Advanced Therapeutic Solutions for Anxiety

09/25/2025

Imagine having a voice at home but silence at school. That’s the reality of Selective Mutism. 🎬 Advocate & filmmaker Eve Keepings de Jesus’ new documentary shines a light on this hidden anxiety disorder. It’s time to break the silence. https://conta.cc/4muKNUR

Email from Advanced Therapeutic Solutions for Anxiety October 7     FILM PREMIERE Selective Mutism: Getting The Word Out October 7 · Chicago Selective Mutism is not a choice—it’s an anxiety disorder.

08/08/2025

💙 Every Kid Matters. Every Voice Matters. 💙

Too often, kids who are struggling, especially those in higher-care or high-acuity settings, feel like they’re just another name on a chart. But they’re not. They are whole people with stories, dreams, and voices that deserve to be heard.

In my latest blog, I share what I’ve learned from working alongside some incredible kids at Adventure Camp, kids who are navigating challenges most adults can’t imagine. My hope is to move them, even in small ways, toward knowing their worth… so they can grow proud of themselves, stand tall in their truth, and carry the courage to keep echoing this message:

🗣 The mental health system can and must do better.
🗣 Care should be tailored to each individual.
🗣 Every child should know they matter.

If you care about children’s mental health, please take a moment to read and share. These voices are powerful, and they’re shaping the future.

Warmly,
Viktoria Tekielak

📖 Read here: https://selectivemutismtreatmentblog.wordpress.com/2025/07/09/brave-moments-quiet-courage-why-exposure-therapy-matters/

Because healing doesn’t always roar. Sometimes, it starts with a whisper.

08/08/2025

Our interns wrapped up their internship with the best breakfast at Egg Harbor Café this morning 🥞☕️
So grateful for the memories and the amazing energy they brought along the way 🙌✨

08/08/2025

Over the past few months with Adventure Camp, I’ve had the privilege to observe, learn, and reflect on the ways our systems support, and sometimes fall short for, kids and families navigating selective mutism and anxiety.

As someone who grew up noticing gaps in how kids are understood and supported, writing this blog was a chance to share both what I’ve learned and why it matters. My hope is that it not only gives a glimpse into the world of therapeutic interventions like AC, but also encourages conversations about how we can do better for the next generation.

If you’re a parent, educator, clinician, or simply someone who cares about children's mental health, I’d love for you to read it. Maybe you’ll see the world a little differently or be reminded of the power of listening to young voices. 💙

Warmly,
Viktoria Tekielak

📖 Read the blog here: https://selectivemutismtreatmentblog.wordpress.com/2025/07/09/brave-moments-quiet-courage-why-exposure-therapy-matters/

Because healing doesn’t always roar. Sometimes, it starts with a whisper.

08/08/2025

This summer, children at Adventure Camp engaged in exposure therapy to confront selective mutism. By gradually facing their fears, these brave kids learned to engage with the world around them. Exposure therapy is a vital tool in overcoming anxiety disorders, fostering emotional resilience, and promoting growth. Read Viktoria's blog to learn how a teen's experience in exposure therapy leads to insights as an adult to change the system. Discover how not just our treatment programs, but our internship programs, are making a positive impact.
https://conta.cc/473wym7

Email from From Experiencing the System as a Teen to Changing It as an Adult Brave Moments, Quiet Courage: Why Exposure Therapy Matters An intern reflects on her own fear, healing, and the power of ex

07/27/2025

Adventure Camp is here again to help kids tackle anxiety and build resilience! 🌈 15 years and counting! Good luck to all our Adventure Camp Campers and all kids coping with selective mutism everywhere! Special shout-out to Dr. Steven Kurtz, founder of Brave Buddies and PCIT-SM!
https://conta.cc/4m6WOAJd

Email from Advanced Therapeutic Solutions for Anxiety Meet the Adventure Camp Team and Facilitators!     Share This Email Share This Email Share This Email A Message from our Camp Director: Carmen Tu

07/27/2025

As we celebrate our 15th year of Adventure Camp, we reflect on our mission to empower children facing anxiety. Led by experienced facilitators, our program emphasizes early intervention and resilience. Join us as we support kids in overcoming selective mutism and embracing their childhood. Together, we can make a difference!

https://conta.cc/4m6WOAJ

Email from Advanced Therapeutic Solutions for Anxiety Meet the Adventure Camp Team and Facilitators!     Share This Email Share This Email Share This Email A Message from our Camp Director: Carmen Tu

07/25/2025

Dr. Ashley Butterfield is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in anxiety, OCD, and related conditions across the lifespan. She joined Advanced Therapeutic Solutions for Anxiety (ATSA) in 2024 and provides therapy from our Aurora satellite clinic, including in-home, school, telehealth, and community-based sessions to promote real-world progress.

Dr. Butterfield draws on evidence-based approaches including CBT, ERP, ACT, and DBT, offering treatment that integrates parent coaching, skills training, and psychoeducation—all with warmth and collaboration at the core. As part of ATSA’s clinical team, Dr. Butterfield provides outpatient therapy to children, adolescents, adults, and families. In addition, and as part of her advanced training in PCIT-SM, she is also participating in Adventure Camp Counselor Training, ATSA’s intensive, school-simulation program for children with selective mutism. She was drawn to the program’s immersive format and the opportunity to deliver real-time exposures in the exact environments where symptoms are most pronounced.

With prior experience in hospitals, private practice, and group settings, Dr. Butterfield brings a flexible, action-oriented mindset to Adventure Camp. She earned her doctorate from Adler University, completed her internship at Carle Foundation Hospital, and her fellowship at The OCD & Anxiety Center. She believes therapy should be personalized, practical, and brave—just like the kids and families she works with.

07/25/2025

💡 Fun Fact Friday: Speaking Doesn’t Have to Feel Comfortable - And That’s Okay

A common belief about Selective Mutism (SM) is that individuals will speak when they finally feel safe or comfortable enough. But this isn't the full picture. In reality, individuals with selective mutism may vary in how long it takes to habituate and feel fully “ready” to speak in anxiety-provoking situations, and waiting for comfort can unintentionally reinforce silence.

At the Advanced Therapeutic Solutions for Anxiety (ATSA), we help individuals build bravery, not avoid discomfort. We teach that it’s okay to feel anxious and still take a small, supported step toward speaking. This process (often called approach-based intervention) helps them discover that their voice can show up, even when anxiety does too.

We don’t wait for the fear to disappear. We help them use their brave, one moment at a time.

🔗 Learn more about our work at advancedtherapeuticsolutions.org

07/24/2025

Anna White, M.A., is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Northern Illinois University (NIU). She holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from NIU and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Anthrozoology from Carroll College.

At NIU, Anna spent two years as a clinician at the Psychological Services Center, providing therapy and assessment services to children, adolescents, and adults. She has also facilitated therapy groups at both Susan Myket, PhD & Associates and The OCD and Anxiety Center. Currently, Anna serves as an Advanced Therapy and Diagnostic Extern at Piece by Piece: Neurobehavioral Services, where she conducts neuropsychological assessments and provides psychotherapy to individuals across developmental stages using evidence-based treatments.

Anna’s research interests focus on cognitive factors, such as insight and fear of self, that influence moral and religious presentations of obsessive-compulsive disorder (i.e., scrupulosity). She is especially passionate about utilizing exposure therapy to treat anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders and is excited to provide exposure-based treatment to children coping with selective mutism. Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder characterized by not speaking in select settings, despite having the ability to speak. It can manifest in the school setting, where a student is partially or fully mute in school, communicating through nonverbal gestures, but is fully verbal at home.

Anna looks forward to applying her exposure therapy skills as a counselor at Adventure Camp, a 5-day exposure therapy program for students with selective mutism, and is excited to be part of the brave journey with the campers and their families!

07/22/2025

Madeleine Piper is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Northern Illinois University (NIU), with specializations in trauma psychology and developmental psychopathology. Her research is currently focused on parenting and maternal factors as they relate to child outcomes. Madeleine earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology with a minor in neuroscience from Texas A&M University.

During her undergraduate career, Madeleine spent a summer working at Florida International University’s summer treatment program, delivering behavior modification interventions to children with ADHD and related social, emotional, and behavioral concerns. She also worked in a developmental psychopathology lab at Texas A&M, where she gained experience collecting and analyzing EEG, behavioral, cortisol, and survey data from mothers and their infants and toddlers.

In addition, Madeleine was in a health equity lab where she was part of a qualitative coding team and participated in research investigating risk and resilience factors related to women and children’s physical and mental health. This year, she has been working as a clinician at NIU’s Psychological Services Center, where she has conducted full psychodiagnostic assessments with adults and children and delivered interventions to adult clients rooted in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Behavioral Activation, and Exposure Therapy.

Throughout her life, Madeleine has learned how much she loves working with children, and her time in clinical and research settings have only served to increase her passion for this work. She is eager to learn more about selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that renders a person mute in select settings (such as school) despite being able to speak in other settings (such as at home). Her previous research and clinical experiences make her a great asset to Adventure Camp, a 5-day intensive school simulation exposure therapy program to treat students with selective mutism. She cannot wait to meet all the brave campers and their families!

07/20/2025

Alicia Lloveras is a budding PE Teacher, bilingual (Spanish/English), and entering her senior year at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where she is pursuing a degree in Exercise and Sport Science with concentrations in Physical Education and Secondary Education (grade K - 12), and minoring in Spanish and Health.

In addition, Alicia is certified in Adapted Physical Education, which means she has completed specialized training and credentials to design and implement physical education programs tailored for students with disabilities, ranging from physical to cognitive and socio-emotional needs that require modified instruction, equipment, or goals in order to safely and successfully participate in physical activity. Her clinical teaching experience ranges from elementary to middle school, working with diverse student populations, including individuals with a wide range of disabilities and language needs, specifically Spanish. Through these experiences, she has observed students dealing with anxiety and developed a strong interest in learning how to better support them. Sports require concentration, focus, and can help improve self-confidence.

Alicia is interested in diving deeper into how sports can reduce anxiety, specifically with students coping with selective mutism, which is a fear of speaking despite having the ability to speak, and most often manifests in school settings. Many times, students with selective mutism find joining in group sports or participating in physical education class the most challenging time of their day.

Alicia’s goal is to create an inclusive environment where all students, especially those with physical, cognitive, or socio-emotional concerns, can fully participate in physical education and feel rewarded. Her passion for sports and commitment to student well-being drive her aspiration to become a physical education teacher who empowers students, builds their confidence, and supports their personal growth. Alicia brings this passion to her role as a Counselor at Adventure Camp, a 5-day intensive exposure-based therapy program based at a school to treat students with selective mutism. She strives to be the kind of teacher who listens, fosters strong relationships, and ensures every student feels seen, heard, and included, making her a great asset to our Adventure Camp Team!