Therapists in South Loop, Chicago, IL

I utilize an integrative approach to help clients achieve their goals for treatment. I tend to work from a pastoral, psychodynamic, and interpersonal framework and I believe that all healing happens in the context of relationship.

I believe the therapeutic relationship is the crucible within which clients are helped to heal their pain. I take an active role in the therapeutic process by engaging with the client so he or she feels understood, respected, and seen. The feelings of shame, fear, anxiety and other painful emotions are worked through so the client feels taken care of. The clients I treat often come into therapy in a survival mode. I help people in moving from survival to a life of thriving and self love. Dysfunctional behaviors creates people who feel inauthentic, even to themselves. I assist people in developing true authenticity and a real self.

I am well-trained, and an experienced, research-informed, solution-focused, multi-model therapist. I draw upon various truths, selecting what may be most helpful according to the needs of each client. I want clients to feel comfortable and informed. I will use metaphor and analogies as appropriate to bring insight and change. Specialties: therapy with trauma victims, adolescents, children, and families; couples with relationship issues; conditions such as mood disorders, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, complicated grief/loss, PTSD, stress, and life/job transition issues.

In over 35 years as a therapist and in writing my national column for 55,000 therapists about the latest ideas and research in therapy, I'm still convinced that good therapy comes down to this: listening as carefully as I can, trying to understand your world through your eyes, then using my knowledge and both our perspectives to help meet your goals, face your fears, grow and begin a process of learning that continues long after therapy's over. Everyone wants to connect; it begins with the first phone call in therapy and then continues outside my office.

As a psychologist, and a mental health professional providing counseling for over 15 years, I am committed to offering individuals and couples effective and compassionate psychotherapy and consultation services. My approach entails a relationship that is warm, empathic, and supportive with psychotherapy that is informed by the latest scientific findings on what contributes to lasting improvements in mental health and overall well-being. My work is empirically-informed, sensitive, and customized to the unique and diverse needs of my clients.

The experiences of loss and disappointment that people don’t want to think about, remember, or talk about often come back to haunt them in their current lives. It is just those experiences that clients thought they had escaped and left behind in the past that ambush them at the most inopportune time, seemingly out of nowhere. I believe it is when people are able to confront the shame and guilt of their private phantoms, when they can understand and flesh out sufferings that have for too long been borne alone, that they may free themselves finally from the invisible loyalties that compel them to repeat the past. By uncovering and mourning the sources of despair and fatalism that had secretly pervaded their lives, clients can face the future with a greater sense of freedom and renewed hope for a better life.

Do you want to overcome depression or anxiety and feel confident? Are you struggling with relationships? Do you find yourself getting angry quickly? Sometimes life transitions get difficult to manage. I have been helping people with these problems for 20 years and we can work collaboratively and holistically. We will focus on physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of your personality. We will figure out your best qualities and strengths, your personal resources and virtues to realize your true potential that will help you heal.

Do you feel like something is holding you back in life, or in your relationships? Are you looking for someone who will provide you with an encouraging and validating space to help you or your child process feelings of anxiety, depression, changes in mood, or any other difficulties you may be experiencing? Regardless of the reasons that you to seek therapy, I approach my work with sensitivity and care, collaborating with clients to identify and pursue their personal goals. For me, therapy is more than just a profession; it's a heartfelt commitment.

Do you have difficulty navigating stressful situations? Do you ever behave differently when feeling overwhelmed? As a clinical therapist, my goal is to foster a healthy collaboration and support you in making the changes you want to see. My style of therapy uses empathic and active listening to observe behavioral patterns, discuss your values, and implement interventions following a goal-oriented framework. During session, my hope is to build a space of safety and trust that allows us to practice the interventions discussed so that you feel confident practicing them outside of session.

In our contemporary society it is easy to be content and even glad for medications that soothe symptoms, but healing comes from working through our underlying inner conflicts in a textured human relationship in which we can feel what we truly feel and become who we truly are. I believe distressful symptoms, whether depression, anxiety, anger, hurt, a sense of meaninglessness, a sense of emptiness, addictions, or behavior problems are signs. They are signs that it is time to grow our mindfulness of our underlying needs, feelings, and thereby gain choices for living more contently within our communities and families.

Although beginning therapy and delving deeper into the inner workings of your life can initially be fearful, it is a courageous act and an opportunity for growth and a new understanding of who you are. I believe that the foundation of any effective therapeutic work is a genuine therapeutic relationship based on trust, honesty, and empathy. I value creating a non-judgmental environment where you feel seen, accepted, and understood and can safely explore difficult emotions and relational patterns that may have previously felt too overwhelming to embark on alone.

My name is Benjamin J Comerci, but my clients know me as Ben. Throughout my clinical practice I have been privileged to walk alongside both individuals and families as they seek to courageously encounter their vulnerabilities. I am committed to generating a respectful, empathic, and collaborative therapeutic environment in which clients are able to cultivate personal growth and self-awareness.

Are you feeling stuck-in-a-rut? Are you having difficulty living the life you hoped for? Perhaps you have tried therapy/counseling in the past but you have not experienced the type of improvement you desire? My approach to therapy is driven by the belief that the hardest part of making change is implementing a long-lasting plan. I work well with clients who feel stuck and hopeless, and who are looking to make some sort of change in their lives, whether it is related to mood, life phase, addictions/habits, and/or relationships.

"The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are" (Jung). As a bilingual (Spanish/English) and bi-cultural Jungian Psychoanalyst and psychotherapist, I help people to consciously reconnect with their inner life in order to heal themselves. While damage to such connection usually creates a variety of psychological difficulties, reverence to the inner wisdom is a contemplative stance of active listening to the interior music that heals and that connect us with the immensity of our inner life. The inner life has an intelligence that corrects and compensates the psychological imbalances that have created emotional challenges.

I believe that as we evolve and grow, our connections with ourselves, others and the world around us can become deeper and more fulfilling. However, when we are under stress, in a relationship crisis, or feel anxious or depressed, our connections to our loved ones and to ourselves are limited. We may be unable to communicate, feel angry, lack energy and feel overwhelmed. In order to relieve life's pressures, it is important to slow down, and become more self-aware--reconnecting with ourselves once again. Counseling fosters trust, and is a process that promotes growth and change.

There are times when balance feels lost. Challenges come from many angles and catch us off guard, even when we are prepared. We adjust as best as we can but, change can be difficult, whether its small change or traumatic things that happen in our lives. I work with clients to adjust to even the most difficult changes in a collaborative approach. Starting therapy should not have the stigma of weakness. I have many years of helping people with relationship issues and trauma and I provided a safe non judgmental environment to explore and be heard.

Individuals come to me experiencing anxiety or depression, feeling that they have not been able to feel better or make progress on their own. They may be questioning decisions they make in their relationships, careers or family life. Many feel that they need to make a change but are unsure where to start or how to be the most effective. In therapy I can help you in explore and understand the unknown parts of yourself to help reveal and ultimately repair the inner road blocks you may experience.

Do you know what you need to do or think, but still can't do it? Do you understand how to move forward but find yourself stuck nonetheless? Maybe you have medically unexplained health problems, or doctors telling you it's in your head? These are some of the reasons people seek psychoanalytic psychotherapy. I have been practicing psychotherapy for over 20 years in various settings including a university student counseling center and public mental health clinics for the seriously mentally ill and have effectively worked with clients struggling with conditions ranging from adjustment disorders (reactions to stress) to schizophrenia.

I believe that relationships are fundamental to a person's health and happiness. Whether romantic, interpersonal, peer, parent-child, or work relationships I have found that the issues people bring to therapy stem from difficulties in connecting. Furthermore, I believe that a safe, open, and honest relationship in therapy is the key to personal mental health and creating healthy relationship's in one's life. I do interpersonal therapy with individuals, couples, and groups. In particular, I enjoy connecting with young men starting their careers, gamers, and adolescent boys.