YFC Opens Gurnee Site

Youth & Family Counseling (YFC), a 60-year-old mental healthcare agency serving Lake County, announces the opening of a second office in Gurnee, IL. The new office is in the Saratoga Springs shopping center-5015 Washington Street.

This expansion of YFC is into northern Lake County (north of Route 137), where mental healthcare is often difficult to access. The YFC Gurnee location will provide space for four therapists and one intern to offer in-person and telehealth psychotherapy services.

The goal of this second site (in part funded by the Healthcare Foundation of Northern Lake County) is to establish a physical presence in northern Lake County directly related to known barriers to accessing mental healthcare. For example, closer proximity to affordable mental health care services reduces the time and expense of transportation for YFC clients. It also increases access to linguistically and culturally competent counseling for clients and fosters clinical relationships that empower clients to fully engage in the therapeutic counseling process.

During the past several years, YFC's commitment to increasing mental healthcare access to residents of northern Lake County has produced a long-term shift in YFC's clientele. Since 2015, while YFC's total annual caseload has steadily increased (by 23.4%), the number of cases within northern Lake County has increased substantially (by 85.4%). In 2015, northern Lake County cases consisted of 34.9% of the total caseload; in 2020, northern Lake County cases were the majority of YFC's clientele (52.5%).

"The need for quality mental healthcare services that improve mental wellness and prevent mental health crises in Lake County is unmistakable and has been elevated further by the psychological and emotional challenges of the pandemic. As more teens and younger children are experiencing anxiety and depression, we see an increasingly urgent demand for a more responsive approach to mental healthcare," YFC Executive Director Janelle Miller Moravek said of this initiative.

"More than half of our clients in 2021 were youth, including elementary and middle school students (15%); high school students (20%); and college-age youth (14%). At the same time, many families experience barriers when trying to access treatment including the high price of care, lack of culturally competent care, a shortage of providers and a fragmented system. YFC Gurnee builds on our commitment to opening doors to mental healthcare for people from all walks of life. We are committed to serving our community and, as an organization, we are never satisfied with the status quo," according to Moravek.

YFC will begin seeing clients in Gurnee on Tuesday, July 5. For an appointment, at either the Libertyville or Gurnee office, contact Ms. Bri Roberts at (847) 748-0301 or broberts@counselingforall.org

For more information about YFC Gurnee, contact Executive Director Janelle Miller Moravek at (847) 748-0375 or jmoravek@counselingforall.org

The mission of YFC is opening doors to mental healthcare so people can cope, heal, and thrive.