Laurie Benton

Dr. Laurie Benton obtained a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in 1998. She is a licensed Clinical Psychologist in Illinois. She currently maintains a private practice in Grayslake, Illinois and Chicago, Illinois. She provides psychotherapy to adults, children, and families. Her practice focuses on providing trauma-informed and trauma-focused services. She also is invested in providing quality mental health services to court involved and court ordered adults, children and families. The services she provides to the court are reunification services, therapeutic supervised visitation, parent training, co-parenting therapy and individual child, adolescent, and adult psychotherapy. In addition, she conducts psychological assessments and provides trainings and seminars on a broad range of topics to agencies and organizations within the surrounding communities. Currently, she is also providing groups using a book club format to employees at several agencies to help support the understanding and coping with the impact of vicarious trauma.

Dr. Benton began teaching at The Chicago School as an adjunct faculty in September 2002. She moved to Associate Professor in September 2005 within the Forensic Psychology Department. Her areas of interest continue to be the delivery of forensic mental health services as it relates to child and adolescent psychology and psychopathology, complex trauma and the impact of chronic child maltreatment, child and family psychotherapy and psychological testing.

Dr. Benton was also active within The Forensic Center for 11 years. She integrated a trauma informed treatment approach with her interests in parent-child reunification, co-parenting and parent training, recidivism reduction and psychological testing. She worked to develop diagnostic and therapy practicum programs as well as a pre-doctoral internship program. Currently, she continues to provide training in the Center on topics related to assessment and family services.

Dr. Benton also is a Clinical Supervisor in the Integrated Assessment Program with DCFS. Within this program, she supervises and completes comprehensive clinical forensic assessments for families in care.

Previously, Dr. Benton worked at the Allendale Association. While there, she provided individual, family and group therapy to children and adolescents removed from their homes and communities due to severe emotional and behavior disorders stemming from chronic maltreatment and trauma. Also at Allendale Association, she coordinated the diagnostic testing program and supervised diagnostic practicum students and pre-doctoral interns.