CURRENTLY NOT ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS. My goals: to help you get un-stuck, face your difficulties, and restore your connection to yourself and others. I am focused on walking alongside you as we get to the root of issues, while providing you with new tools along the way. I work with individuals around trauma/PTSD (past abuse, dangerous childhoods, sexual assault, witnessing violence), grief/loss, divorce, spiritual instability and identity issues. I also help couples with pre-engagement/pre-marital counseling, healing from emotional and/or sexual affairs, conflict/communication issues, and relationship enrichment. LGBTQ affirmative.

Mike graduated from Adler University with a master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. He is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Illinois. Mike has worked with individuals, families, intimate partners, adolescents, and children on many issues including, but not limited to, anxiety, depression, communication, conflict resolution, emotional regulation, Autism spectrum disorder, trauma, and life transitions. Mike bases his approach to therapy on the idea that the secret to change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.

Life can be difficult and all of us struggle at times. We deal with hardship, loss, pain, break ups, hurt, relationship turmoil, work/life balance, transitions, crisis, sadness, worry and difficulty managing intense feelings. We are also resillient. We all have the inherent ability to change and thrive. Each day offers an opportunity to learn from the past and fully immerse ourselves in the present. We offer the space and tools to learn and grow through collaborative, compassionate therapeutic relationships.

Do you feel out of touch with your needs and feelings, or unable to communicate them effectively? Do you feel stuck in self-defeating patterns; aware of the problem but unable to change? Does your tendency to put others first leave you feeling stressed, unappreciated, resentful, or alone? Has your avoidance of vulnerability kept you from feeling connected, supported, and understood?

People come to me when they feel misunderstood, lonely, and disconnected in their relationship with themselves and their relationships with others. You want relationships full of effective communication, intimacy, trust, and maybe a little bit of magic. I help individuals and partners feel more intimate and connected with themselves and others. From a multicultural perspective, I work collaboratively with clients to help them feel empowered to take control of negative thinking, decrease depression and anxiety, and believe in their own loveability.

We all need a little help from time to time. Especially now, when life throws us a curveball and we need help processing things like loss, anxiety, life transitions, heartache, and depression. Going it alone is possible, but whew, it’s not easy. I'm a mental health professional and have “just sucked it up” several times in my life. When I slogged it out on my own there were bouts of prolonged frustration, sadness, loss, and confusion. When I did finally “get it together already” and saw a therapist, I felt clearer, more like myself and had a sense of hope that it would get better and it usually did.

Finding a therapist is often difficult and can feel overwhelming. Therefore, we strive to match you with a clinician who is the right fit for you in terms of style, expertise, and availability. Our team of caring and experienced clinicians provide individual, family, couples, and group psychotherapy. We specialize in areas such as trauma, relationship distress, anxiety, depression, coping with change/transitions, life-stress, and grief/mourning.

I help people who are feeling anxious or depressed, or who find it difficult to relax, focus, follow through or relate to others. We work together to relieve symptoms, strengthen coping skills, and identify and mitigate the root causes of suffering. My goal is to provide a safe, accepting place for people to explore feelings and beliefs, particularly those that are limiting and stressful. For many, the ultimate benefit of this work is greater emotional and cognitive freedom. I also work with couples to bring their relationship back to health, or to gain clarity and acceptance about a decision to end a relationship.

I am ready to partner with you as we commit to your growth as a person and professional. It takes great courage to sit with another person and share what you have kept dormant. Often times this includes a secret carefully stowed, aspirations and dreams waiting to ignite, and your deepest desires for connection, belonging, and purpose. I work hard at earning your trust, devote the time and resources to grow as a clinician, have a team of mentors and consultants, and built the foundation of my skills in the most challenging/rewarding training environments. My success is only possible when current/previous clients are soaring!

My primary goal is to make you feel heard, seen, and understood. I help my clients tap into the resources and resiliency they already have to figure out how they can support themselves and ask for support from others. I work in a collaborative way with you to determine how you want to dig in with therapy and what works for you. You will learn to harness your existing strengths towards achieving your goals and lasting change. I help my clients give themselves permission to explore their identities and anxieties in a safe, affirming environment. I'm here to support you as you get curious about your past, present, and future.

At different points in our lives, the distance between “just being alive” and “thriving” can seem far too great. Oppressive factors, symptoms of trauma, depression and anxiety can hold you back. Know that healing is possible. My role is to be your active collaborator on your journey to inhabit your own life and embrace your unique aliveness. I offer a variety of therapeutic methods that help you connect with yourself, your relationships, and your own internal resilience.

Are you feeling anxious, sad, irritable, and stuck? Are you having difficulty in your relationships and daily life? Are you looking for a new career? As a therapist for individuals, I will work with you to better understand your thoughts and behaviors so you can express yourself more effectively. We can then collaborate on identifying your strengths and using them to find solutions to empower you. In couple's therapy work, we will use in-session exercises to help you recognize and change attitudes and behaviors that damage your relationship. I use a positive-psychology approach to help you find the innate resiliencies in your life.

You want to feel grounded and secure in your relationships. You want to feel comfortable as yourself. You deserve this and so much more. With a background in marriage and family therapy, I see people in the context of their relationships. Every day, our lives are impacted by those around us and that may not always be an easy thing. I hope to help queer-identified individuals and partners find strength, intimacy, support and passion in their relationships.

You want to feel calm, confident, and powerful in your own, unique skin in a world that doesn't always celebrate your various, intersecting identities. You want to do more than just survive and you need ideas and tools to help you get there. You want to feel free and happy without feeling like you have to hide parts of yourself. You want to feel like you have space to breathe. As a Gender and Certified Sex Therapist, I work with folks like you feeling anxious and lost about a transition you're experiencing in sex, gender, sexual identity, or relationships.

Briarwood Counseling seeks to help people who are struggling to figure out how to feel better in their lives. I work with individuals, couples and families struggling with depression, anxiety, life and relationship transitions into and out of parenthood, grief, loss, and rebuilding after abuse and trauma experiences. I also help clients that aren't quite sure what is wrong but want to figure out what is wrong. Sometimes people just feel "stuck" and want their lives to look different or want to move into a more positive space. I help sift through the trouble and find solutions and move forward.

My focus as a therapist is to create a comfortable and safe space for clients to work towards their goals. It may also be part of the therapy process to explore what those goals are. The decision to begin or re-engage in therapy can feel overwhelming. It is important to me build a strong alliance with my clients so that they feel supported and strengthened to address aspects of their life that cause distress or discomfort.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker passionate about seeing others thrive. I feel honored to be a therapist and do my best to emphatically understand my clients’ thoughts, feelings, and behavior. I believe that the verbal sharing of experiences in a therapeutic relationship allows my clients to gain insight, develop awareness and foster growth. I feel that the therapeutic relationship is the driver for change in therapy.

Are you experiencing difficulties in your relationships? Perhaps you are feeling depressed, lonely, anxious, or you are merely seeking a space to speak freely without fear of judgment. My goal is to meet you exactly where you are and create a supportive, authentic, and warm space that emphasizes your strengths on your journey towards healing.

My field of expertise is working with individuals experiencing anxiety, depression or relationship challenges and working with couples. I enjoy working with young adults in transition who are feeling uncertain about employment, relationships or future- a quarter-life crisis. My other areas of interest include working with individuals who have experienced trauma and coping with the difficult emotions those experiences bring. When working with couples, I work with developing positive communication and relational skills to increase closeness, effectively adjust to life's challenges, and manage stress, anxiety and depression. I also enjoy working with adolescents and families to increase closeness and improve communication skills.