ‘Care’ part of our name is simple: we care about you, and for you, and are committed to doing everything in our power to give you our very best.

Vision

Nothing stands in the way of people getting the help they need to flourish.

Mission

SamaraCare helps people achieve their greatest potential by being compassionate and spirit-led counselors, consultants and advocates.

As counselors, we treat children, teens and adults who are facing some of life’s more serious challenges. As consultants, we work with organizations to help them best serve their members and the community. As unstoppable advocates, we teach how good mental and organizational health allows individuals, communities and societies to function at their very best.

Join Us

Whether you’re seeking care for yourself or someone you love, plan to attend one of our events or wish to change someone’s life by making a donation, we welcome you to SamaraCare.