DES PLAINES OUTPATIENT EATING DISORDER PROGRAM

Magdalena Zelazko, BS

Magdalena graduated from Loyola University of Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in counseling. She has several years of experience working in various mental health services including communal and hospital settings, residential, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient levels of care. Magdalena’s passion for working with the eating disorder population has grown over her career. She began her career with Center for Discovery in 2018 at the Glenview residential location as a milieu counselor. She transitioned over to the Des Plaines outpatient location in 2019 in a leadership role upon the opening of the facility, stepping into the executive director role in the summer of 2022. Magdalena greatly values quality care and access to care for all individuals and their families, focusing on individualized treatment and care. She enjoys working with adolescents and their families as well as adults to help them find themselves on their journey to recovery with the support of distress tolerance, emotion regulation, coping skills, mindfulness and self-care.

Demi Maropoulos, RD

Demi Maropoulos is a Registered Dietitian with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Demi first began at Center for Discovery during her professional internship rotations as a dietetic intern. She stepped in as many roles before becoming the facility’s full-time dietitian.

Demi believes Center for Discovery’s food philosophy is essential in creating positive relationships with food. She believes in “all foods fit” and “health at every size” for everyone, not just those recovering from eating disorders. Demi lives this philosophy daily, in and out of Center For Discovery, with the hope of inspiring others to develop their own healthy relationships with food.

Sarah Wiltgens, LCPC, BC-DMT

A licensed clinical professional counselor, Sarah Wiltgen graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a master’s in dance/movement therapy and counseling. She has worked with children, adolescents and adults with mood, anxiety and other disorders throughout her career and developed a passion for working with those with eating disorders. As a primary therapist, Sarah works with individual patients and their families, as well as facilitates a variety of groups. As a dance/movement therapist, she is passionate about helping patients with eating disorders reconnect to their bodies through mindfulness and movement. Sarah works under the premise that our bodies hold wisdom that can aid in emotional and psychological healing. She also believes in the power of relationship and offers a trauma informed, strengths-based approach when working with patients to actualize their most authentic selves in mind, body and spirit.

Shannon Stewart, RDN, LDN

Shannon graduated from Dominican University with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics. There, she discovered a passion for a holistic approach to health and the importance of caring not only for the body, but for the mind and soul as well. She then received her master’s in nutrition and wellness with an emphasis in counseling from Bradley University. Shannon completed her dietetic internship at Bradley where she was able to improve her knowledge and skills in Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size ®. Her hope is to assist individuals in their path towards food freedom and eating disorder recovery. Her passions outside of Center for Discovery include cooking/baking, spending time outdoors, connecting with friends and family and immersing herself in different cultures.

Jen Flaxman, (she/hers) LSW

Jen Flaxman graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a Master of Social Work concentrating in clinical mental health after completing her bachelor’s in psychology at the University of Montana. Jen has experience in a variety of settings including a therapeutic high school, an autism clinic and a forensic psychiatric hospital. She completed clinical rotations within a behavioral health hospital working in both acute inpatient and outpatient settings. Jen brings her adaptability and diverse work experience to help clients create growth and behavior change. She relies on her values of transparency, authenticity, vulnerability and collaboration to support clients in furthering their recovery and creating a life worth living. Jen works both individually with clients and leads groups, always utilizing a dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) lens to support clients in balancing acceptance with change. Additionally, Jen uses warmth, humor, creativity and her dedication to social justice to empower clients on their recovery journeys. Jen is a firm believer that everyone is unconditionally worthy as well as capable and deserving of living a life without the constraints of an eating disorder.

Kathryn Buhle, M.Ed, LPC, NCC

As a licensed professional counselor, Kathryn Buhle graduated from Purdue University Northwest with a master’s in clinical mental health counseling and a certification in addiction counseling. Along with working at the partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient levels of care with Center for Discovery, Kathryn has additional experience at the residential and outpatient levels. Kathryn has experience treating eating disorders, mood and anxiety disorders and substance abuse disorders with both adolescents and adults. In her role as the clinical intake coordinator, Kathryn helps to ensure that each client is comfortable transitioning into the program on their first day. As a therapist, Kathryn uses dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help clients challenge their eating disorder voice and use coping skills to make changes in their lives as they strive towards recovery.

Elizabeth Walsh, RDN, LDN

Lizzie received her bachelor’s in nutrition and dietetics from The Ohio State University and went on to complete her dietetic internship at Loyola University Chicago. Prior to her role as a dietitian at Center for Discovery, Lizzie has experience working in a residential treatment facility for eating disorder care. She also has experience in research, food insecurity and mental health acute care. Lizzie believes that all individuals are deserving of care and recovery. Her work is guided by her belief that all foods can be a part of a balanced and healthy lifestyle as she strives to help her patients develop a positive relationship with food. Outside of her work at Center for Discovery, Lizzie enjoys traveling to visit friends and family, walks by the lake and trying new restaurants around the city.

Stephanie Kilper, LPC, BC-DMT

Stephanie Kilper is a licensed professional counselor and board-certified dance/movement therapist. Stephanie graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a master’s in dance/movement therapy and counseling. She has several years of experience working in a variety of mental health services including inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient care. Stephanie’s approach to treatment includes supporting individuals by increasing their mind-body connection and reconnecting them to their bodies in a safe, gentle manner. She does this by facilitating groups and individual sessions with integrated movement and mindfulness experiences. Her focus on reconnecting individuals to their bodies is a key piece of the recovery process as clients learn to live and love themselves in their physical homes. As a member of the LGBTQ community, Stephanie also supports clients in identity exploration and self-discovery as they deepen their understanding of all aspects of who they are in the recovery process. Additionally, Stephanie serves on the board of the Illinois chapter of the American Dance Therapy Association in an event planning and production role and on the National American Dance Therapy Association Board as a member of the nominating committee.

Jenna Weitz

Jenna is a licensed social worker with a master’s of social work from Loyola University of Chicago. She has experience in the intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization levels of care, working with individuals with substance use disorder, mood disorders, trauma, OCD and eating disorders. As a therapist, Jenna believes that eating disorders are largely rooted in shame and the desire to numb unpleasant emotions, which can be healed through honesty and having a safe space to experience discomfort. Jenna seeks to provide patients with this space and sit in discomfort with them, bringing compassion and empathy into the room. Additionally, Jenna believes in utilizing DBT and CBT to help provide patients with a framework to heal through replacing unhealthy coping mechanism with healthy ones. Jenna believes that therapy is collaborative and strives to meet patients where they are at.

Alexa King

Alexa is a licensed social worker who is passionate about working at the intersection of eating disorders and trauma. Alexa holds her Master in Social Work degree from Washington University in Saint Louis and her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Wake Forest University. As a primary therapist, Alexa works with patients in individual, family, and group therapy to identify and build the life they desire. Alexa believes in providing an individualized therapy experience that gives patients the power to access their own strengths and decide what healing means for them. Alexa works with patients in the LGBTQIA+ community and approaches her work with a social justice lens. Her hobbies outside of therapy include reading books, tending to her plants and hanging with her dog Ozzie.