
Matilde Cerrato
Clinical director and therapist
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) · IL Lic. # 000000
Sees adults and families, and oversees the support group. Speaks Spanish and English.
Cicero, Illinois
Refuge is a nonprofit clinic in Cicero for immigrant families and for survivors of domestic violence. Therapy in Spanish, with a fee set by your income.
Where would you like to start?

Who it is for
You do not need to speak English, have health insurance, or tell everything on the first day.
Mothers, fathers and young adults starting over who want to talk about what they feel in their own language.
People who live or lived with violence from a partner or a family member. We go at your pace and talk about your safety when you want to.
Sessions for the whole family or only for parents, with Illinois consent rules explained in writing.
If you have no plan, or your plan does not cover therapy, the fee is set by your income.
Refuge is not an emergency service and does not prescribe medication.
Services
Therapy in Cicero or by video, and a way to legal help.

For one adult. 50-minute sessions, in Spanish, English or both.
See individual therapy
For families with teenagers or grown children, and for parents who want guidance.
See family therapy
A weekly group for survivors of domestic violence. The place is shared after first contact.
See the support group
We are not lawyers. We connect you with a legal aid organization for immigrants and survivors.
Go to our partner organizationThe team
Each therapist has their own Illinois license, shown at the foot of the page. The intake coordinator does not provide therapy.

Clinical director and therapist
Sees adults and families, and oversees the support group. Speaks Spanish and English.

Therapist
Sees adults, and teens with their families. Speaks Spanish and English.

Therapist
Sees adults and leads the support group. Speaks Spanish and English.

Therapist
Sees adults, and parents who want guidance. Speaks Spanish and English.

Family therapist
Sees families and couples. Speaks Spanish.

Intake and resources coordinator
Welcomes people on their first visit, explains how the clinic works and helps connect them with legal and social services. Does not provide therapy. Speaks Spanish and English.
You know what you will pay before you start.
Refuge works with Illinois Medicaid and some employer insurance plans. We do not take Medicare yet: if you have Medicare, we help you find someone who does. If you have no insurance, or your plan does not cover therapy, see the fee set by your income.
Illinois Medicaid
Some employer plans, such as PPO plans
Refuge is a nonprofit clinic and does not charge one fixed price: the fee is set by your household income and how many people live on it. The fee also depends on the kind of session and its length: 60 minutes for the first, 50 for an individual session and 60 for a family session. A limited number of spots have a reduced fee; ask how to request one. Payment is due at the end of each session, by card, including HSA and FSA cards. We give you the fee in writing before the first session. We ask for 24 hours' notice to change an appointment.
Each month we give you an itemized receipt (a superbill) with the dates and the type of session, to send to your plan, which may reimburse part of the cost. It carries a diagnosis code that your insurer can see. Your plan decides whether it reimburses anything: ask it before you start.
If you pay without insurance, you have the right to receive a written estimate of what your care will cost before you start. We give you one before the first session. If the final bill is $400 or more above the estimate, you can dispute it. The estimate is not a contract.
If you use Medicaid or an insurance plan, someone on our team checks your benefits before the first session and tells you what to expect. If you pay yourself, there is nothing to check.
How to begin
Through the form, by phone or by text. Tell us what time and which way suits you for our reply.
Someone on the team replies within one business day with a time and the fee in writing.
It lasts 60 minutes, in Cicero or by video. Your therapist explains how they work and what is confidential.
No one asks for a number of sessions. If it is not the therapist you want, we help you switch.
Questions
We work with Illinois Medicaid and some employer plans. We do not take Medicare yet. If you have no insurance, or your plan does not cover therapy, the fee is set by your income.
There is no fixed price. We ask about your household income and how many people live on it, and the fee for each session is set from that. A limited number of spots have a reduced fee. We give you the fee in writing before the first session. We do not ask for immigration papers to begin.
It is a monthly receipt with the dates and the type of session. You send it to your insurance plan, which may reimburse part of the cost. It carries a diagnosis code your insurer can see, and reimbursement is not certain.
If you pay without insurance, you have the right to receive a written estimate of what your care will cost before you start. We give you one before the first session. If the final bill is $400 or more above the estimate, you can dispute it. The estimate is not a contract.
Yes. HSA and FSA cards work like any card, at the end of each session.
It lasts 60 minutes. Your therapist explains how they work, the limits of confidentiality and the possible risks and benefits of therapy, and listens. At the end, the two of you decide whether to continue.
Write to us
We reply within one business day, the way and at the time you ask. If it is not safe to leave a message, say so here and we will reply another way.