We're all about authenticity here.
We're our authentic selves regardless of where you meet us – in therapy, on the street, front row at a concert – you'll always get our unfiltered honesty. Despite being super different individuals, our team at Hold the Vision has always found cohesion under the shared vision of helping others grow. Whether you need someone comforting to cry with or shared humor when the timing is right, we're here for both.
Have a little scroll and get to know us (and our furry co-therapists). We each have distinct areas of expertise, plus open-book personalities that make us uniquely ourselves. For information about fees and insurance, scroll down to the FAQ section on our services page.
Gracie Orellano
ALMFT
Associate Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
-
Hi! I’m Gracie. (She/Her).
Therapy can be difficult as it is a leap of faith and trust in building a new connection to your therapist. You may be asking yourself “Is therapy right for me?”, “How can I trust a stranger?”, “How can therapy help me achieve my goals?” Rest assured, I want to be the support and push you need to see growth and progress.
My clients resonate with my Emotionally Focused and Narrative therapeutic approach as it bridges your narratives with the ongoing emotions that come with them. These modalities offer you the opportunity to feel your emotions and create the open space to be vulnerable with yourself and your loved ones. My approach also provides
skills to create emotional safety within your relationships, understand the narratives of your life and how to promote personal growth through mindfulness.
As a woman of color and queer individual and ally, I often use my experiences within the Latine culture to provide insight and create connection to my clients. These identities also inform me of how to help navigate challenges faced due to ongoing societal narratives. I use my experiences to provide a socially informed approach with my clients as well.
Some of the issues I support with are:
Narratives within Latine Culture and Intergenerational Issues
Ongoing conflict and the journey create understanding
Communicating emotions and creating emotional safety within their relationships
Affirming your identity and self-esteem to create the confidence you want
Confidence in parenting and promoting healthy communication between teens and parents
Finally, a little bit about me! I am currently working on my Masters of Couples and Family Therapy. I have a BA from Dominican University in River Forest. I was born and raised on the Northside of Chicago meaning I am a die-hard Cubs fan who enjoys ketchup on her hotdogs. When I am not in the therapy room, I often play video games or watch sitcoms or reality tv (typically shows I have already seen 20 times over). I also enjoy cooking and gardening so ask me how to grow veggies in Chicago weather!
Michela Stevenson
LMFT, PMH-C
Licensed Marriage and
Family Therapist
-
Hi, I’m Michela. I specialize in relationship-focused therapy at Hold The Vision. Ever since graduate school, I knew I wanted to focus on this work. I have always been drawn to the complexity of relationships — the patterns we repeat, the ways we protect ourselves, and the deep longing most of us carry to feel understood, loved, and secure.
I work with couples, families, and individuals who are trying to make sense of an important relationship in their lives, especially during seasons of transition, conflict, or change. Much of the time, that means sitting with two or more people in the room as they work through painful dynamics, rebuild trust, or begin to understand one another more clearly. I also work with individuals navigating relational distress, making sense of family-of-origin wounds, or untangling the patterns that continue to shape their closest relationships.
Because of my advanced training in perinatal mental health, I’m especially passionate about supporting people through the relational and emotional complexities of trying to conceive, pregnancy, postpartum, and parenthood. I bring this lens to work involving fertility treatment, LGBTQ family-building, reproductive decision-making, birth trauma, and the many identity shifts that can emerge as people grow into new roles and versions of themselves.
Outside of work, I’m a wife, a mom to a toddler, and a devoted friend who feels incredibly lucky to live close to people I’ve known since my time at Miami of Ohio and my years in NYC after college. These days, I’m usually exploring Chicago with my daughter or sneaking away for a date night or girls’ brunch to enjoy the food and cocktail scene that makes this city so easy to love.
My goal is for therapy to feel thoughtful, grounded, and genuinely helpful — not like one more obligation, but like a space that fits your life and supports the relationships that matter most.
Meet Our Team
Samantha Jones
LMFT
Licensed Marriage and
Family Therapist
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
-
Are you noticing yourself competing with your negative self-talk, struggling to manage the stressors in your life, or wanting to develop the tools needed for meaningful connections with those around you? Chances are, I'm the therapist for you.
As a licensed marriage and family therapist with a passion for addressing individual and relational issues, I am dedicated to helping you navigate the complexities of your relationships, your emotional health, and personal growth. With over 3 years of experience, I specialize in supporting individuals and relationships using a combination of evidence-based therapies and a deep understanding of the unique challenges you might face today. I will strive to provide a warm and nonjudgmental space as I guide you toward resilience and fulfillment.
I specialize in working with:
- Intimate relationship issues such as:
Building healthy communication
Establishing boundaries
Building trust
Infidelity recovery
Conflict resolution
Intimacy concerns
- Individual issues such as:
Life stage transitions, including grief and loss
Exploring identity and sense of self
Trauma
Managing stress, anxiety, and/or depression
Understanding emotions
Improving communication
Men’s issues, including embracing vulnerability and redefining masculinity
As a queer woman, I understand the importance of providing a poly and LGBTQIA+ affirming space for my clients to feel safe as they can explore their identities and relationships. As a white woman, I am committed to the internal and external work of anti-racism and dismantling oppressive systems in the therapy space and in my community.
Before my training at Adler, I received a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from Roosevelt University and spent over five years working in the hotel industry. I have worked in various roles, from human resources to event operations to front office operations. Throughout those experiences, I focused on my client’s needs and responded from a caring and professional stance. As your therapist, I will continue doing just that.
I recognize that you might be curious to learn more about me as the woman behind the therapist (totally natural; I would be, too!) In my free time, I love spending time with my family and friends, including my cats Luna and Boo (see below!) and my many nieces and nephews (I have nine so far!). I enjoy trying new restaurants, taking long walks, listening to podcasts, and traveling.
I hope I get the chance to meet you and help you begin your therapeutic journey! Feel free to reach out for a consultation or to learn more about how we can work together!
Faye
Williams
ALMFT
Associate Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
-
Hello!
Taking a step towards prioritizing your mental health is profoundly courageous of you. I'm here to offer support, whether you're navigating challenges or seeking personal growth. My approach combines Somatic Parts Work and psychoeducation, particularly Attachment Theory, to foster a more fulfilling relationship with yourself and with others. Within the therapeutic relationship, we’ll cultivate a safe space for exploration that is focused on your well-being.
I meet with clients of all ages to address emotional, relational, and somatic symptoms of:
Complex and Religious Trauma
Sexual, narcissistic, and/or spiritual abuse
Depression
Anxiety
OCD/Religious Scrupulosity
Grief
Disordered Eating
Marriage and Parenting Challenges
I have worked with children and families for over 3 decades and studied Early Childhood Education and Psychology at DePaul. 20 years later, I completed grad school and now hold an Associate License for Marriage and Family Therapy. Along with this team, I am dedicated to continuously reflecting and learning in order to offer the most anti-racist and decolonized practice.
Now that I’m back in Chicago, I take the train wherever I can, checking out different bookstores around the city, or finding where kombucha is on draught, get to and in the lake as often as possible, and marvel at the quick and extreme weather changes (I’m from the Midwest but spent over 11 years in Los Angeles where the season changes are more subtle). At home, I’m cooking (I love to recreate Lebanese dishes from family holidays), reading fiction or trying to, tending to my plants, or playing fetch with my sweet and silly grown-up kitten, Peach.
Thanks for being here! I'm looking forward to engaging in this process with you!
Dr. Eunice Makunzva
PhD, LPC, NCC, MFT
Licensed Professional Counselor, Marriage and Family Therapist
-
Finding a therapist is a lot like finding someone to play a 50,000-piece jigsaw puzzle with.
There are endless pieces to sort, and some clearly don’t belong. You need someone patient, understanding, and unafraid to shift strategies.
I take the pieces that don’t fit all the way down to their foundation and ask why they stopped working. Some come from childhood and no longer serve you. Some are pieces you’re constantly told you should want, even though you know they won’t complete the picture. Some are pieces you’ve been forcing into place because letting go felt harder.
My most impactful work is with:
women of color
immigrants
couples- navigating polyamory
inter-neurotype couple
neurodivergence
parenting
professionals working through identity
spirituality
childhood trauma
If you’re willing to critically challenge the stories you hold about yourself, others, and the world, you’ll find a safe space with me.
I meet you where you are, with the goal of helping you become your most honest and authentic self, even if that just means making the picture on the box a little clearer. My approach is direct, funny, empathetic, and prone to philosophical tangents.
I’ve known this was my path since I was 8, watching a couple argue in a grocery store and thinking, “I want to watch people fight for a living.” When I’m not doing the work, I’m feeding my curiosity, which gives me a stockpile of random facts for awkward silences. I play games that stress me out more than they relax me, and I love watching my toddler discover the power of words like “no” and “go outside.”
If something here resonated, consider inviting me to the table. I will never say no to a puzzle.
Dr. Rachel Miller
PhD, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
AAMFT Approved Supervisor, and Founder of Hold the Vision Therapy.
NPI: 1437731965
-
If you’re searching for a therapist who is quiet, reserved, does a lot of nodding, and asks “How does that make you feel?” I’m probably not the therapist for you. If you’re wanting someone with a more direct approach who is focused on digging in with you to identify and change unhelpful patterns, beliefs, and behaviors in your life and relationships, then I’m your person.
Relationships are my area of expertise. Whether you’re wanting to improve your relationship with yourself, your partner(s), your kids, extended family, or friends, I can help.
I have extensive experience with:
communication issues
intimacy concerns
infidelity
life transitions
Neurodivergence- late and childhood diagnoses and mixed neurotype couples an polycules
Trauma and PTSD
conflict resolution and high conflict scenarios such as:
domestic violence
separation/divorce
co-parenting/blending families
anger management/ emotion regulation
Prior to becoming a therapist I was an adult sex educator so I’m passionate about helping you navigate issues that get in the way of the sexual relationships you crave. If you’re wanting to improve your sex life know I'm poly and LGBTQIA+ affirmative, kink knowledgeable, a member of Kink & Poly Aware Chicago Therapists (KPACT) and a professional affiliate of Kink Aware Professionals through NCFS.
Therapy can support your personal growth journey too! If you’re wanting to:
increase self-awareness
develop greater emotional intelligence
improve your self-esteem
integrate a new diagnosis into your self concept
create a plan for your future
or just figure out how you might be the one standing in between you and the life you imagined
We should definitely chat!
In addition to my clinical self, many clients are curious about me personally. When I’m not seeing clients I can be found teaching graduate students at Adler University and Iona University, supervising student and associate licensed therapists but most often you’ll find me with a book hanging with my two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Stout & Woodford (a.k.a. Woods).
I’m that obnoxious dog mom whose pups have their own Instagram (feel free to follow them; they’re pretty cute). I’m an avid reader, which means I have lots of great book suggestions for both therapy (check out our resources page) and fun. I love to travel, especially to places with great beaches, fabulous food, and beautiful architecture.
The best part about therapy with me now days is that it happens from the comfort of your own home. Teletherapy is both convenient and effective. Some of the most impactful work I’ve done has been with clients I’ve never met IRL.
Ready to get started? Have more questions?
Meet our
Co-Therapists
Sam’s Cats Luna & Boo
Faye’s Cat Peach
Michela’s Dog Oshie
Rachel’s Pups Stout & Woodford
