Family Therapy in Chicago, IL

My goal as a therapist is to put you back in touch with your own unique voice and sense of self that allows you to thrive. I use a psychodynamic, existential approach to find solutions to the unique challenges your life contains. Through building on open and honest relationship, we will explore effective coping tools and new ways to look at persistent issues that effect you.

Your voice is stronger and louder than you believe, and I believe that every being has an untold story waiting to be heard, understood, and held with honor. We are often given the systemic message that our voices do not matter, that our stories will be outlived, or that our mental health (a.k.a. our feels) are not as important as our physical health. That is not your truth, or mine. Therapy can help you find your voice (or whatever medium works for you) so that you may continue to grow stronger, louder, and be more unapologetically YOU.

Seeking help for life's challenges is a courageous step. I am committed to helping people live happier and more fulfilling lives. Together we will set individualized goals to meet your needs and find solutions to your problems. I am integrative in my approach to therapy and work with clients to better understand how certain thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and interpersonal issues contribute to distress. My style is interactive, collaborative, warm, and relational. I provide clients with a supportive yet challenging environment to attain a better understanding of self and of one's goals and values.

Stepmoms or women dating someone with kids: I see you trying so hard and still you feel like this stepmom gig is not at all what you thought it would be and nothing is ever just EASY in your blended family. When you don’t agree with your partner’s parenting style, when your stepkids don’t say hello to you, or when bio mom isn’t cooperating, it’s enough to make you wonder, “Am I doing this right?!” Stepmom counseling is a service that helps you kick doubt to the curb. Consider booking a therapy session today. You'll get all the personalized support and tools you need so you can be a confident, connected, and HAPPY stepmom.

Have you noticed that there are many people in your family who keep secrets or struggle with expressing emotions? Have you noticed that you have similar traits or even health issues similar to older family members? This is intergenerational trauma. The way emotions are handled, health struggles and even stress can be passed down to younger generations. The Self Inside is the space for black women to heal from intergenerational trauma so they can not only change their life but the lives of future generations.

This is difficult; I get it. Searching for a therapist, placing the initial call, scheduling then attending the first session can truly be overwhelming. I commend you for deciding to make a positive change in your life or the life of a loved one. My goal as a therapist is to help individuals and couples clarify the type of lives they want to live, recognize strengths, identify obstacles, discover realistic solutions, and devise a plan to reach established goals. Our collaborative relationship will increase self-awareness to foster growth and healing.

My practice includes individual, couple, and family therapy. I believe therapy offers a unique opportunity for personal growth so that one can be better equipped to lead a more satisfying and productive life. Within the context of a warm yet challenging space, I help individuals develop a deeper understanding of their conflicts and difficulties, change self-defeating behaviors, and develop healthy coping skills. My clients and I work together to sort through their experiences both past and present to gain insight into their experiences and relational patterns. I believe that the therapeutic relationship can be transformative.

I believe that every problem or life challenge offers an opportunity for growth and development. With the support of a positive and safe therapeutic relationship, you can find strength to address and overcome difficulties within your immediate family, in the workplace/school, with a present/past partner, and begin to feel a deeper sense of fulfillment, find or maintain more satisfying relationships, or begin to heal from a loss or crisis. With over 20 years experience as a psychotherapist, I have successfully helped adults, adolescents, and children develop more productive coping strategies, better communication skills, and a sense of resilience.

With warmth, compassion, and extensive experience, I've dedicated 20 years to supporting adults, children, adolescents, and families from diverse backgrounds facing anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, and eating disorders. I specialize in guiding individuals and couples through significant life transitions, including the journey into young adulthood, forming partnerships, and managing prenatal/postpartum mental health. Additionally, I offer valuable assistance to those struggling with infertility, providing guidance along paths such as IVF, donor egg/sperm, and surrogacy.

Therapy is a very intimate experience. I strive for a personal connection with my clients from the get-go. Through that relationship, I am better able to understand the motivations, hidden struggles and impulses that drive my clients, and in turn, help them to utilize their own strengths and learned techniques to successfully address the difficult issues for which they sought therapy. I have assisted clients who are going through or preparing for a life transition, experiencing depression, anxiety or mood disorders, and recovering from trauma or loss.

I am glad that you are making the first step in reaching out for help and support. It often takes courage to come in for the first session. My goal is to create a safe place where people can find help and support for those issues that are creating pain and distress in their lives. My hope is help free people up from whatever those things are. I have over 34 years of helping people dealing with trauma, relational issues, family of origin issues, depression, anxiety, cultural adjustment and re-entry issues. transitions, and healing from abusive relationships.

From early on and throughout our lives the relationships we form with family, friends and those around us can have a deep impact on how we see the world, the values we choose to hold dear, and how we see ourselves. Unfortunately, when these relationships are negative they can have a lasting impact on these same aspects of living. This may lead to continued struggles in day-to-day living. These same relationships and their impacts can be subtle and hard to describe. Fortunately, therapy can act as a way to identify these patterns in our past and current relationships and explore the impact they have had on our current struggles.

Are you feeling depressed, anxious or having family issues? You are not alone. Let me help you get back to being you again. I am a Northwestern University trained clinician with over 22 years of experience using proven methodologies to help people begin to live healthier, more satisfying lives. I am the lead counselor and supervisor of my group practice, Simply Counseling, LLC. I also help couples communicate more effectively. Please reach out with any questions and I’m happy to help.

Relationships can be the source of our greatest joy and our greatest pain. I work with women of all ages who are traversing changes and challenges in current life stage and especially in the context of relationships--friendships, partnerships, family, motherhood, romantic, and more. Do you need relief from worry, anxiety, depression and want to explore the relational content associated with overwhelming feelings? Are you looking to practice communication strategies including boundary setting and expressing needs? Do you hope to improve your relationship with your Self? Are you experiencing burnout at work/home/life?

It is an honor and a privilege to work alongside someone who is navigating life’s challenges. It takes courage to ask for support and seek therapy. Clients have shared my warm, grounded, and authentic approach help make the process more comfortable. I find we make the most progress in therapy with a non-judgmental, supportive relationship that can make the process feel safe. Within therapy, we will work together to help you reduce distress, understand barriers and patterns that are keeping you “stuck,” and discover ways of moving forward and living life more genuinely.

I offer a warm, empathic, and collaborative therapy space that reflects my passion for helping clients build fuller and more authentic lives. I have worked with individuals across the lifespan with various concerns including depression, anxiety, stress, relationships, identity, education/career, and family-of-origin. I also have specialized training in working with college students, immigrants, and trauma survivors. Regardless of what brings you to therapy, my culture-centered approach allows me to attend to the intersections of your cultural identities and how it impacts your experience of the world.

Everyone experiences challenges in life. However, we may not always know how to handle the challenges that occur. We believe in a person's innate ability to overcome and change using her or his strengths. The experienced clinicians at The Meyer Group don't have an ideal client. We have a reputation for providing effective treatment to people who have difficult problems. We specialize in multiple and complicated problems and issues, ranging from mood disorders and anxiety disorders to marital and family problems.

While life's challenges and transitions are often times when we feel greater anxiety and stress, I believe they are also opportunities for self-understanding and growth. Whether you are dealing with stress in relationships or at work, feeling worn out or depressed, or struggling to cope with a loss, you don't have to work through it alone. I strive to provide a safe, supportive and reflective environment where clients can feel comfortable to explore their concerns, feelings, and relationship patterns and build upon their strengths to develop different ways of understanding, coping, and relating to themselves and others.

My name is Marisol Cruz, and I am bilingual in English and Spanish. I have 24 years of experience working with school-age children from kindergarten through 12th grade. I also have worked with students with various diagnoses. My main objective in working with students is to help them by supporting and guiding them so that they can carry on a daily routine in school and within any environment. A partnership is created whereby the children and adolescents are actively involved in helping to create personal growth and development in their lives.