Monica Romo, LSW, PEL, Reiki Healer
Psychotherapist
Licensed Social Worker
Professional Educator License Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) Reiki II Practitioner
847-908-8700 x104
monicar@illuminatingyou.com
Insurances Accepted: Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, Blue Choice PPO, Aetna, Cigna PPO
- Verified by Psychology Today
Monica’s Specialties
- Anxiety and Stress Management
- ADHD
- Depression
- Self-Esteem/ Personal Growth
- Parenting
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Behavior Management
- School Concerns
- Life Transitions
- Family and Relational Conflict
- Spirituality
- Transgenerational Trauma
- Chronic Illness
Monica is a licensed social worker with over 18 years of experience supporting children, teens, young adults, and adults across a range of settings, including schools, foster care, and therapeutic programs. She specializes in working with individuals navigating behavioral, emotional, and autism-related challenges, and brings a deep understanding of how systems can impact a person’s ability to feel supported and successful.
Monica approaches therapy with the belief that all behavior is a form of communication. Rather than labeling behaviors, she helps clients and families understand the underlying needs driving them. Her work is rooted in empathy, collaboration, and building strong, trusting relationships; because meaningful change starts with feeling truly seen and heard. Above all, Monica prioritizes helping clients cultivate radical self-love and reconnect with their authentic selves that is often hidden beneath their pain and suffering.
Monica brings extensive experience as a school-based social worker and behavior specialist, where she saw firsthand how many students need stronger advocacy and more individualized support to thrive in systems that don’t always align with their developmental needs. She helps parents understand their child’s behavior as meaningful communication, often reflecting unmet needs, rather than something to be labeled or punished. Monica works collaboratively with families and school teams to shift perspectives, advocate effectively, and implement trauma-informed strategies that support students who may not respond to traditional approaches. Her goal is to help children feel safe, respected, and understood, while empowering parents to confidently navigate and advocate within the school system.
She is especially passionate about helping clients find their voice, develop self-understanding, and build a sense of safety within themselves. Monica creates a space where clients can develop an authentic connection to explore their experiences without judgment and move toward greater self-worth, self-acceptance, and lasting change.
Using a holistic, strengths-based approach, Monica tailors therapy to each individual’s needs, recognizing that we all have the natural capacity to heal and grow given the right environment and guidance. She integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), somatic and polyvagal-informed work, mindfulness, play therapy, trauma-focused approaches, and person-centered care. She also holds additional certification in Polyvagal therapy and incorporates nervous system regulation into her work to support emotional and behavioral balance.
In addition, Monica is a certified Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) practitioner. The SSP is an evidence-informed listening intervention based on Polyvagal Theory that helps regulate the nervous system through specially filtered music. Used alongside therapy, SSP can support children, teens, and adults experiencing trauma, anxiety, depression, sensory processing difficulties, or chronic stress. By helping the body feel safer and more regulated, SSP can enhance emotional well-being, resilience, and connection with others.
For clients interested in complementary approaches, Monica is a trained Reiki II practitioner and offers Reiki as an optional service to support relaxation, grounding, and overall well-being. Reiki is an ancient Japanese energy healing technique that helps the body and mind feel more balanced and at ease. Many clients experience it as a calming, restorative practice that can support emotional regulation, reduce tension, and enhance overall well-being, often described as feeling more grounded, centered, and recharged.
Monica brings personal and professional experience to those coping with chronic health conditions, medical uncertainty, or the emotional impact of changes in their physical well-being. Her own healing journey has deepened her compassion for those navigating health challenges and unexpected life changes. After experiencing puzzling symptoms that eventually led to a diagnosis of Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune thyroid condition, Monica gained firsthand insight into the emotional and physical toll that comes with feeling unwell, searching for answers, and adjusting to a new understanding of oneself. She understands how isolating it can feel when your body, mind, or circumstances no longer feel familiar, and she is passionate about helping clients feel seen, supported, and empowered throughout their own journeys. Monica believes that healing is not about returning to who we were before our challenges, but about developing greater self-compassion, resilience, and connection with ourselves as we move forward.
In her free time, Monica enjoys traveling, performing in musicals, karaoke, reading, gardening, and spending time with her family and pets. Her background in theater helped to build her confidence, find her voice, and continues to shape her belief that what makes us “different” can also feel like a superpower and be a source of strength and connection.
Favorite Quotes:
“When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” Alexander Den Heijer
“Forgive yourself for not knowing earlier what only time could teach.”
“Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming
everything that isn’t really you so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.”