Dance/Movement Therapy in Chicago
When words aren’t enough, your body still remembers — and it can help you heal.
At Balanced Awakening in Chicago, dance/movement therapy gives you a holistic way to process trauma, chronic stress, and burnout by including your body in the therapeutic process.
With Isa Mulcahy, LCPC, R-DMT, you don’t have to be “good at dance” or even like the word dance to benefit. Sessions are gentle, collaborative, and adapted to your comfort level.
Especially welcoming to women and nonbinary adults
Focus on trauma, PTSD, chronic stress, burnout, and cultural/societal stress
In-person in Lakeview & Lincoln Park, and virtual across Illinois
Evening & weekend appointments available
Therapy available in English and Spanish
Meet Our Dance/Movement Therapist in Chicago
Common Areas of Focus for Women Athletes
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Performance Anxiety & Perfectionism
Support for anxiety around competition, fear of underperforming, and the internal critic that makes sport feel heavier than it used to.
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Injury Recovery & Fear of Re-Injury
Processing grief, frustration, identity shifts, and body trust after injury — including the emotional side of rehabilitation.
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Body Image Concerns & Disordered Eating Patterns
Including experiences like comparison, pressure to maintain a certain physique, RED-S, or the female athlete triad.
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Identity Beyond Sport
Exploring who you are when you’re not training or competing — or when life pulls your identity in new directions.
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Transitions, Breaks, & Retirement
Navigating uncertainty, loss, or new meaning when a sport, season, or life phase comes to a close.
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Relationship Stress in Athletic Environments
Managing dynamics with teammates, coaches, parents, partners, or anyone else connected to your athletic world.
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Boundaries & Limits
Learning to say no, honor rest, and differentiate between healthy drive and harmful pressure.
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Balancing Recovery & Ambition
Creating sustainable emotional rhythms that support high performance without sacrificing well-being.
What Is Dance/Movement Therapy?
Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) is a form of psychotherapy that uses movement, body awareness, and nonverbal expression as pathways to emotional healing.
Instead of relying only on talking, we also pay attention to:
How your body holds tension, numbness, or activation
The way you posture, gesture, and breathe when certain emotions arise
Small, gentle movements that help shift what feels “stuck”
You might:
Notice your breath while telling a difficult story
Explore simple movements that express anger, grief, or relief
Practice grounding exercises that help you return to your body when you feel overwhelmed
You’re never asked to perform, look a certain way, or “do a routine.” Movement can be as small as shifting your weight, stretching your hands, or focusing on your breath.
How Therapy Helps Women Athletes
Sports psychology within psychotherapy is relational, grounding, and compassionate. It supports you emotionally, mentally, and holistically — not just as a performer, but as a full person.
Therapy can help you:
build self-awareness and emotional insight
understand and manage stress, pressure, and perfectionism
heal internalized expectations around performance or body
process transitions, injury, pregnancy, or identity shifts
cultivate resilience, confidence, and self-trust
redefine success in ways that support your full well-being
Many women discover a steadier, more empowered relationship with both their sport and themselves.
Why Balanced Awakening Is a Supportive Space for Women Athletes
Our practice is rooted in caring for the emotional lives of women — including identity development, bodily experiences, transitions, relationships, and self-worth. For athletes, this means you receive care that:
honors the mind–body connection
understands the intensity and vulnerability of competition
holds space for the emotional complexity of athletic identity
centers the unique pressures placed on women in sport
supports you gently through life changes and transitions
We blend evidence-based therapy with a warm, woman-centered approach where your whole self is welcome.
What to Expect in Therapy
Your therapeutic space is personalized and supportive. Sessions may include:
emotional processing
grounding and mind–body skills
reframing internal narratives
exploring identity and purpose
working through transitions
building self-compassion
learning sustainable mental-emotional rhythms
In-person sessions are available in Chicago, and virtual therapy is available throughout Illinois.
Women Athletes Therapy FAQs
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Not at all. We work with women at every level — recreational, amateur, competitive, or returning to sport later in life.
If your sport is important to you (or used to be important), therapy can support you no matter your level. -
We focus on the emotional, psychological, and identity-related experiences that come with being a woman in sport.
This includes performance anxiety, body image, perfectionism, injury recovery, life transitions, pregnancy/postpartum concerns, and the unique pressures placed on female athletes.
It’s still talk therapy — just tailored to your lived experience as an athlete. -
Not exactly.
Sports psychology in a coaching context focuses on performance enhancement.
Psychotherapy focuses on you — your emotions, relationships, identity, pressures, and well-being.
It may help performance, but the goal is deeper: grounding, resilience, confidence, and a healthier mind–body relationship. -
Yes. Many athletes struggle emotionally after an injury — grief, frustration, fear, or feeling disconnected from their body.
Therapy helps with:navigating identity shifts
rebuilding trust in your body
managing anxiety around returning
coping with uncertainty
You don’t have to navigate the emotional side of injury alone.
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Our therapy rate for the first two sessions is $250. After that, 55 minute sessions are $225. Most of our therapists are in network with BCBS PPO and Aetna insurance.
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Absolutely.
We support women athletes through:fertility questions or challenges
preparing for pregnancy while training
pregnancy-related body changes
postpartum emotional recovery
returning to sport after birth
Your athletic identity and reproductive journey can coexist — therapy helps them feel less overwhelming.
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Yes. Whether you’re:
taking a break
recovering
transitioning to a new sport
retiring
unsure of your next step
Therapy can help you process the emotions, uncertainty, and identity shifts that naturally come with stepping back from sport.
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This is extremely common for women athletes, and therapy is a safe place to explore it gently.
We can work on:body trust
eating patterns and emotional triggers
separating your worth from performance or appearance
healing comparison or pressure from sport culture
You’re not alone, and nothing is “too complicated” to bring here.
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It depends on your goals.
Some women come for short-term support around a transition or a specific challenge. Others choose longer-term therapy to deepen identity work, emotional resilience, or overall well-being.
We’ll collaborate on a plan that feels right for you. -
Yes — we support both teen and adult women athletes.
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While therapy isn’t performance coaching, many athletes notice improvements in focus, confidence, and enjoyment once they feel more emotionally clear and grounded.
When your internal world feels calmer and more supported, your performance often follows naturally. -
No. You can start therapy simply because you’d like support — emotionally, mentally, or through a life or sport-related transition.
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Yes. We offer virtual therapy throughout Illinois and in-person sessions at our Chicago office. Many athletes love the flexibility of online sessions, especially during busy training seasons.
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Yes. We are familiar with the unique challenges women face in athletic environments — the expectations, the pressure, the perfectionism, the body demands, and the emotional intensity of competitive culture.
We’ll meet you where you are with warmth, understanding, and no judgment.
What Our Clients Are Saying
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During our first session Hannah was proactive in creating a plan of action to properly diagnose me and address my concerns. Detailed. Office is beautiful. Love the decor, relaxing ambiance and free tea.
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She was very kind and thorough during intake and the entire office looks like something out of a lifestyle magazine.
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The office is lovely and welcoming, the in-take paperwork helped me prepare for what I wanted to talk about and gave me a starting point.
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Dr. Yang is warm and empathic, and made me feel comfortable from the very beginning.
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Emma has been very supportive through major life changes for me. Her sweet and gentle nature made it easy for me to feel safe to open up to her. I am very grateful for her support and kindness.
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It was my first visit and she made me feel so safe. I opened up right away!
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Ready to Begin?
You don’t have to be a professional athlete, injured, or “in crisis” to start therapy. If you’re a woman who loves your sport — or is questioning your relationship with it — this work can help you feel more grounded, supported, and connected.
Book an appointment when you’re ready.

