New Lenox’s Uniquely You mental health practice serves neurodivergent community

A New Lenox behavioral health practice tailors its mental health services to the neurodivergent community and their families.

That’s because people who are neurodivergent often experience the world differently from people who are neurotypical, said Brooke Garren, owner, clinical director and CEO of Uniquely You Behavioral Health in New Lenox.

Garren said “neurodivergent” is a “big umbrella term” that incorporates autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, sensory issues, behavioral issues and “anything that impacts your ability to negate in the world in the way you want.”

“I don’t want any of our clients to wish they were different.”

—  Brooke Garren, owner, clinical director and CEO of Uniquely You Behavioral Health in New Lenox

She likened Uniquely You to the difference between a primary care physician and doctors who specialize in conditions such as orthopedics, cardiology and endocrinology.

“We don’t go to doctors who specialize in ear, nose and throat if we have a foot problem. And it should be the same way with therapy,” Garren said. “We are the specialists.”

Although the New Lenox Chamber of Commerce held a grand reopening ribbon-cutting Feb. 25 for Uniquely You Behavioral Health in New Lenox, Garren said she started the practice in January 2021 as a solo practice in Mokena.

Garren added two clinicians in September 2021 and two more in April 2022. Today, Uniquely You has 11 therapists, Garren said.

But the inspiration for Uniquely You began in 2017, when Garren was working with families and their children who’d unsuccessfully sought help at various places.

Garren said she wanted to create a place where the client, staff and therapist all understand the broad range of support neurodivergent people need in their daily lives, which could vary from low support to higher support depending on the day, Garren said.

And Garren wanted children and their families to feel they were “just as important” as the other clients, she said.

“And just as accepted as anyone else,” Garren added.

Therapists who understand

Garren said she is neurodivergent with autism, ADHD and dyslexia, so she already knew firsthand that some practices don’t “necessarily cater to an understanding of people like myself.”

That’s why Garren often hires people who are either neurodivergent or neurodivergent adjacent, meaning they have someone in their life who is neurodivergent, she said.

“Understanding something from a book is one thing,” Garren said. “But when understanding the complexities that come along with being an adult autistic person who needs accommodation of certain things and aren’t going to be as successful as they appear, it’s really important to be able to have somebody who can understand your sensory system. And support you in understanding and learning more about yourself, and be able to advocate for the things you need.”

Therapists are “often trained in certain modalities that don’t always work for the neurodivergent mind,” Garren said.

For instance, deep breathing may increase anxiety in a neurodivergent client rather than relieve it because of the sensory issues involved, she said.

Furthermore, many modalities are geared at helping the client make changes that don’t feel right to them, Garren said.

“And I don’t want any of our clients to wish they were different,” she said. “I want them to understand who they are and embrace that, and engage in the world in the way that they want.”

Garren said Uniquely You tries to provide a consultation for “every client who walks in the door,” which helps Uniquely You staff determine whether their services “are a good fit.”

If not, Uniquely You will help the client find that fit, when possible, Garren said.

Community outreach

Garren said Uniquely You also engages with the community by hosting a minimum of four sensory-friendly events at its office each year.

Two of the events are free, and the other two have a small fee for certain activities, such as $15 for photos with the Easter bunny April 9, Garren said.

People need to register in advance for the event, which will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Uniquely You, 400 E. Lincoln Highway, Suite 102, New Lenox.

Any money raised from sensory-friendly Easter bunny and Santa events is donated to local charities, Garren said.

For event information, visit Unique You’s Facebook page at facebook.com/Uniquelyyoubh.

For more information about Uniquely You, call 779-707-3717 or visit uniquelyyoubehavioralhealth.com.

Uniquely You is in-network with all PPO plans, and two therapists are in-network with Medicare, Garren said.

“And we are working in 2025 to be – hopefully – in-network with Medicaid,” Garren said.