Welcome To Forward Healing Therapy
Serving Elm Grove, Brookfield and Wauwatosa, Wisconsin with personalized, high-quality therapy that helps you grow and move forward.
At Forward Healing, we provide honest therapy that helps you grow and move forward.
We support children, teens, and adults with premium, thoughtful care that meets you where you are and helps you create meaningful change.
Meet Our Therapists
At Forward Healing Therapy, we’re a group of therapists who are passionate about creating a space where people feel seen, heard, and supported—no matter who they are or what they’re working through.
Each of us brings our own style, background, and specialties to the table, and together we offer a wide range of services for individuals, couples, and families. Whether you're navigating life changes, healing from the past, or just need someone to talk to, we’re here for it.
We’re proud to offer an inclusive, non-judgmental space where everyone is welcome—including those in the LGBTQ community and anyone who’s ever felt on the outside looking in.
Click below to get to know each of us a little better.
“Forward Healing Therapy, led by Lilly Risch, is one of the most skilled and compassionate therapy practices I've encountered.”
“Clients at Forward Healing Therapy benefit from the depth of experience and diverse skill set of the entire team. It’s rare to find a group so dedicated to both their craft and the well-being of those they serve. If you’re looking for a compassionate, skilled, and cohesive team of trauma-informed therapists, I wholeheartedly recommend Forward Healing Therapy.”
- Mary Beth Somich, Your Journey Through
Therapy is a very personal process, and finding a therapist who is a good fit is essential.
We provide a judgment-free, supportive space, where you are the most important person in the room. Contact us to schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation to discuss your needs in therapy and ask any questions.
Core Values & Commitments at Forward Healing Therapy
Dignity & Social Justice
We honor the inherent worth and agency of all individuals while actively working to address systemic barriers to mental health care. Our commitment includes:
Providing sliding-scale fees and victims' compensation funding options
Connecting clients with culturally aligned community resources
Creating a psychologically safe environment, free from discrimination based on race, gender identity, class, ability, body size, or sexual orientation
Actively opposing systems of oppression that create trauma and inequality
Collaborative Healing Partnership
We believe therapy is most effective when clients are equal partners in their healing journey. Our approach includes:
Empowering clients as active participants in their therapeutic process
Maintaining transparent dialogue about treatment approaches and progress
Regularly seeking and incorporating client feedback
Using evidence-based practices tailored to individual needs
Professional Excellence & Sustainability
We maintain high ethical standards while supporting the wellbeing of our therapeutic team. This means:
Upholding personal and professional boundaries
Engaging in continuous professional development and learning
Supporting our therapists through fair compensation and work-life balance
Fostering a supportive professional community
You May Have Some Questions. Let Us Help.
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EMDR is an evidenced-based intervention and a very powerful tool to heal from trauma. Through EMDR, traumatic experiences are revisited, in order to process through them effectively, and let them go. Therefore, it is important for you and your therapist to spend time assessing your symptoms and coping strategies, to make sure that you are stable enough to cope with possible difficulties in between sessions. It is important that we try to prevent feeling overwhelmed with the traumatic material in between session. This could also mean that we take our time and go slow with trauma processing. EMDR is proven to work, and it is important to know and discuss with your therapist if now is the right time for this modality.
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Yes, EMDR is effective virtually and in-person. When we meet virtually, we use tapping, or virtual eye movements through a website browser. You may have personal preferences regarding how to meet with me, and there is not one right way. What is important is that you are honest about what feels the most comfortable to you.
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We are private-pay, out-of-network providers. While we don't accept insurance directly, your insurance plan may have out-of-network benefits, which means that they will reimburse you for a portion of your session cost. Our therapists at Forward Healing partner with Thrizer to handle the out-of-network process automatically for you. With Thrizer, you will only have to pay a copay for our sessions, instead of paying our full fee and waiting for reimbursements. This typically allows clients to save on average 70% upfront on our sessions. During our intake process, we can help you verify if you have out-of-network benefits and how much your copay would be. Our therapists fee ranges from $150 to $175 per session hour.
We also work with the Wisconsin Crime Victim’s Compensation Program, should you be eligible for therapy funding through this program. Victim’s compensation provides full funding for therapy related to trauma-recovery, for victims and secondary victims (such as parents) of a crime. You can find out more here, and please schedule a free phone consultation to discuss this process more.
All self-pay clients have the Right to a Good Faith Estimate. Learn more here about a Good Faith Estimate.