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What is it like being a sober kid on the North Shore?

Anonymous, North Shore Teenage Perspective

What is it like being a sober kid on the North Shore?
Well to start off, it’s pretty messed up. All of the people around you or at least 95% are drunk every weekend, who knows probably high too, and despite that it is illegal to drink under 21, you are the one that is looked at differently. People either idolize you for having your own morals, not caring, and doing what you want, or they think that you’re unsocial, think you’re better than them, or blatantly a loser. Why it’s so messed up? Is because everyone knows who is drinking and who’s not. The parents know, the teachers can tell, and even the law knows half the time. But because we live on the North Shore where there is no shortage of money, no one will do anything about it, parents are the ones buying the alcohol, teachers won’t speak up or punish the kids, and officers won’t even be too harsh with these over privileged kids because of the fact there’s soooo much money involved with everything. That’s what everything around me personally is like, but what it’s like to be the 5% that doesn’t drink is different. You’re generally not going out every Friday and Saturday night to party, you’re not getting 500 likes on Instagram or Facebook or you’re not posting 300 second stories, you’re watching them. It hits everyone differently, if you can be strong enough to say no, screw you, I have a future and I won’t mess it up, I’ll earn my way to college and not have mommy and daddy pay my way in, then good for you, you know yourself and you have it right. But on the flipside there’s always the kid who will get pressured into it because they want to be cool, or the kid who wishes they were in those photos, or wishing they got the invite, and that’s when it’s hard, hard to be the one left out for doing the right thing. What is meant by you’re the one being left it is you’re not invited to parties and  it’s tough and it’s sad that you’re not there just because you don’t drink. If you do go to parties, then generally what you’re thinking is, “This is crazy”, “alcohol everywhere”, “fun when beer isn’t being spilled on you”, but most of all you feel pity for all of the kids that have to drink or smoke to have fun, because at the end of the night you’ll go home and know you did the right thing even if you didn’t want to at the time, and who knows what they’ll go home thinking.

Rachel Collins, LCSW
Site Director of Northbrook PHP and IOP

Rachel Collins, LCSW, is the Site Director of SunCloud Health’s Northbrook Partial Hospitalization (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient (IOP) programs for both adolescents and adults. Rachel earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and went on to complete her master’s degree in social work from Michigan State University. She has since worked in a wide range of settings, including inpatient treatment, PHP/IOP programs, therapeutic group homes, and private practice. Rachel specializes in treating trauma (using Cognitive Processing Therapy) and anxiety, practicing through a relational, compassionate, and client-centered lens. She is passionate about creating a therapeutic space in which clients feel safe and able to explore various parts of themselves with curiosity as opposed to judgement. In addition to her leadership and clinical work, she is passionate about creating art, and learning about the intersection between creativity and mental health.

Kayla Corirossi, MA, LCSW
Site Director, Naperville PHP/IOP (Adolescents & Adults)

Kayla Corirossi, MA, LCSW, is the Site Director of SunCloud Health’s Naperville Partial Hospitalization (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient (IOP) programs for adolescents and adults. She brings extensive experience working with individuals across the lifespan, including adolescents, adults, and geriatric populations, and specializes in the treatment of mood disorders, trauma, substance use, family systems, forensic populations, and individuals in crisis.

Kayla has worked in a wide range of clinical and community settings, including community-based interventions, police crisis response, correctional facilities, inpatient treatment, PHP/IOP programs, and with vulnerable and underserved populations. In addition to her clinical and leadership work, she is passionate about providing mental health education and advocacy within the community.

Kayla earned her Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Psychology and Sociology from Aurora University and went on to complete her Master’s degree in Forensic Social Work, also at Aurora University. Her clinical approach is evidence-based, compassionate, trauma-informed, and integrative, emphasizing collaboration and individualized care.

Driven by a personal mission to meet individuals where they are, Kayla is committed to helping clients feel safe, supported, and understood. She strives to create a natural and empathetic healing environment while ensuring individuals from all backgrounds and identities know they are not alone and have access to meaningful resources and support.

Elizabeth E. Sita, MD
Medical Director of Adult Services
Dr. Elizabeth E. Sita, MD, is a Board Certified psychiatrist specializing in the care of patients with eating disorders. She completed her undergraduate training at the University of Chicago and graduated with Highest Honors. She then earned her medical degree at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and was recognized with the Chairman’s Award for Excellence in Psychiatry. She subsequently completed residency with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, where she was elected Chief Resident and received the Resident Psychiatrist Leadership & Service Award. Upon completing her training, Dr. Sita came to Ascension Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital, where she served as Assistant Medical Director of the Center for Eating Disorders and Director of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Services before transitioning to lead the new inpatient eating disorder unit as Medical Director of Eating Disorder Services at Ascension Saint Joseph Hospital – Chicago. In these roles, she has cared for a multitude of adolescents and adults struggling with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and other eating disorders as well as severe, cooccurring mood, trauma, personality, and substance use disorders. Dr. Sita has been recognized throughout her training and practice for a commitment to excellence in patient care and for her ability to engage patients in their most challenging moments. Her passions include the care of treatment-resistant eating and mood disorders as well as questions of medical capacity and end-of-life decision making. She believes that, first and foremost, human connection is key to mental health and well-being and strives to share this philosophy in each and every patient encounter. She is excited to bring her expertise to SunCloud Health as the Medical Director of Adult Services!   VIDEO: Meet Elizabeth E. Sita, MD, Medical Director of Adult Services  
Lacey Lemke, PsyD
Assistant Vice President of Clinical Services

Dr. Lacey Lemke (she/her) is a licensed clinical health psychologist with specialized expertise in the treatment of eating disorders and the practice of medical and health psychology. She completed her doctoral training in clinical psychology with a Primary Care emphasis at the Adler School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Lemke went on to complete both her predoctoral clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship through Ascension Health, where she gained advanced training working with individuals experiencing eating disorders and self-injurious behaviors, as well as within pediatric subspecialty settings including endocrinology, neurology, and adolescent medicine.

Dr. Lemke is deeply committed to providing evidence-based, compassionate care and collaborates closely with interdisciplinary teams to ensure comprehensive treatment. Her professional mission is to support patients in achieving their fullest potential by guiding them to the most appropriate level of care and empowering them to make meaningful, sustainable progress toward improved health and well-being.

VIDEO: 2. Meet Lacey Lemke, PsyD.