조옥순 박사

Dr. Oksoon Cho, Ph.D., NCC, LCPC, ACS is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, counselor educator, clinical supervisor, and founder of the Chicago Mental Health Institute (CMHI). With over 25 years of counseling experience, she is devoted to helping individuals—particularly immigrants and multicultural families—heal from emotional pain and trauma so they can reclaim healthier and more fulfilling lives.

After serving as a professional counselor and professor in Korea, Dr. Cho immigrated to the United States to expand her clinical practice and research in counselor education and clinical training. Recognizing the lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services for Korean immigrants despite nearly a century of Korean-American history, she founded CMHI in 2018. Originally established to serve the Korean community, CMHI has since grown to provide counseling and psychotherapy services in English, Korean, Japanese, and Spanish, extending its reach to diverse immigrant and multicultural populations.

Dr. Cho’s integrative therapeutic approach draws from Multicultural Counseling, Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness, Trauma-Focused Therapy, EMDR, Strengths-Based Therapy, and Play Therapy. She finds her greatest reward in helping clients from diverse backgrounds navigate relationship challenges and adjustment issues in the U.S.

In addition to her clinical and community work, Dr. Cho serves as an Associate Professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Moody Bible Institute, where she is committed to training the next generation of counseling professionals with both academic rigor and cultural sensitivity.