Therapists in River North, Chicago, IL

Do you feel stuck and anxious? Do you want to bring love and trust back into your relationship? Are you facing a difficult transition such as a break-up, parenthood, or a career challenge? I can help! Together we can develop insights, strategies, and tools to navigate the obstacles you face. My clinical specialties include couple conflict and communication issues, transitions within relationships, difficulties with family of origin, parenting, depression and anxiety, and personal growth and fulfillment. I am especially interested in helping adult children and their parents navigate conflict.

Chelsea Parkinson is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) with over 10 years of experience in the mental health field. She specializes in working with adults experiencing a range of mental health difficulties including depression, anxiety, mood disorders, impulse control problems, severe mental illness, and adjustment concerns. Chelsea graduated with her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Aurora University. She completed her Master's degree in Adult/General Counseling from Marquette University.

Do you feel overwhelmed, weighed down and stuck in place at times, like you know what you should do, but don’t have the motivation to make it happen? This is the effect ADHD, depression, anxiety and trauma can have on people, and you’re not alone. As your therapist, my goal is to make you feel heard and understood. Together, we will address your concerns by understanding how your thoughts, emotions, and physical health effect one another. We will seek to understand the underlying source of your symptoms and discover coping mechanisms that work for you through exploring your strengths, interests and support systems.

I believe that therapy should provide the space and support needed to cultivate a life one can find both meaning and happiness in. It is my aim to foster a warm and down to earth environment in which clients can explore, challenge, heal, and nurture their authentic selves.

I support adults facing anxiety, depression, disturbing memories, grief, break-ups, work-related stress, ADHD, and trauma. I focus on helping all adults, specifically marginalized individuals, to navigate through their life story to identify thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that no longer serve them. I assist clients who want to change these negative beliefs into beliefs that are more valid and useful. Examples include: “I should have done something” to “I did the best I could” or “I am not enough” to “I am okay as I am” or “I am not in control” to “I now have choices” or “I cannot trust anyone” to “I can choose whom to trust".

As the Founder & CEO of the Chicago Black Therapist Directory, I have become a catalyst and advocate for Black mental health in Chicago's community. My life purpose is to be the bridge for generational healing of marginalized communities, so I seek to decolonize mental health by providing you with a safe, accessible and validating therapy experience. I am a registered yoga teacher and certified in trauma sensitive yoga, and understand the healing and holistic benefits of physical and mental health. I am client centered, collaborative, and trauma informed; and LGBTQIA+, sex worker, kink, and poly affirming.

I practice from a strength-based, insight-oriented, and collaborative approach individualized to meet the unique needs of each client. I offer an empathetic, supportive, and accepting environment for my clients to feel heard and understood while also challenged and inspired to take on new perspectives, ways of thinking, and daily practices. Therapy is a process that can provide tools to relieve immediate stress, but also an opportunity to explore the underlying meanings, behavioral patterns, and relationship dynamics in order to lead a life of authenticity and genuine fulfillment. My clients also strive to positively impact society.

Think you are a lesser person for seeking treatment? Don’t like the “stigma” associated with therapy? Embarrassed? Don’t be! Everyone can benefit from therapy at some point in their lives. Better Your Life!

I help clients with their journey to become one's ideal self. I am an experienced Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing psychotherapy. My expertise is treating adults who struggle with anxiety/depression and are seeking to find a more meaningful life. I also enjoy working with new moms (as I too am a newer mom to a little one), college students, new graduates, and career changers faced with anxiety due to their life transition(s) which can bring on stress, depression, and/or anxiety with the many questions centering around, “What am I going to do next in my life?" "How do I navigate my new identity as a mother?"

My work is psychoanalytic, which means I attend to feelings/beliefs that emerge from one's lived experience/history and that interfere with living fully, creatively, and freely in the present. I believe that psychotherapy, at its best, is a deeply transforming experience that emerges within an intimate and private space in which you are listened to, understood, and responded to with intelligence and compassion.

As a licensed clinical psychologist, I have extensive experience working with children, adolescents and adults with various psychological issues. My focus is on anxiety-related disorders including OCD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety, PTSD, School Avoidance, Separation Anxiety Disorder, Phobia and Panic Disorder. My approach to psychotherapy is interpersonal and collaborative. I use research supported cognitive-behavioral interventions and strategies.

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor with over a decade of experience in the mental health and addiction fields. I have provided individual and family counseling and worked in a variety of residential outpatient settings, which has given me valuable insight into meeting each unique person where they are at on their journey. Experiences include working with adolescents, adults, and families facing a range of needs, including trauma, suicidality, mood disorders, and addiction. I also enjoy working with those in the LGBTQ+ community.

I have 35 years of experience as a clinician, supervisor, consultant, former chaplain, and I am a Distinguished Full Professor at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. I have worked across the life span with individuals, couples, groups, families and organizations and have taught in 11 countries. My focus is on providing a space for unfolding what matters to you without judgment or without telling you how to live your life. I companion with you as we follow together what is of concern in specific situations. I am known as a therapist for those who distrust therapy or who feel deeply misunderstood, or uncelebrated.

I am a specialist with 20 years of experience working in the US and in Europe and I am fully bilingual Spanish-English. I work with adults, young adults and adolescents facing challenges such as eating disorders, body image, anxiety, depression, and life transitions. I believe in helping my clients to discover the meaning behind their struggles and the role they serve in their lives. I invite them to focus on the strengths that enable them to thrive, and also to explore their weaknesses with compassion so they can draw strength from them as well.

Accepting new clients! Starting therapy can be overwhelming and is often the first time you are talking to someone you don't know about private experiences and feelings. My priority is providing clients a safe, nonjudgmental space to be their most authentic selves. I strive to create this by helping explore difficult emotions, process negative thought patterns, identify and build on strengths, and stay most centered and balanced during life transitions and adjustments.

It is crucial to the human experience to feel validated for who we are—not for who we are trying to be or who we believe society expects us to be. When we are given the tools we need to embrace our true and authentic selves without shame or fear, we can live more openly, honestly and freely. As a therapist, I strive to provide a warm, empathetic, understanding and fun atmosphere that allows clients to feel safe and fully accepted. Through an honest, direct, and nurturing approach, effective coping strategies can be discovered, core values explored, and goals attained.

Welcome! My practice is based on the belief that life brings us many challenges and at times we can get stuck. Feeling stuck can cause us to feel uncomfortable symptoms - anxiety, depression, anger, etc. I believe that therapy is a process where you can gain tools to address those challenges, determine what needs to be changed, work towards making those changes while navigating all the thoughts, feelings and emotions that may come up in the process. I strive to provide a compassionate and non-judgmental environment where clients can work towards living a value-driven, meaningful life.

IS THE LIFE YOU ARE LIVING NOW THE LIFE THAT WANTS TO LIVE IN YOU? If not, I can help! Create the reality you want. Dare to dream. Find your passion. Change directions. Discover your untapped potential. Celebrate relationships. Enrich your spirit. Live your best life by being your BEST self! With a collaborative counseling/coaching style, I offer guidance, support, education and strategies to empower you to achieve your goals and live a healthy, balanced life. Working together will provide you with opportunities to grow and learn to: Accept Accountability for your Choices, Actions & Reactions

Creating and living a life you are proud of is certainly easier said than done. I'm here to help assist you through the ups and downs of the human experience. I believe all people have the potential and ability to create happiness for themselves, but I recognize that, at times, a modest amount of guidance is necessary. Therapy can be an invaluable experience for all individuals, and whether you are struggling with family stress, identity issues, addiction, or depression, I am here for you.