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Get to know Craig Darragh, Adoption and Guardianship Support and Preservation program therapist

Craig Darragh started working for Metropolitan Family Services in December 2021. He provides individual and family therapy to children and families at our North Center.

 

Craig has two Master’s Degrees in counseling. One is in Professional Counseling, and the other is in Substance Abuse and Addictions Counseling. Craig and his wife recently moved to Chicago and currently live in Andersonville, Illinois. Along with their five cats, Craig and his wife have enjoyed getting to know Chicago and all it has to offer.

Craig shares, “it has been great living in an area that we are new to, and working for a company like Metropolitan Family Services has been wonderful. MFS shares a lot of the family values and sense of community that we were looking for.”

Before moving to Chicago, Craig worked as a Primary Therapist at an Arizona-based treatment center that specialized in opiate addiction. “Adoption therapy is new to me, but exciting to me. The training has been great and my co-workers have made the transition to a new place, and a new type of client, a fun experience for me,” Craig shares.

“I look forward to continuing to learn, and to learn new skills that will benefit me, and more importantly, our families at MFS. Some of the tools I learned while overseeing Group Homes for abandoned, neglected and abused children in Arizona have helped me during the transition. The families I see at Metro are different, but there seems to be an overlap in some of the skills needed to connect and identify with them and their families. It’s a fun challenge trying to initiate some sort of healing when needed.”

Craig’s previous experience as a licensed teacher in both Illinois and Arizona, as well as coaching at the Junior High School, High School and College level have helped him identify and recognize learning opportunities in most situations. He shares, “children need to learn, and hopefully I can help with that learning.”

 

ABOUT ADOPTION AND GUARDIANSHIP SUPPORT AND PRESERVATION

Provides home-based intervention to families formed through adoption or subsidized guardianship. Counseling, crisis intervention and 24-hour on-call assistance help address adjustment, grief/loss resolution, attachment, educational and emotional issues. This DCFS-supported program also provides therapeutic respite services, psycho-educational and support groups, workshops, and help securing resources.