In crisis right now? Call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or call 911. This page describes ongoing therapy, not emergency care.

HOW I HELP · CAMS-TRAINED CARE

Support When You’re Having Thoughts Of Suicide

When the pain feels like too much, you don’t have to carry it alone.

If you’re living with thoughts of suicide, you deserve care that meets that experience directly — with honesty, collaboration, and hope. I’m trained in CAMS, an evidence-based, suicide-focused approach, and I offer it within warm, depth-oriented therapy, in English and Spanish.

YOU’RE NOT ALONE IN THIS

Having These Thoughts Doesn’t Make You Broken.

Thoughts of suicide are far more common than most people realize, and having them doesn’t mean you’re weak, beyond help, or destined to act on them. More often, they’re a sign of pain that has grown too heavy to carry alone — pain that’s reaching for relief.

Many people feel they can’t say these thoughts out loud, even to those closest to them, for fear of being judged, dismissed, or rushed into something frightening. My work begins from a different place: these thoughts can be spoken about openly, with curiosity and without shame.

WHAT CAMS IS

A Suicide-Focused Approach Where You Stay In The Driver’s Seat.

CAMS — the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality — is an evidence-based, suicide-focused framework developed by Dr. David Jobes over decades of clinical research. It’s recognized as a well-supported treatment under CDC criteria and referenced by the U.S. Surgeon General, the Joint Commission, and the Zero Suicide initiative.

What sets CAMS apart is its stance: you are the expert on your own experience and the co-author of your own care. Rather than something done to you, it’s something we do together — working side by side, using a structured tool called the Suicide Status Form to understand what’s driving the pain and to build a plan that helps you stay safer and reconnect with reasons for living.

HOW IT WORKS

A Clear, Collaborative Process

Understand it together. We start with your experience in your own words — what the thoughts feel like, when they surface, and what they seem connected to.
Name the drivers. Together we identify the specific problems and pain points — what CAMS calls “drivers” — that make suicide feel compelling, so we can address them directly.
Build a plan for hard moments. We create a personalized stabilization plan with supports and coping that actually fit your life, so you have something to lean on when things get heavy.
Track and adjust. Each session, we review what’s helping and what isn’t and update the plan — continuing until the thoughts no longer run the show.

CAMS is designed for outpatient care and can make meaningful progress in as few as six sessions — though our work together can continue for as long as you need.

WHY WORK WITH ME

Stabilizing The Crisis, And Tending What’s Underneath.

I bring CAMS together with a grounded, attuned, depth-oriented style. That means we don’t only steady the crisis — we stay curious about the deeper story beneath it, so relief can become something more lasting. I offer this work in both English and Spanish, in person in downtown Chicago or through secure telehealth.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

A space for the things that feel unsayable.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions

If I tell you I’m having these thoughts, will I be hospitalized?

Simply telling me about these thoughts will not, on its own, lead to hospitalization. CAMS is specifically an outpatient approach, built to help you stay safe while continuing your life. Hospitalization is rare and considered only when safety truly can’t be maintained another way — and even then, it’s something we’d think through together, not a surprise.

Does talking about suicide make it worse?

It doesn’t. Research consistently shows that speaking openly about these thoughts tends to bring relief and lower risk, rather than increasing it. Naming the pain is often the first step toward easing it.

Do you use CAMS instead of regular therapy?

Not instead — alongside. We use the CAMS framework, woven into our broader work together, until you’ve had a sustained period in which your level of suicidality has decreased, there’s been no suicidal behavior, and you’re effectively managing suicidal thoughts and feelings. Once that CAMS work has resolved, we decide together whether to continue in a deeper, ongoing way — the kind of therapy that helps you build a life that feels worth staying for.

SUPPORT RESOURCES

Help Is Available Any Time, Day Or Night.

You don’t have to be in crisis to reach out. These free, confidential services are available around the clock — whether you need help in the moment or simply don’t want to be alone with what you’re feeling.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. Free and confidential, 24/7.
Crisis Text Line — Text HOME to 741741 to reach a trained crisis counselor, 24/7.
The Trevor Project (LGBTQ+ young people) — Call 1-866-488-7386, text START to 678-678, or chat at TheTrevorProject.org/get-help. 24/7.
Now Matters Now — Free, lived-experience coping skills (rooted in DBT) and peer support for getting through suicidal thoughts and intense emotional pain, at nowmattersnow.org.
911 — For an immediate, life-threatening emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

You deserve support that meets you where you are.

Reaching out can feel almost impossible when you’re hurting this much. If you can take one small step, I’m here. Schedule a free, no-pressure consultation whenever you’re ready.

If you need help right now, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or call 911.