Therapists in Antioch, IL

Therapy is a brave step towards improving overall wellness. Individuals, couples, and families that are interested in working to increase their well being should read on. If your life has become overwhelming, your relationships difficult to manage, or if you are experiencing less satisfaction at work or home, then therapy may be a positive step to alleviate your current difficulties. Those who want to reduce the pain and frustration associated with depression, anxiety, adjustment to change, self doubt, and anger are appropriate candidates for psychotherapy. Therapy has the potential to improve your quality of life personally and within important relationships.

North Star Counseling Group was founded on the idea that all people will find themselves in need of guidance and support at some point in their life. Various concerns can lead a person to counseling services. Stephanie Ardagh, LCSW works with children ages 3-18. She is experienced in addressing issues of: self esteem, self injury, body image, school refusal, adjustment to divorce and loss, social skills, and significant behavior disorders. Stephanie sees parents as a valuable resource and ally when working with children. She works well with other providers, such as school personnel, to get to know her clients and their unique needs.

I want to assist you in uncovering your true potential that allows you to lead a life that is worth celebrating. We cannot change difficult situations in the past, but we can work together to better understand and resolve these obstacles. We can work together to help you change relationships, behavior patterns, or negative outlook that may hold you back from experiencing a fulfilling and meaningful life. If you are looking for support and guidance or you are ready to make changes in your life, I can help you work toward achieving your goals.

I aim to empower you or your child to gain a deeper understanding of yourself, develop a stronger sense of self-esteem, and build skills that will allow you to have healthy and successful relationships. I enjoy partnering with clients to help you address concerns that may be generating uncomfortable feelings or preventing you from achieving your goals. I have experience working in elementary and middle schools supporting students with emotional regulation and social skills development. I have experience with a wide range of presenting concerns, including ADHD, anxiety, depression, trauma, self-esteem, and family conflicts.

Has the pandemic caused you to be aware that you have anxiety, worry or feelings of sadness or loneliness? Have you noticed that sometimes the closest people in your life have the hardest time understanding you? Thankfully, getting help from a professional no longer has the same stigma it once had. If we have feelings of worry, irritability or feel isolated, there is no longer shame in getting help from a Therapist. Whether you are experiencing grief and loss, a battle with a chronic illness, or life adjustments, we can embrace your journey together!

Licensed Clinical Psychologist providing over 20 years of experience in treating adolescents and adults. I believe that the therapeutic relationship is a unique one that provides perspective and insight. The collaboration is important and is necessary for growth, development and change.

I believe that we all have unique strengths and perspectives that are valuable and can serve as a foundation of growth and development. In therapy I help you to recognize and accept your strengths and see the positives in the areas you may see negatively. I take a strengths-based, integrative approach in therapy. I have worked with a wide range of ages, including children, teens, and adults on issues including depression, anxiety, self-esteem issues, grief, loss, anger, and trauma. I specialize in working with neurodivergent clients, including those with ADHD, Down syndrome, cognitive disabilities, and autism.

My primary goal is to help clients find the hope and courage to change and heal. I believe that all life circumstances, relationships, and experiences can lead to change and greater self-acceptance. Ultimately therapy helps clients cope with loss and use difficult life transitions to promote growth. In working with individuals, couples, families, and children, I have helped them cultivate resources and develop strengths from very challenging diagnoses and life circumstances. I have helped clients suffering from relationship conflicts, health crises, depression, trauma and loss issues, compulsive behaviors, and anxiety disorders.

As a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, I believe each individual deserves a safe place to process life transitions, frustrations, worries, fears, or sadness. As an empathetic and nonjudgmental clinician I know it can be challenging or frightening to enter into counseling and open up. I place emphasis on creating a safe place where children, adolescents, adults, and families can comfortably explore the nature of their issues.

Hello, My name is Jonathan. I was introduced to the positive impact a therapeutic relationship can have while serving in the United States Marine Corps. A safe environment to share the ongoing challenges we faced, provided us the ability to overcome the barriers we encountered. Since then, I have dedicated my education and career towards embracing life challenges and providing clinical support to our community for over 10 years.

You do not have to feel alone with your problems or hold painful feelings inside. I want to assist you in dealing with emotions more effectively, changing relationships, behavior patterns, or negative outlook that may hold you back from experiencing a fulfilling and meaningful life. Allow me to help empower you in making lasting changes in your life by working together as a team to pursue your personal goals.

What makes an impact? Is it your will? Your intentions? Your heritage? Your chemistry? My work is collaborative meaning we will discuss your reasons for seeking care and selecting goals.

Making changes in our lives can feel impossible at times, even when our habits and thinking patterns no longer serve us. In the therapy room, I practice radical acceptance with the ups and downs of growth with humor, patience, and curiosity. Grounded in the DBT tradition, I prioritize nonjudgment and dialectical thinking: we can accept difficult realities and still lead a life worth living.

Find yourself wanting to make sense of your behaviors and/or struggles or your child's? Curious why we act or react in certain ways? We have experiences and we all hold our own perception of those experiences which ultimately leads to behaviors. I work with clients to teach strategies, coping skills, and lead clients on a journey to a deeper understanding of themselves. I work with children, adolescents, and young adults to help them understand their interpretation of the world and how they function in it. Often times the therapeutic work involves parents due to their large influence on the client functioning at particular ages.

Just as we exist within an external system; family, work environments, neighborhoods, school community, we have a personal internal system within each of us. These two systems influence each other throughout every day of our lives. Just as our minds need to understand our external systems like the rules at our office or school, we need to understand the interaction of the parts within ourselves. This may be a difficult concept to wrap your mind around because we live in a world with such external rules. What would it be like if we lived by the knowledge of the internal and external systems ?

An awakening is emerging as you seek professional counseling. By noticing the personal imbalance within you or with someone you care about, you are paying attention to your deeper intuition. Perhaps the incongruities have to do with depression; anxiety; relationship dissonances; family of origin woundedness; separation and grief; parenting challenges; trauma-related experiences; or wonderment about your current being.