Grove Counseling

02/28/2026

Birth can shape you in ways no one sees.

If your birth still feels unfinished, you don’t have to process it alone.

I offer both therapy and coaching for women who want space to gently integrate their birth story — whether that means deeper trauma healing or forward-focused growth and preparation for what’s next.

Your experience matters. And you deserve support that honors it.

02/27/2026

Nice to meet you 👋

I know firsthand the beauty, messiness, and constant evolution of life — especially in motherhood — and I’m passionate about walking alongside women who long for greater clarity, confidence, and a life that feels purposeful and alive.

This work grew from witnessing the courage it takes to move through transitions, redefine your identity, and adjust to seasons that change you from the inside out. If you’re navigating motherhood, wrestling with perfectionism or burnout, processing your birth story, or simply sensing that something needs to shift, you deserve support that holds your story with care and helps you step forward with intention.

As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I take a relational, strengths-based approach grounded in connection and compassion. I integrate Internal Family Systems (IFS) to help you better understand the different parts of yourself — the striving parts, the overwhelmed parts, the protective parts — so you can lead your life with greater self-awareness and steadiness. Together, we work to identify patterns, heal emotional wounds, and create meaningful, sustainable change.

Alongside therapy, I offer coaching for women who feel emotionally stable but ready for focused growth. Coaching is forward-oriented and action-based, helping you clarify goals, shift habits, strengthen boundaries, and intentionally design a life aligned with your values. It’s about building momentum — not just surviving the season you’re in, but shaping it with purpose.

What I love most about this work is witnessing women show up — in their relationships, their homes, and most importantly, within themselves. It’s an honor to walk with you in that process.

I’d love to connect with you! Email is a great way to get in touch:
Kelsey@grovecounseling.co

Kelsey Madaj, LMFT and Coach

02/26/2026

She looks like she has it all together.

The house is picked up before anyone comes over.
The snacks are organic.
The calendar is color-coded.
The birthday gifts are thoughtful and on time.

She remembers spirit days. She signs up to help. She double-checks the details.

But inside, it feels different.

She lies awake replaying a sharp tone she used at bedtime.
She compares herself to other moms and always comes up short.
She tells herself she “should” be more patient, more organized, more grateful.
If she slows down, the guilt creeps in.
If she rests, she feels behind.

No one would call her a perfectionist.
They’d call her capable. Responsible. Impressive.

But perfectionism isn’t always loud.
Sometimes it sounds like pressure.
Like tension in your chest.
Like never quite exhaling.

In our work together, we gently get curious about the part of you that works so hard to keep everything together.
The part that believes if you just try harder, do better, stay on top of it all — then you’ll finally feel enough.

And instead of shaming that part, we understand it.
We soften it.
We help you lead from a steadier, more compassionate place.

Motherhood was never meant to feel like a performance.

You’re allowed to be human in it.

09/24/2024

We have all learned ways of living and being that have helped us get our needs met; mastering these types of coping skills (...survival skills) when we were still kids.
But these become heavy burdens overtime.
It is possible to relieve yourself of these obligations and discover what you might like instead.

Stay in the past >>> Savor the present
Push yourself beyond the limit >>> Hold boundaries that honor your needs & wants
Ignore your emotions >>> Be your own best listener
Keep everyone happy >>> Live a life you love
Overthink everything >>> Full of clarity and confidence
Sacrifice your health >>> Care for your body

What would you add to the list?

09/09/2024

"If you feel like happiness is a moving target, you aren’t alone! No one is happy 100% of the time. And yet, we seem to be keenly aware of the absence of happiness and often look for ways to be happier, or at the very least experience less discomfort."

Alison Fuerst, MA, explores 4 practical ways to boost this often elusive state of being, and proposes a deeper look into what may be underneath some of the discomfort and pain you are carrying.

If you feel like happiness is a moving target, you aren’t alone! No one is happy 100% of the time. And yet, we seem to be keenly aware of the absence of happiness and often look for ways to be happier, or at the very least experience less discomfort.  The good news is that there is some

09/03/2024

Join our Postpartum Support Group.

Finding our way and ourselves is so so hard, and something that we all yearn for.
Come and sit in a circle with other moms who want to press into more.

Register at www.grovecounseling.co

**Babies are welcome in this group. We recognize that some moms may get the most out of this group if they can attend solo, and for some it just may be necessary or preferred to bring your baby with for 1 week or all 6 weeks. Our group will navigate this dynamic with care for all participants.

Offering counseling services to individuals, couples, and families. Our compassionate therapists are here to provide a safe space for you to find healing, connection, and joy.

08/21/2024

📚6 practical tips

Every parent is experiencing it-- Back to School. For some there is excitement and readiness for routine and for others there is overwhelm, loss, or even dread.

Regardless of the array and variety of feelings you and your child may be experiencing there are many things that you can control and do preventatively to help set the year up for success.

Sonja Melton, LCPC, is an expert in parenting support. She provides 6 practical tips to help the transition back to school for kids and parents. Take a read, you'll be glad you did!

For many parents, the start of a new school year holds a variety of feelings and emotions. For many it is pure excitement! Especially milestone years like kindergarten or high school. This is often coupled with some relief, that the shuffling of child care and camps is now over.&am

08/20/2024

The emotional and physical energy required to care for our kids, along with sleep loss, and the stress of all of our other responsibilities is enough to dysregulate us. But there is something additional that is unique to mothering than can make us reactive toward our kids-- yelling when that seems like an extreme response, crying when it doesn't fit the moment, withdrawing...

In this article, Kelsey Madaj, LMFT, explores one of the "whys" behind our reactivity when it comes to parenting our children: Carrying the missed marks of our parents from our own childhoods.

I remember the moment I became a mom thinking to myself, “moms have been doing “this” this whole time and I had no idea?” Raising these tiny babies, who grow into talking machines, and then become teenagers overnight is wonderful; and it is also the most tiring, stressful, keep you up at nig...

08/12/2024

Over the next month we will be highlighting the postpartum season for women & motherhood, beginning with an article addressing postpartum depression (PPD).
Clare Fragomeni, ALMFT, opens the conversation regarding PPD by honoring the changes that motherhood brings, listening to your inner dialogue as a new mom, and offers a few ways to care for yourself in the process.

As a new mother, whether it's your first or your fifth, there is a shift in body, mind and soul that plays out in sometimes inexplicable ways. Every mother has a different experience in conceiving, bearing and rearing children, yet the common denominator is that it encompasses the fullness of her b

07/17/2024

We had the chance to visit BraveHearts and hear stories of life transformation through their various equine 🐎 programs.

"A veteran returned home with PTSD and could not hold his baby girl. He worked with the horses and was able to process some of his trauma and went home and held her for the first time."

To learn more about all of the services they offer, check out their website https://braveheartsriding.org/

06/11/2024

Kids Worry Group: Begins Monday, June 17th!!! There is 1 spot left!
We would love for your child to join!

Summertime often brings relief to the overwhelm, stress, & anxiety our kids can feel during the school year. Phew.

While this relief IS something to celebrate, it is also the best time to practice feeling our feelings and expressing them in more helpful ways. Our kids have the emotional space during the summer to grow in these areas, and then come August they will be ready to put them into practice when the stress and worry do grow a little bigger.

Come join Sonja Melton, LCPC, our expert child and adolescent therapist for her Kids Worry Group. Please contact her for a brief consultation. Email: sonja@grovecounseling.co or Phone: 224-698-7045 ex 5

05/21/2024

If you find yourself a part of the Sandwich Generation, you most likely feel overwhelmed, spread thin, and in need of a break. Find out what the Sandwich Generation even is and how to care for yourself.
https://www.grovecounseling.co/blog/the-sandwich-generation