Grief Therapists in Lake County, IL

If you have been anxious, depressed, confused, or overwhelmed, I am here to help. I am committed to provide a safe and supportive space for you to explore, heal, and thrive. I will assist you with understanding how your experiences and values inform your decision making, communication with others, and choices of coping skills. I will collaborate with you on finding healthier approaches and more effective coping strategies. I am determined to use my education and experience to help you become more resilient.

Life is full of loss, difficult relationships, unmet expectations, and change. Our responses to these experiences can be overwhelming and confusing, leaving us struggling to manage thoughts and emotions, or unable to align our behaviors with our desired path. Each response is truly unique, and can highlight or expand on other challenges in life, such as anxiety, depression, relational problems, and unhealthy coping strategies. No matter the unique experience, all individuals deserve a safe, confidential place to bring these challenges, and specialized care to help them understand, process, and move through their experience.

Life brings many stressors and we can all benefit from having a confidential place to sort out our concerns. I have been in practice for over 30 years helping clients with issues such as anxiety, depression, grief and loss, relationship issues and stress management. I have worked with individuals, adolescents and couples in a relationally based, psychodynamic format. I was also the director of, and involved with, a psycho-educational parenting program for over 12 years. I enjoy working with individuals, couples and with adolescents as they grow through facing the challenges of life.

Hi! I’m Dr. Marissa, a trauma, grief and loss specialist for children, teens and families. My background includes 20+ years facilitating group and individual bereavement and trauma supportive services, pediatric medical inpatient and outpatient work with children and families, and individual and family therapy in Private Practice.

Counseling is a life calling for me. I work diligently to see hurting people reclaim their lives and be restored to their best selves. It is an honor to partner with my clients to help them rediscover their voice and empower them to choose the life of love, connection and purpose they are seeking. Those who are experiencing loss, trauma, depression, anxiety, relationship conflict, work issues and spiritual struggles can find hope as we work together.

I have over twenty years of experience providing individual, couples, and family therapy. My specialties include depression/mood disorders, anxiety disorders, grief and loss, trauma, self-esteem issues, stress and anger management. I also specialize in working with couples and families for issues related to separation/divorce, communication difficulties, conflict resolution, parenting issues and relationship growth and enrichment.

Healing is an imperfect process, but it is in that imperfection that we find real opportunity for growth, connection, and change. As a therapist, I strive to create these opportunities for clients as I believe we find strength and hope when we are true to ourselves. When we learn to sit with discomfort and difficult emotions, we can gain new perspectives and insights towards making lasting change. I use a relational, authentic approach to create a warm, safe environment for clients. I believe therapy should be collaborative, and I work to provide clients with the space to share their stories.

I work with adults who are struggling with depression and change of life issues (i.e., job loss, divorce, illness), and in particular those who are experiencing grief and loss. I have a great deal of experience working with the aging adult population and the issues that accompany this phase of life. I believe that most issues have an associated spiritual component to them, and if the client wishes to incorporate spirituality into the therapeutic work, I am comfortable doing so. The short term goal of therapy is symptom reduction, while the long-term goal is transformation.

I believe everyone can benefit from counseling because we all have various times in our life when we need someone to listen, support and validate our feelings. Often we can be so close to an issue or concern, and another perspective opens a new window to our world. As a clinician, I work to create a warm, supportive, safe space for my clients to talk, reflect and process their emotions. I understand it takes courage to seek counseling and takes time to build trust.

I am a therapist with over ten years of experience providing assessment, crisis intervention and psychotherapy to individuals in the community. I assist individuals as they find the best solutions to dealing with mental health concerns, life transitions and accomplishment of goals.I believe that all individuals have within them the skills needed to lead an actualized, fulfilling and meaningful life.I will tailor therapy to your individual characteristics and work with you to find interventions that best suit your needs, goals and skill set.

As a Solution-Focused therapist specializing in Health Psychology, our goal is to help you uncover your true potential and lead a life that is worth celebrating. While we can't change difficult situations of the past, we can work together to better understand and resolve challenges in your life. By applying complementary therapy approaches and techniques, we will unearth long-standing behavior patterns or negative perceptions that may be holding you back from experiencing a more fulfilling and meaningful life. If you're looking for extra support and guidance through a challenging situation, let's work together.

Are you living the life you envisioned? Has grief, a difficult relationship, chronic illness, or life transition left you feeling anxious or depressed and unable to move forward with your life? I can help. I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, and National Certified Counselor, who strives to help adults 18 years and older cultivate the self-awareness and coping skills necessary to create the positive changes they seek in their life.

I am a licensed professional counselor who specializes in working with individuals and couples experiencing life transitions, anxiety, depression, chronic illnesses, grief and loss, and issues relating to meaning and purpose. I have experience working with those diagnosed with cancer and their caregivers, from early diagnosis to end-of-life. I work with adults of all ages, with additional training in working with older adults. Whether it be navigating life transitions like launching, job changes and retirement, or finding meaning and purpose, I utilize a caring and understanding approach in helping my clients find a way forward.

Clients motivated to change parts of themselves & their lives which are not working are exciting & challenging to work with. In particular, combat veterans & their families who are readjusting to stateside life are a specialty area of my practice. I am also interested in assisting persons who are seeking to live their lives with greater meaning & intention. I assist men who are seeking greater understanding of themselves and want to change their lives in community with other men through the Victories of the Heart program. Assisting people with grief & loss to find greater meaning & who want to live more abundantly are ideal.

I believe in a strengths- based approach when working with clients. I utilize mindfulness, cognitive behavioral skills, motivational interviewing, and EMDR to help clients achieve their goals. I have an eclectic approach which allows me to tailor my therapy style to the needs of the client.

Whether you are experiencing a heartbreak, a new diagnosis, or trying to understand how you arrived at this place in your life, my job as your therapist is to assist you through these struggles and explore alternative ways to think and cope. I will provide a compassionate place for you to freely express yourself and give you honest feedback. We will tailor your individual treatment to reflect your concerns and goals while we regularly re-evaluate our progress.

I have experience with treating clients with a variety of diagnoses including Depression, Anxiety Disorder, Bi-polar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Sexuality Issues, Transgender issues, Substance Abuse, Psychosis, Behavioral and Parenting Issues. I've worked in the Behavioral Health Unit of a local hospital for the past several years and have practiced in clinics in urban and rural areas. I have seen clients from a variety of educational backgrounds including higher education such as teachers and professors. At this time, I am seeing patients by telehealth only.

I specialize in primary and secondary trauma experienced by law enforcement officers, firefighters/paramedics, educators, veterans, mental health professionals, survivors of suicide, survivors of violent crimes, their families, and those struggling with complicated and traumatic grief. I see clients who need help managing their anger and addictive behaviors. Additionally, I work with survivors of Near Death Experiences (NDE) and psychically gifted children and adults. I offer debriefing services to law enforcement officers after critical incident involvement and mandated psychotherapy for fit-for-duty protocols.

We all work hard to take care of ourselves and build positive relationships, but sometimes obstacles get in our way. For more than 20 years, I have worked with people to identify and remove those obstacles, so that they can lead fuller and more joyful lives. You may be derailed by the loss of a job or relationship; feel depressed and not know why, or struggle as a parent. I work with individuals, couples and families to pinpoint your concerns and work toward change. My emphasis is on building honest, open relationships and on using insight to fuel change.