Bessie Crum

Bessie Crum (bcrum@claretcenter.org) supports clients on their journey toward healing and personal empowerment, honoring each client's unique path and strengths. She helps clients explore difficult topics at their own pace, viewing symptoms within the context of survival and coping and beyond a diagnostic lens. Bessie provides trauma-informed, addiction-aware care, and supports individuals working through relationship challenges, life transitions, parenting concerns, codependency, intergenerational trauma, and spiritual exploration. Bessie also has experience working with professionals navigating imposter syndrome and rapidly changing workplace environments. Her collaborative and egalitarian approach positions clients as experts of their own lives while exploring strengths and resources within themselves, their relationships, and communities.

With a background of living in diverse cultures, including meaningful work in El Salvador, Myanmar, and Chicago, Bessie brings a unique global perspective to her therapeutic practice, including an understanding of various religions and spiritual backgrounds. She understands how cultural context, systemic oppression, and life circumstances shape individual experiences. Proficient in Spanish and passionate about serving diverse communities, Bessie believes in the transformative power of relationships and strives for change that benefits both individual clients and society. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Business and Spanish from Illinois Wesleyan University.

She is completing her Master's in Counseling Psychology from The Chicago School with clinical training at the Claret Center, working toward licensure as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor.

Bessie sees clients at the Claret Center and at St. Mary of the Lake Parish in Buena Park, Chicago, as well as via telehealth.