Hello friendly faces! It’s that time of the week! We’re back with a new Chicago North Shore Moms spotlight brought to you in part by Mary Gifford of Gifford Law.
Tory Krone is up to something big. The founder of Proactive Therapy, located in Chicago’s Loop and Winnetka, not only provides life-changing mental health support to those who seek help, she’s also the co-founder of a startup that has developed technology to support businesses in the mental health space. Get to know Tory, her favorite restaurants with or without the littles in tow, her kid’s favorite parks on Chicago’s North Shore and how this busy mental health professional and mom-boss decompresses after a long or generally tough day. Welcome, Tory!
Photo Credit: Kathleen Virginia Photography | kathleenvirginia.com
Hi Tory, please introduce yourself. Where are you from originally? What city do you live in now? What brought you here?
Hi, my name is Tory Krone. I was born and raised in Winnetka and I currently live in Winnetka! Though I made the “big move” from the east side of Winnetka (where I grew up) to the west side of Winnetka. And I lived in a few places – North Carolina, DC, New Orleans and Lincoln Park, Bucktown, and Evanston – before moving back.
You’re a mom! Tell us about your children.
I’m a mom of three. A 5 year-old in Kindergarten, 2.5 year-old and my baby is 16 months.
What are one or two fun facts to know about you?
My husband and I were set up by my friend and his cousin who were engaged at the time. He wrote me an email a few months before their wedding, which I planned to dismiss since he was living in NJ and I didn’t think it could go anywhere, but his email was funny and piqued my interest. We were “pen pals” before ever meeting, and we went on our first date the night before their rehearsal dinner. Luckily the date went well or the next two nights of their wedding weekend could have been awkward!
My older sisters have called me “The Punk” since childhood because they can’t let go of the fact that I locked myself in the bathroom and did a DIY dye job with Walgreens-purchased “Spotlights” on my hair when I was six years old. All my nieces and nephews only know me as “Aunt Punk.”
What are your favorite North Shore places, spaces and eats to frequent?
Since I work from home, I like spending the afternoon on my laptop at Towne & Oak or Hometown in Winnetka. We, like everyone else, love Pomeroy and Guild Hall, and our rehearsal dinner was at The Barn in Evanston, so it’s fun to go back there for a dinner out. But we are also regulars at the Northfield Diner at 7am on Saturday mornings with our kids. With three kids five and under, much of our time is spent at playgrounds which we’ve named “Bear Paw Park” (south school), the “dada” park (Shelton park), “the train park” (Duke park).
What gets you through a tough day?
My kids can be the source of a tough day or the remedy. They make me laugh a lot and laughter is what I need most on a tough day. I also love to be outside and go for walks, and I do my best to take ten minute re-set breaks throughout the day where I do something I enjoy for ten minutes, play loud music and dance around the kitchen with my kids, or just close my eyes and breathe!
What are you currently watching, reading and/or listening to?
My book club is about to start reading the 4th Wing by Rebecca Yarros, and I’m here for all the jokes about dragon smut.
I love the “We Can Do Hard Things” podcast.
My husband makes fun of me for watching shows written for teens – I can’t wait for the next season of Ginny and Georgia on Netflix!
Let’s get down to business! Please introduce Proactive Therapy. Why did you start this practice?
Proactive Therapy offers individualized mental health support. The goal is to help you connect with your authentic self, create greater meaning in your life, pursue your passions, and establish healthier relationships with yourself and others.
I started Proactive because I saw a real need for more practices committed to evidence-based therapies. I imagined the type of practice that I would want my friends and family to have access to – a practice with warm, caring professionals committed to implementing the most research backed approaches to helping people make meaningful change in their lives.
What therapy services do you offer at Proactive Therapy?
We offer individual, couples, group and family therapy to teens and adults. We specialize in anxiety, eating disorders and body image concerns, trauma, depression, relationships, stress, burnout, and life changes.
We also partner with companies to provide customized corporate wellness workshops and trainings to their employees. We have one company with over 300 employees that has partnered with us to provide all the mental health services for their company and employees. We love supporting businesses to help them better support their employees, reduce the stigma around seeking support for mental and emotional health and create an overall better functioning workplace. We often provide training to other therapy practices wanting to level up their therapy skills and to physician groups as well.
How many people work for you?
I have ten employees.
Do you take insurance?
We are in network with BCBS PPO plans, Blue Choice plans and Aetna. We provide superbills for all out of network services so our clients can seek out of network reimbursement from their insurance provider.
What is your process with clients who first come to you for support?
Great question! We’ve got an amazing intake director who offers 15 minute phone calls to new clients so she can get a feel for their personality, needs, and goals for therapy. From there she matches them to the best therapist in terms of fit on our team. Clients are also able to complete a contact form on our website and be matched via email if that’s easier for them.
In your first session, we will discuss how you are living in the present and where you would ideally like to be in six months from that date. The rest of our work together is about closing that gap.
We then help our clients look at their patterns of behavior, clarify the things they do that work for them and those that work against them, support them in implementing more effective strategies, and determining valued life directions.
Do you offer in-person and virtual appointments? Which one are you seeing more of in terms of a trend?
We do offer virtual and in person appointments in our downtown Chicago loop location as well as in Winnetka. Recently, there’s been a major uptick in terms of in person requests, but virtual continues to be so convenient and reduces some of the barriers that previously limited people from being able to seek help, so we’re glad it’s a permanent option now.
Where are you located?
We offer in person therapy in the Chicago Loop and on the North Shore.
Do you have any events or workshops coming up?
We have a weekly DBT therapy skills group that’s virtual and runs every Wednesday evening. The group is helpful for anyone struggling with emotion regulation, distress tolerance, being present in their day to day lives and/or struggling with interpersonal relationships.
My plan for 2024 is to begin a women’s group to support busy moms on the North Shore who have trouble carving out time for themselves and want to foster deeper, authentic relationships with other women. I’ll post about this on our instagram and on our website when I get it up and running so stay tuned!
What’s on the horizon for your line of work?
During the pandemic we saw many people try therapy for the first time to cope with the overwhelming stress of the moment, and more people are engaged in therapy than ever before. The mental health industry is also experiencing a notable shift with the increasing involvement of venture capital, raising both opportunities and concerns.
The influx of private investment is driving rapid innovation and growth, as startups and tech companies introduce new digital health platforms and apps aimed at addressing mental health needs. While this trend is expanding access to mental health resources, particularly in underserved areas, it also raises critical questions about the quality and efficacy of these services.
Another concern is the potential dilution of personalized care. Platforms like BetterHelp offer convenience and accessibility but may lack the depth and quality of care provided by traditional, long-term therapist-client relationships. These digital platforms often match patients with therapists based on algorithms, which might not capture the nuances of a person’s needs as effectively as the personalized matching process in traditional practices.
Is there anything else you’d like us to know about yourself or your business?
One trend post-pandemic trend we have observed is that a lot of therapists are going off on their own to start solo practices. The switch to virtual therapy made that model easier for a lot of therapists, but I think there was also something critical lost. One of the things that is so special about Proactive is our collaborative model. Our therapists work together to support one another – from ongoing trainings on cutting edge approaches to mentoring more junior therapists. When you come to Proactive, you are not just benefitting from the support of your own therapist, but from the collective knowledge and experience of our entire team.
Finally, I’ve recently co-founded a software company that supports therapy practices. It’s the first ever automated dashboard that makes sense of clinician data and provides insights into the health of the therapy practice. If this resonates with your business, take a look at the website here: www.practicevital.com.
How do our readers get started?
Reach out via email and follow us on Instagram at @proactive_therapy_chicago
About our Meet of Mom Sponsor
A very heartfelt thank you to CNSMoms’ Meet a Mom sponsor, Lake Forest mom of three and owner of Gifford Law, a solo Estate Planning Firm (wills and trusts). Mary, we appreciate your support of local moms in our North Shore communities! Learn more about Mary by visiting her Meet a Mom spotlight here! Contact Mary directly here: [email protected].
