Dian Medrano

Counseling offers you the opportunity to explore aspects of yourself that need attention and nurturing. 

Dian Medrano is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) providing interactive, strengths-based therapy for adults, college students, and young professionals across the greater Chicago area. If you find yourself grappling with complex life stressors, Dian provides highly practical, insightful tools designed to help you navigate internal conflict, break through emotional blocks, and achieve sustainable personal growth. Taking a holistic and deeply relational approach, he aims to thoroughly understand your behavioral patterns, leverage your innate strengths, and help you find profound meaning in the positive changes you seek.

Areas of Clinical Specialty

In his practice at 2nd Story Counseling, Dian creates a safe, affirming environment tailored to those navigating academic pressure, corporate burnout, and identity development. His clinical specialties include:

• Mood & Emotional Regulation: Compassionate care for persistent depression, chronic anxiety, panic attacks, and practical strategies for anger management.
• Professional & Academic Growth: Focused support for overcoming imposter syndrome, mastering work-life balance, and shattering performance anxiety.
• Addictions & Recovery Support: Evidence-based guidance for individuals navigating substance use, behavioral addictions, and long-term recovery patterns.
• Trauma & PTSD Recovery: Safe, structured clinical frameworks to help clients process past trauma, reduce hypervigilance, and overcome PTSD triggers.
• Identity & Relationship Dynamics: Resolving complex relationship problems (including communication difficulties and marital conflict), guiding clients through major life transitions, and providing safe, affirming care for LGBTQ affirming and queer identities.
• Advanced Mindset Modalities: Incorporating mindfulness practices to increase grounding, alongside forward-facing coaching to establish clear personal and professional milestones.

During sessions, clients can expect a comfortable, safe, and entirely confidential space where they can openly express themselves. Dian establishes a therapeutic relationship built on trust, honesty, and the freedom to discuss deep personal struggles while receiving practical guidance and actionable tools. Together, he and his clients collaborate on building a customized treatment plan for the change they desire, utilizing a strengths-based and evidence-based approach. Dian views personal obstacles through a systemic lens, recognizing their interconnectedness within a person’s life and environment instead of isolating them as standalone issues.

Additionally, Dian sheds light on the complex relationship between conscious behavioral patterns, thoughts, and core emotions. By helping clients gain deep insight into these interconnected connections, he empowers them to foster positive, lasting changes in their daily actions. In each session, he actively employs clinical understanding, intuitive insight, direct feedback, and structured action plans. His objective is to work alongside his clients in processing their concerns, developing a comprehensive understanding of them, and executing a collaborative plan in a supportive environment to help them achieve their goals.

Dian is a proud LGBTQ+ friendly and queer-affirming therapist who enjoys working with diverse identities throughout the queer spectrum. All parts of a person’s identity are welcome in his work, and he actively celebrates who his clients are as individuals.

Background & Advanced Credentials

Dian Medrano is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in the state of Illinois. He earned his Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Concordia University. In addition to his formal graduate training, Dian holds specialized credentials as a Certified Clinical Anxiety Treatment Specialist (CCATP) and has completed advanced, formal training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, allowing him to offer powerful somatic interventions for trauma and panic recovery.