Damita LaRue, PsyD, CT, CCISM

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Get to know Psychologist Dr. Damita LaRue, who serves patients in Chicago, Illinois.

An established psychologist, Dr. LaRue, and her incredible team of therapists, tends to patients at her group practice – DLA PsychologyCenter – in Chicago, Illinois. She is dedicated to supporting individuals, couples, and families who are experiencing distress related to chronic, acute, life-limiting, and terminal medical diagnoses, caregiving, end-of-life and hospice, and grief & loss. These life changes affect every area of health and wellness, and she is committed to supporting patients in each one of them. She works together with patients on not just their mental and emotional health, but on their sleep, medical care, and physical wellbeing as well.

Educated in the United States, she graduated with her Doctor of Psychology degree from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. As a Fellow in Thanatology (FT), she has extensive training and experience in death education, care of the dying, and grief counseling in order to support those experiencing loss. She is also a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, National Register Health Service Psychologist, as well as being certified in Critical Incident Stress Management (CCISM) and having advanced training in Clinical Hypnosis.

As a civilian, Dr. LaRue feels honored to work with individuals who are active duty and Veterans. She has a strong respect for those who are in the military due to having family and friends who are active duty or Veterans. Prior to moving to Alaska to work with military personnel in Anchorage, she had the privilege of being invited to attend a 2-day Military Immersion Training from the Illinois National Guard and Illinois Joining Forces. 

Professionally, she has served as a therapist in public and private schools, villages in Alaska, residential substance abuse treatment programs, community mental health centers, an acute inpatient psychiatric hospital, and the Alaska VA healthcare system. She has had the opportunity to work as a mental health professional with people in many areas of the military, including: Comp & Pen, inpatient facilities, substance use treatment facilities (DOM), community organizations, primary care departments, and at the VA. She also had a research opportunity to assess how to best work with Veterans who were struggling with CPAP compliance due to PTSD symptoms.

In addition to her work as a therapist, as a Cherokee woman, Dr. LaRue’s clinical research has focused on culturally-sensitive therapeutic care for Native Americans based on multi-generational trauma and loss, as well as the use of clinical hypnosis to assist patients who have a diagnosis of PTSD with their CPAP compliance for obstructive sleep apnea.

Psychology is the science of behavior and mind. It includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, as well as feeling and thought. It is an academic discipline of immense scope. Psychologists assess, diagnose, and treat the psychological problems and behavioral dysfunctions resulting from, or related to, physical and mental health. In addition, they play a major role in the promotion of healthy behavior, preventing diseases and improving patients’ quality of life.

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