I love helping others to make sense of their issues through an integrative approach. My specialties are, (1) Couples, Families and Individuals; (2) Multicultural Issues; (3) Work with actors, models, and sexual workers; (4) Negotiations.

I work with teens, parents, young adults, and families to learn effective strategies to address any struggles they are facing. Effective therapists are good listeners and also hold clients accountable to make the changes they want to see. Whether it be behavioral changes at home or at school, managing and reducing stress and anxiety, or challenging you to work toward your goals, I will be engaging you throughout the process. I utilize well-researched and results-driven techniques to assist you in altering the unproductive patterns of behavior and stress management to lead you to success!

Do you feel stressed? Do you feel overwhelmed? Do you find it difficult making decisions? I provide a safe environment to talk about what's keeping you stuck and to help make the changes necessary in order to move forward. I enjoy supporting people during difficult times and empowering women of all ages. While we work through life challenges, the therapeutic relationship can bring hope and healing and the possibility of deeper satisfaction in all relationships. I delight in sharing the individual journeys of my clients, watching them grow personally, professionally, & spiritually, and achieving increased authenticity, emotional health, and wellness.

I believe that individuals go through challenges in life and often are searching for ways to cope with those challenges. I believe in empowering clients to make the best decision for themselves. I believe in meeting the client where they are while assisting them in developing, enhancing, and changing aspects that are pertinent to them. I support and encourage the client to express themselves in their own unique way while developing the desired person they envision. I work with clients from diverse racial/ethnic, socioeconomic and religions, sexual orientations, abilities and who hold various levels of power in their organization.

I specialize in infidelity and addictions—most notably sex, porn, and love addiction. I help post-affair couples determine their direction, find healing and rebuild. Clients include business leaders from C-suite executive to third-shift union manufacturing employee, actor, entrepreneur, firefighter, musician, nurse, church leaders from various faith traditions, partner, physician, pilot, police officer, scientist, stay-at-home parent, and 911 dispatcher. All are welcome! I also run ongoing therapeutic groups for men experiencing intimacy disorders: masturbation/porn, love/sex. co-occurring addictions, complex trauma and infidelity.

Thank you for looking into my site and reaching out for support. It may be confusing to navigate this time in your life or in that of someone you love but there is hope and I will provide a safe and comfortable setting to do that. We will use your experiences to build on your strengths to move forward so please don't hesitate to call me.

Our goal is to help you discover how you can overcome your personal struggles and resolve the issues that are keeping you stuck so that you can live the life you envision for yourself. It's your time now! It's your time to live the life that you are destined to live. It would honor me to serve you now. The Ardent Counseling Center has 18 offices, with 75+ clinicians throughout Chicagoland, suburbs, and down to the middle of Illinois. And all of Iowa. Phone or online video conferencing is also available.

*Immediate openings available during the week and on select Saturdays* Currently ONLY offering telehealth options for clients! Are you a child or adult who is living with anxiety or depression? Do you have learning difficulties in school? Are you an adult seeking to find common ground in your relationships. There is hope, there are solutions, you can make it through this, and I'm here to help. I currently offer a wide range of support for children, adults, or families who have concerns about their emotional, behavioral, or adjustment problems.

Are you struggling with depression, anxiety, ADHD, or a life transition? I encourage self-awareness and empowerment to build and strengthen relationships, communication skills, heart/mind balance, setting and keeping boundaries. It is my goal to help people grow emotionally, intellectually, creatively, and spiritually, in order to develop greater control over their lives, which will enable them to obtain meaning and purpose, a positive mental attitude, and satisfaction in their relationships. I will work with you to help you understand the way the different parts of your mind work and to improve your interactions in relationships.

Struggling from time to time with life's stresses is something we all have in common. I'm easy to talk to, practical, down to earth, and really good at what I do. I people just like you discover meaningful and lasting solutions to emotional, behavioral, and relational struggles. I'm here when you need someone to turn to for individual, family, or couples counseling. My areas of expertise include Emotional Struggles, Anxiety & Depression, Couples & Family, Improving Relationships and Communication, Life Transitions, Family of origin issues, Crisis/Trauma, Addictions, Co-dependency, Decision Making, and more.

Amanda strives to help clients build awareness about themselves and their coping styles. She hopes that clients can see themselves through a positive and healthy lens, as individuals who are capable of achieving much despite the challenges that they face. She wants to coach clients in learning how to be balanced in their doing and being, such as maintaining work-life balance and making time for adequate self-care as well.

I respect your desire to want to be honest with yourself. I consider trust and warmth to be foundational principles in how I practice, yet I know trust can sometimes be a journey. A certain level of disillusionment occurs when your external world doesn't match your internal one. Restless and intrusive thoughts may be hindering your everyday joys or harsh flashbacks affecting your presence and sense of safety. A certain level of growth is wanted, but the pathway how to get there may seem unclear. This is where I can help. Building upon your already-existing skills and resilience, I work with you towards healing and purpose.

*Offering Reduced Fee Counseling!* Is your marriage struggling to thrive? Are you worried about changes you've seen in your teenager? Have you experienced trauma that has left you unable to manage day to day life? Our therapists are here to provide a safe place for you to come ask questions, receive a listening ear, and walk with you through life's challenges.

When choosing a therapist it is important to consider many different perspectives. First and most importantly, is this someone that you will be comfortable working with? Education and experience are other considerations? However, when it comes right down to it, it's about connecting. All the great tools that a therapist may have will be useless if you do not connect with them. I have heard from many of my clients about negative experiences in the past with therapists and how they feel like nothing really happened.

Life is complicated and difficult. I believe that sooner or later we all are confronted with some aspect of living that is just too overwhelming to handle alone. Someone we love dies, or gets sick, money gets tight, relationships are strained, children have problems, and any number of symptoms start to emerge. At these times, we may be prone to despair and long for a deeper sense of satisfaction and desire more meaning for our lives. It is my hope that you will be courageous and ask for help now.

It's not easy to talk to a stranger about the things that make us feel most vulnerable. It's difficult to hope that things could be better or to believe that we could be loved or accepted once we are fully known. I work with my clients in an atmosphere of respect, believing the best things for you that you cannot see right now, working together towards the goals that you courageously speak out loud. After 15 years in practice, I have seen so many people find freedom from the fears and symptoms that hold them back and it brings me great joy and honor to walk beside them as they heal.

*Accepting new clients in ILLINOIS & OHIO!* It's a new year and you are ready for change. You want to leave 2020 behind and make 2021 the year you find yourself and feel fulfilled. I specialize in working with couples & young women--teens, young adults & moms. You deserve to make space for yourself and receive helpful feedback on how to best reach your goals. You're tired of giving so much to everyone else and never finding time for yourself. Enough is enough. It's time to change.

Are you experiencing difficulty in your relationships, engaging in self-sabotoging behavior, feeling paralyzed in your life? You can create change. You don't have to remain anxious, depressed, confused or paralyzed in relationships or in life. Together we can create a safe space for you to feel both understood and empowered. We will work as a partnership exploring the hurdles that prevent growth, and the patterns of behavior that are no longer helpful but difficult to let go of. Together we will lay the foundation for lasting change.

I can help if you are currently having problems adjusting to a crisis event such as a divorce, loss of a loved one, or a significant life change. Other areas of specialty include, working with children with adjustment and anxiety disorders, and working with blended families. Therapeutic interventions are delivered in a motivational non-judgmental style using cognitive behavioral and other behavioral techniques. My patients are encouraged to learn healthy coping skills that can easily be replicated and become a part of their daily life. I use a prob;em solving approach because I believe in results. I am licensed in 4 States.