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Lake/Forest Lake Bluff Chamber: Tell us about MiLi Counseling and what makes your practice unique?

Mia Rosenthal & Liesl Schwarten: Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity to be featured! We are thrilled to serve our community through MiLi Counseling. For us, MiLi Counseling is more than a practice, it’s a partnership with our passion that has been in the works for a long time. Our goal has always been to create a safe, peaceful, and welcoming space where children, teens, parents, and adults can focus on their mental health needs.

What makes us unique is the way we combine personalized, evidence-based care with a warm, supportive presence that also challenges clients to grow. We love incorporating art, play, and creative outlets, especially for kids, to make therapy engaging and approachable. From the very first inquiry to the last appointment, our mission is to ensure that each individual or family feels cared for, supported, and empowered throughout their journey with us.

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LF/LB: What was your inspiration to open a practice in this community?

MR/LS: We grew up in Lake Bluff and Lake Forest, so this community holds a very special place in our hearts. After nearly a decade of working elsewhere, we felt it was time to come home and give back to the place that shaped us. We’ve always loved our communities, and opening MiLi Counseling here allows us to share our expertise, care, and passion with the families and individuals in the communities we cherish.

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LF/LB: What is your hope and vision for the future of your practice?

MR/LS: Our vision is for MiLi Counseling to continue to be a trusted place where children, teens, parents, adults, and families can find peace, growth, and meaningful connections. We want to make therapy a positive and transformative experience. Therapy not only helps in the moment while in session, but it helps create lasting, positive habits in daily life.

Looking ahead, we’re also excited to announce that we have expanded into educational services, further supporting the community through learning opportunities that complement our therapeutic work. We are honored to have Lori Sandler, EdS, providing executive functioning coaching and educational consulting for MiLi Counseling.

Above all, we hope that families in Lake Forest, Lake Bluff and surrounding communities always know they can turn to MiLi Counseling for trusted guidance and support.

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LF/LB: How does MiLi Counseling plan to give back to the community?

MR/LS: Giving back is at the heart of what we do. For us, it means always being by the sides of the families within this community and providing tools that help them thrive. Not just in difficult moments, but for a lifetime. Lake Forest and Lake Bluff are such wonderful places to raise a family, and we want to play a role in nurturing the strength, resilience, and well-being of those who live here.

Whether it’s through direct support, sharing resources, or creating a welcoming space where people feel truly seen and heard, our mission is to empower individuals and families to meet life’s twists and turns with confidence, compassion, and lasting skills.