Therapists in South Loop, Chicago, IL

In my work, I am passionate about helping clients navigate challenges and strengthen their relationships. I believe in the power of open communication, empathy, and understanding in fostering healthy dynamics. I work with clients to identify and address conflicts, improve communication patterns, and build resilience in the face of adversity. I am committed to helping clients cultivate a sense of unity, support, and connection, and guiding them towards a more harmonious and fulfilling life together.

Pursing emotional and behavioral health isn't just meant to improve our lives, it's meant to change how we function in the world. The changes we make can spark change in our relationships, jobs, families and community. If only change was easy! Change often comes during times of pressure and struggle. Therapy is a tool to help you address these barriers head on and unearth skills and strengths need to help you meet your goals and thrive.

My therapy approach is rooted in a developmental perspective that emphasizes the significance of human connection and belonging as well as the ways our past experiences influence our present day life. While our upbringing and environment may shape us into who we are today, our brains are "plastic" and capable of changing and adapting throughout our lives – a concept known as neuroplasticity. Just like how plastic can be molded into different shapes, our brains can reorganize themselves, form new connections, and even generate new neurons and pathways in response to novel experiences.

As a licensed professional counselor, I would like to assist you in a nonjudgmental, compassionate and safe environment for you to process daily struggles that are causing you to feel stressed, overwhelmed, anxious or depressed. I look forward to the opportunity to work alongside you and empower you to make the changes that you desire.

I believe everyone deserves to enjoy a meaningful, fulfilling life, but I know from experience how challenging that can be at times. Let me help you develop coping skills for various issues such as relationship challenges, depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, pre and postpartum issues, career-related issues, teen issues, and attachment and family issues.

Phoenix Rising Counseling and Guidance, LLC is a holistic practice built on the premise of helping individuals like you to recognize your strengths and potential and rise up from the ashes that have negatively impacted your life. We strive to combine the treatment of mental health with mindfulness and spirituality. We believe that everyone has the tools and the innate ability to change their external world by working through the blockages, thought perceptions and cloud of their internal world.

My clinical background includes working with young adults, adults, and adolescents, with a variety of presenting concerns. My main interest is helping clients recover from various types of trauma, overcoming anxiety and depressive symptoms, and eating disorders (mostly anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating). I’m passionate about processing family conflict, mood challenges, self-esteem issues, body-image issues, relationship challenges, women’s issues, interpersonal conflicts, adjustment transitions and conflicts, and emotions.

I believe the therapeutic relationship is a crucial and transformative vehicle and I work hard to build a trusting relationship where you feel deeply seen, heard and valued. I believe each person knows themselves best and I will honor your individuality and work collaboratively with you to help you attain your goals for healing, change, and growth. My areas of focus include managing anxiety and stress, relational issues, general life transitions, family of origin and attachment issues, parenting issues, PTSD and complex trauma, identity development and identifying and unpacking biases. I am LQBTQIA+ affirming.

Hi! I’m Izabella Bebenek (she/her). As a therapist, I specialize in exploring complexities within families, romantic relationships, friendships, or work relationships. I deeply believe the quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives. During my time in this field, I have witnessed that every human being strives for social interaction, whether with a friend, partner, or family. I also noticed that dysfunctional patterns in any of these relationships might cause enormous pain in clients. I believe working with relationship conflicts might help clients change their life qualities.

My life purpose is to break generational curses and make mental health a household conversation. Being a woman of color, mental health has not always been an assessable conversation. In the black community, we are always told to be strong, get over things quickly, and keep looking forward. Unfortunately, that meant we spent years overlooking normal human emotions that caused us to develop bad and unhealthy habits and relationships as an adult. Now, being a mental health professional and therapist, I am destined to make a difference, make mental health an enjoyable conversation, and continue to help bridge the gap.

Majority people turn to therapy when they are feeling alone in life and can’t seem to find a way forward. You might have trouble identifying your true needs and wishes in the first place. In therapy, you will find a supportive environment in which you can explore challenges and find your own path to a life of greater fulfillment and wellbeing. This often leads us into the deepest layers of who we are and what we want. It will be my honor to accompany you on this journey, as we work to understand your past and present, and to realize your future dreams.

I believe a person’s identity, values and beliefs guide their path of healing. Therapy can be a way of liberating ourselves from limiting ideas, societal messages, oppression and isolation. I see you as the expert in your experience and collaborate with you to develop a space to learn and grow. My therapeutic approach is both systemic and person-centered with a focus on inherent strengths and resilience. I pull from relational, attachment, family systems, racial trauma and polyvagal theories while using such modalities as ACT, DBT, CBT, TCI-F and Motivational Interviewing. I also draws, when appropriate, from my own experience.

I am a licensed clinical social worker in Illinois with over 15 years of experience working with individuals, children and families. In my practice, I have successfully helped clients improve their family and interpersonal relationships, cope with grief and loss, find ways to address difficult situations, navigate life transitions and survive unexpected life events. I am committed to helping you work through the difficulties and celebrate the joyful moments in life. It takes courage to change, and I'm here to help free you from the problems you have been encountering.

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.

As we grow and develop as humans, we often find ourselves confronted by issues from the past – issues we may have thought long-resolved. These issues can manifest in our relationship dynamics, our perceptions about ourselves, and our means of coping with our environment. My role is to join you in confronting these things so that you can integrate and learn the lessons these past experiences are meant to teach you. In our work together, you are the expert. You decide what your experiences mean and how they impact the person you are.

As a generalist clinician, I appreciate that people seek therapy for a variety of different reasons. I take a collaborative and relational approach to therapy and do my best to provide a supportive space for clients to feel heard, express themselves, and actively work toward change.

A positive, trusting relationship is the foundation of effective therapy. My goal is to help you discover your strengths, cope with stress, improve relationships, heal past trauma, and attain a happier, more fulfilled life. As a licensed clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience, I am dedicated to offering compassionate, solution-focused therapy, and helping you make positive, lasting life changes. I have helped individuals and families to resolve a range of problems including depression, anxiety, relationship problems, parenting and other family issues, grief and loss, substance abuse, and the effects of sexual abuse and other traumas.

It seems you are ready to take the next step if you have made it this far in your search. I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor here to help you and/or your loved ones process your issues, make a change, or simply help you decide what you need. I provide counseling to people of all ages and backgrounds. I have experience in a variety of settings from private practice to emergency room services, so I am here to help with whatever needs you may have. I strongly believe that we all have different starting points and my job is to meet you wherever that is and start your journey there.

What's your definition of birthright? As we grow, family, culture, and society can assign meaning that does not serve our best interest but theirs. Devastatingly, we're often taught to point the finger back at ourselves when things go wrong. But I believe we heal and thrive when we nurture healthy intrinsic (fundamental to who we are) connection to ourselves and others. This work creates a safety net allowing us to build self-esteem and adapt without losing our personal power. Pursuing the arts with a former career as a performer, choreographer, and artistic director, I strongly relate to "fitting-in while trying to stand-out".