Our Team

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Jacob Penrod, a nonbinary young adult, sits relaxed in a blue chair against a brick wall. Their brown hair is styled in a Mohawk. They are wearing a short-sleeve white shirt with small paper airplanes printed across it. They are also wearing blue jeans and have their fingernails painted black.
  • Therapist

Jacob Penrod

He/Him, They/Them

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Staff Psychotherapist, Trainee Group Supervisor

jpenrod@liveoakchicago.com

773.359.3481

English

Supervised By:

Values & Philosophy

I believe therapy serves two main functions: change and healing. Therapeutic change occurs when we take control of our lives and our stories. In therapy, I encourage you to incorporate your strengths into a larger conversation about who you are, who you want to be, and how you can get there. Where change comes from transformation; healing comes from liberation. Therapy provides liberation from individual wounds; however, therapy must also be a space for healing and liberation from the effects of systemic oppression. With this in mind, I intentionally center your unique experiences so we can work together to explore the ways your mental health is affected by systems of power and oppression. I want to create a space where you can bring your full self, with all your complexities and intersecting identities, and feel welcome and safe as we work together toward change and healing.

I see therapy (whether individual or relational) as an inherently active and collaborative experience. You are the expert in your life; I provide you the space and the tools to facilitate change and healing. My therapy is informed by a systemic, strengths-based approach meant to utilize the skills you already possess. I also draw on tenets of cognitive behavioral therapy to facilitate learning and strengthening of skills to create change in thoughts and actions. My training as a Couple and Family Therapist has included working with individuals as well as couples, triads, families of origin, chosen families, roommates, D/s relationships, and many other relationship configurations.

My passion is working with LGBTQ+, kinky, and/or poly clients. As a non-binary queer person myself, I know what it is like to navigate a world wrought with cisheteronormative expectations. I have intentionally integrated my educational career with queer studies. While earning my bachelors in psychology, I minored in LGBT studies and was a member of Washington D.C.’s chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a drag activism organization. While earning my master’s degree, I completed a 10-month internship at the Leather Archives and Museum, founded a sexual wellness research organization, and received specialized trainings on sex therapy and working with kinky clients. Further, I am an educator in and for these communities: I have taught classes at the Cleveland Leather Annual Weekend (the largest kink educational conference in the world). I have also led trainings for other therapists to work with these populations. My desire to be a therapist stems from my friendships and personal involvement in these communities; I want to create a space for healing and change for those who feel overlooked and misunderstood.

Education & Training

Licensure

LMFT, License 166.001698
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, 2024

MFT, License 208000939
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, 2021

Degrees

MA, Couple and Family Therapy
Adler University, 2021

BA, Psychology (minor in LGBT Studies)
University of Maryland, 2019

Areas of Focus & Specialization

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  • Humanistic Therapy
  • Depression, Anxiety, and Stress
  • LGBTQ+ Affirmative Practice
  • Poly & Non-Monogamy Affirming Practice
  • Kink Affirming Practice
  • Complex Family Dynamics
  • Mindfulness

I Work With

  • Individuals
  • Relationships (couples, triads, polycules, metamours, constellations, and more)
  • Families (families of origin and chosen families)
  • Adolescents

Modalities

  • LGBTQ+ Affirmative Practice
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  • Narrative Therapy
  • Systems Theory Therapy
  • Humanistic Therapy