Like in nature... the butterfly in our logo symbolizes the capacity to change.

See Goodness. Share Kindness. Be Grateful.

Welcome to the
Center to Awaken Kindness.

Good mental health begins by being kind to yourself, so you can be kind to others. Our innovative mental health solutions, at the intersection of psychology and spirituality, encourage resilience, empowerment, and transformation.

DISCOVER all that the Center offers.

LEARN about our Co-Founders Penny and Bill.

JOIN US in Growing Goodness and Kindness.
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See Goodness. Share Kindness. Be Grateful.

Innovative Mental Health Practice Exercises created to enhance resilience, empowerment, and transformation.

Discover for Yourself all our
Innovative Mental Health
Practice Exercises...

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We're changing and growing! Please note we are in the process of rebranding all of our innovative mental health solutions - our digital practice exercises and printed practice exercises - into our new Grow I Am self-development active learning platform. As we transform, you may witness the Center to Awaken Kindness name with different Awaken Kindness product lines with both the original names and the new Grow I Am rebranding. In time, all practice exercises (digital and printed) will be rebranded as Grow I Am. Grow I Am was founded by Penny and Bill in 2024 to provide a wider breadth of possibilities for new forms of educational active learning, while the Center to Awaken Kindness will remain dedicated to individual and couples mental health counseling. Let the transformation begin!

Digital Practice Exercises

Innovative digital self-development and self-care tools invite you to experience growth and renewal in new ways. Save 10% on a 3 month subscription to the Grow I Am - Awaken Kindness Network. Use code: AWAKEN

Learn More About Digital Solutions

Printed Practice Exercises

Innovative Solutions in printed format invite you to enjoy a number of mindful tools... journaling, reflection, and more. Try free samples today.
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Learn More About Printed Solutions

In-person and Online Therapy Services
at the intersection of
psychology and spirituality.

Are we humans not an integration
of a psychological, spiritual,
biological, and social reality?

We think so...
and our therapy is informed
by that belief.

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In-person and Online Therapy for Individuals and Couples
Mental health is precious - and sometimes our psychological, spiritual, biological, and social realities create stress for us. Sometimes it helps to have someone to talk with, especially when we feel life is getting the better of us. Join us to explore emotional processes and relationships through our in-person and online therapy services.

Penny Taylor and Bill Ressl, Co-Founders of the Center to Awaken Kindness, are both Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW). Both offer therapy to individuals and couples within the State of Illinois.

Learn More About Therapy

We also believe...
paying for therapy should not
create more stress.

Insurance can help to make
therapy affordable.

To help make therapy affordable, the Penny and Bill Company, dba Center to Awaken Kindness, is approved as a provider on a number of insurance networks. Depending on your current health provider or Medicare plan, it may be possible that your services will be covered in part or in full.

Some of the many possibilities...
Please note... insurance can be complicated. Prior to our first session we will work with you to minimize any billing surprises. Currently we only accept PPO plans and Medicare. We do not accept HMOs, Medicaid, or EAPs. Please note each insurance plan is different and insurance provider status can change. Contact your provider to verify how your plan compensates you for psychotherapy services and if your therapist (Penny Taylor or William Ressl) at the Center to Awaken Kindness, division of Penny and Bill Company, is in-network or out-of-network.

Secure Online Therapy or In-Person...
your choice.

There is no question,
online therapy is convenient...
but sometimes in-person
is just what you need.

On-ground and teletherapy at the Center to Awaken Kindness,
division of the Penny & Bill Company.

Meet Our Team of Highly Qualified
Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW).

Choose the provider suited
to your needs.

Penny...
The Rev. Dr. Penny L. Taylor, LCSW

Serving Individuals and Couples, 21+

Perceptive by nature, Penny brings her expertise from theology, social work, and the corporate world into the therapeutic session. She is an LCSW who holds a Ph.D. in Theology, Ethics, and the Human Sciences and a Master of Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary; a Master of Social Work from Dominican University; and a post-graduate certificate in Bowen Family Systems Theory and Psychotherapy from the Center for Family Consultation, Evanston, Illinois. She completed her clinical training at Pillars in Western Springs, Illinois, and Aging Care Connections in LaGrange, Illinois.

Desiring to delve deeper into clinical and spiritual understandings of well-being, she specializes in anxiety and transformation. Utilizing an integrative approach to counseling, she combines her training and experience in Bowen Family System Theory, spirituality, and storytelling to guide her clients by listening and discovering their gifts toward a process of renewal.

Penny is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and an Ordained Minister in the United Church of Christ, she has served in church ministry for over 20 years, awarded a Lilly Grant, and taught graduate courses in both social work and pastoral theology. As a past member of the Society for Pastoral Theology, she co-facilitated the Theological Dimensions of the Family Study group. Additionally, Penny has worked in corporate America for two fortune 500 companies and was the first woman hired by the Chicago Tribune newspaper for their state-of-the-art electronic pre-press operation.

She enjoys being in nature, seeing a good sunrise/good sunset, gardening, and exercising.

Learn More About Penny

Contact Penny Today

Bill...
The Rev. Dr. William G. Ressl, LCSW

Serving Individuals and Couples, 21+

Rev. Dr. William (Bill) G. Ressl enjoys being a journey companion through the transitions of life, especially those that can create significant stress, anxiety, and despair. His practice is supported by life experience, advanced degrees, and work as a counselor, pastor, and professor.
Building on his M.Div. and MSW, Bill received a Ph.D. from Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) in theology, ethics, and the human sciences. He studied under Jungian Analyst Dr. Robert Moore and received a post-graduate certificate in Bowen Family Systems Theory from the Center for Family Consultation. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and an Ordained Minister in the United Church of Christ (UCC). He has been in private practice, served as Co-Pastor, and taught at Aurora University, Chicago Theological Seminary, Dominican University, Elmhurst University, and North Park University. He has two published book chapters: “Tillich’s Influence on Pastoral Social Work” in Why Tillich? Why Now? (MercerPress,2021); and “A World in Need: Brokenness and Reconciliation Explored through Paul Tillich’s Doing of Social Work” in International Yearbook for Tillich Research: Brokenness and Reconciliation (De Gruyter Press, Germany, 2020).

Bill enjoys being a mental health general practitioner supporting individuals age 21+ and couples through life’s many transitions. His counseling is tailored in collaboration with his client’s interests. He uses an integration of modalities including Bowen Family Systems Theory, Jungian psychoanalysis, mindfulness, and spirituality, among others. He also has a strong interest in resiliency as it informs the therapeutic process and life more broadly in all the systems we exist within – family, friends, and the wider society.


Learn More About Bill

Contact Bill Today
Therapy Resources at the Center to Awaken Kindness