Sarah Ahlm, MA, LCSW
Founder/Child and Family Therapist

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Sarah holds a master’s degree in clinical social work from the University of Chicago, Crown Family School.  She has been working with children and families for over 20 years specializing in understanding the impact of developmental differences on behavior.  Sarah focuses much of her work on helping children with anxiety, OCD, ADHD and learning differences, as well as sensory processing and medical illness, to thrive at home, school and with peers.
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Sarah specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, group and parental treatment. She is specially trained in treating childhood anxiety and holds a certification thru SPACE to treat parents of children with anxiety.   In her practice, Sarah believes in a whole child approach to problem solving, which includes supporting parents, caregivers and siblings to maximize the success for all members within a family.  In recognizing that it takes many small gains to see cognitive growth and changes in behavior, Sarah embraces a multidisciplinary approach to child focused therapy.

Sarah founded Nest guided by the principal that therapy for children should be engaging for both the child and family.  We use a developmental approach to child based therapy that includes best practices and evidence based treatment to meet the needs of each child and family that we are fortunate enough to encounter.

Emily Clarke, MSW, LCSW
Child and Family Therapist

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Emily has a master's degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Bachelor's degree in Child and Family Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Prior to joining Nest Child and Family Therapy, Emily was a social worker on the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago (now Lurie Children's Hospital), a consultant for post-partum support groups, and she also supported students with special needs at a preschool. Emily has been a therapist at Nest since 2016. 
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Emily loves working with kids and families struggling to manage anxiety, ADHD, mood disorders, big feelings, transitions, learning and school difficulties and more. She takes a collaborative and solution-focused approach, values communication with schools and outside providers, and is a strong advocate for her Nest families. She especially enjoys therapy with parents and is certified in parental treatment of childhood anxiety through the SPACE program. 

​Rebecca Lance, MSW, LCSW
​Child and Family Therapist

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Rebecca Lance received her bachelor’s degree in education from Indiana University and her master’s degree in social work from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Rebecca is skilled in working with clients experiencing anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma, relationship turmoil, and identity questioning. 
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Rebecca started her career as a teacher in the public school system, working with a diverse group of elementary and middle school children. This led her to earn her master’s in social work allowing her opportunity to work as a school social worker implementing social thinking strategies, mindfulness techniques, and healthy coping strategies. She has experience working with students in special education and can assist in navigating Individualized Educational Plans and 504 plans to help meet your child’s needs. 

Rebecca uses a strengths-based perspective when working with children and families to develop inner self-awareness, resilience, and self confidence to better understand the individual’s challenges. Rebecca utilizes cognitive behavioral therapy so children can recognize unhelpful thoughts and behaviors and learn to change them to feel more powerful in their day-to-day lives. Rebecca is truly passionate about kids and believes every child is capable of happiness and success. She understands the therapeutic relationship is vital and works to create a warm and safe environment for her clients to reach their goals.

Caitlin Yore, MSW, LCSW
​Child and Family Therapist

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Caitlin holds a master's degree in social work from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Prior to working at Nest Child and Family Therapy, Caitlin worked as a school social worker in the Chicagoland area providing social emotional and behavioral support to children and adolescents.

Caitlin specializes in working with children and families experiencing difficulties related to anxiety, depression, ADHD, emotional dysregulation, behavioral challenges, trauma, autism and school-based issues. Caitlin utilizes a variety of therapeutic modalities based on the client including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, techniques of play therapy and somatic-based interventions. Caitlin believes that creating strong relationships with parents and caregivers and integrating them into the treatment process is key to facilitating their child’s growth and healing. Caitlin is passionate about using strengths-based and child-centered approaches to help children and young adults develop a strong sense of self to tackle life’s challenges, while supporting the family throughout the child’s therapeutic journey.
"Sarah Ahlm is, quite simply, extraordinary.  Her insightful counseling and support for our son with ADHD has enabled him to emerge as a thriving, college-bound high school senior.  Sarah helped our son identify obstacles, develop behavior strategies, solve problems, build coping and social skills, devise school strategies, and navigate challenges, all through different stages of his young development.  Sarah’s caring approach fostered a deep connection with our son, allowing him to increase his self-awareness and use his newly found skills to manage the challenges of living with anxiety and ADHD.  Sarah has meant the world to him and our entire family."

-Julie, mother of Aidan 17 years old
"Emily has had such a positive impact on my daughter, as well as my entire family. Despite all the parenting books I had read and the dozens of strategies I had tried, we were just...stuck. From the moment we started working with Emily, we all felt an immediate sense of relief. My "parenting load" lightened and my daughter started to blossom. We've now been working with Emily for over a year and I can't imagine our lives without her. She is knowledgable, solutions-oriented, practical, flexible, and, of course, extremely kind. We will be forever grateful to her for the support she has given us."

-Lisa, mother of Carolyn, 6 years old