Parenting Therapists in Chicago, IL

Are you feeling anxious or depressed? Are you overwhelmed by parenting or grandparenting a challenging child? Are you struggling with anger? Do you or does someone you love have a chronic health condition like cancer? Are you struggling with a major life transition such as college or retirement? I am prepared and committed to be your guide and partner in this therapeutic journey. Life holds a series of opportunities to grow, learn, and change. You have taken the first step!

Reaching out for help and inviting a new person into your family story takes enormous courage. Through that strength and commitment to change, things will get better. Perhaps you and your child can’t get out the door without a meltdown. Do you find yourself wishing you could be calmer and measured as you set boundaries with your child? Maybe you worry about leaving your child with others for fear that adults other than you won’t know how to “handle” them. Do you suspect that a past event is impacting your child’s or family’s current difficulties? Psychotherapy at AZ&A can help.

The search for a therapist can be exciting, but also a bit intimidating. Having worked with a diverse population in a variety of settings, I have found that the key to effective therapy is providing a non-judgemental environment, one where you feel heard and supported regardless of your past. Whether you are struggling with substance abuse, anxiety, depression, parenting , or a difficult life transition, I can help guide you with tools for change. I provide continual encouragement to help aid you overcome your life obstacles and find a new found compassion for yourself and your loved ones.

Making changes in our lives can feel impossible at times, even when our habits and thinking patterns no longer serve us. In the therapy room, I practice radical acceptance with the ups and downs of growth with humor, patience, and curiosity. I take a strengths-based and transdiagnostic treatment approach, informed by dialectical and cognitive behavior therapy, exposure and response prevention, and emotion-focused family therapy. Grounded in the DBT tradition, I prioritize nonjudgment and dialectical thinking: we can accept difficult realities and still lead a life worth living.

I specialize in working with children demonstrating challenging behaviors and feelings at home or school, including difficulty following directions, emotional dysregulation, self-esteem concerns, and interpersonal conflict. I use an individualized, strengths-based approach to ensure both child and parent feel understood. My experience in both intensive and long-term services make me well-equipped to help with any range of behavioral needs, incl. ADHD, ODD, Anxiety, and other social/emotional needs. My focus is on the building of lagging skills and emotional development to decrease behavioral challenges and increase self esteem.

People come to me when feeling stressed, anxious, overwhelmed with fear and stuck - whether it's a relationship concern, a challenge with a child, a loss or life has taken an unexpected turn. As an experienced Clinical Professional Counselor and Marriage and Family Therapist, I can help. I partner with clients to change limiting beliefs and defeating patterns, discover strengths, embrace possibilities, heal and grow.

Does your toddler, preschooler or elementary school aged child ignore your instructions? Do they whine, argue, fight with siblings, hit, or bite? Are you exhausted, do you have disagreements with your significant other about how to deal with these issues, or are you a single parent feeling overwhelmed and unsupported?

Are you a parent --whether through adoption, foster care, marriage, or birth-- experiencing stress, worry, or uncertainty about how to navigate a challenge with your child or teen? I am an empathic, scientifically-minded therapist with nearly 15 years of experience providing counseling around a range of topics relating to the theme of child- parent relationships, such as adjustment to parenthood, caregiver anxiety and depression, child anxiety and mood issues, family transitions, child behavioral challenges (including sleep, toileting, and diet), building parent -child attachment, and determining if or when to pursue parenthood.

I AM NOT CURRENTLY ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS. Therapy is a collaborative process with individuals and families that comes from a place of earned trust and safety. I focus my therapeutic work through a relational and attachment lens, while also teaching clients skills and techniques to help cope. I help to guide individuals through understanding relational patterns and attachment across the lifespan. I strive to be culturally responsive and believe that culture is an area to be explored as it relates to each individual and the systems they are a part of.

Clients want support to grow and heal. They are seeking to learn how to choose to change their perspective on life. Often clients misjudge their successes based upon their failures. Clients seeking an accountability partner that will support them in changing how they think, to change how they feel and act, to begin living and enjoying life, then I am ready, if you are. Did your parent (s) have trouble with addiction, emotionally unavailable? Were you sexually violated as a child? Are you a mother who feels at your wits end? Divorced? Seeking to find your purpose? Seeking spiritual guidance?

There is power in seeking the help of others along our journey, and it is my hope that therapy can represent a unique healing environment, focused on your reality and your needs. The change that we all seek lies within our stories being validated and understood. As we witness the power of our stories in light of culture, race, gender, sexual orientation, and other intersections of identity through therapy, we partner in using your strengths to lessen your limitations. By developing your self-awareness, we can work to heal from past wounds, develop more understanding of your Self and those around you, and create better relationships.

Does it sometimes feel like you are not living the life you thought that you would? Or that you could be more content with your situation? Or perhaps you are having trouble making decisions about what to do next? If so, therapy can help you clarify what is important to you and what is causing you to feel stuck. I am happy to work together with you to better understand your past while also finding new ways of moving forward in a meaningful way.

Parenting can be challenging and may leave you struggling to interact positively with your child. If you have experienced difficulty with your child’s transitions, temper tantrums, sleep and morning routine, or social skills you are not alone. Would you like to improve de-escalation skills when your child is having a temper tantrum or experiencing depression or anxiety? Psychologist for Parenting helps parents learn how to promote healthy self-caretaking behaviors while also setting appropriate limits Parent guidance can help provide insight into family dynamics that are interfering with relationships and effective communication.

Congratulations on taking the first step towards making a commitment to improve your life through the process of therapy. It is so important to find someone that you feel is the right fit for you, or for your loved one. I enjoy working with individuals at all stages of life, but practice mostly with children, adolescents, young adults and families. Regardless of the issue, I am committed to helping you or your loved one discover the best parts of yourself so that you can move towards healthy changes for the future.

Do you find yourself in survival mode, just trying to get through the day? Do you wish for you or your family to enjoy life more? Are you feeling dissatisfied, disconnected, or left behind in our busy world? Perhaps you are a parent struggling to feel connected to your child and questioning your parenting or maybe your child or teen seems unhappy or is having problems in school or with peers. You might be a young adult feeling lost or unsure of the future. You may even be an adult who is supposed to have it all together by now, yet find yourself drowning under work or home demands or under the weight of anxiety or depression.

It takes courage to lean into the painful experiences of our lives. Together, we can work towards finding the healing and peace that can exist on the other side of this bravery. My approach to therapy is based on and tailored to the unique stories, needs and personalities of each person I work with. With each client I have the privilege to work with, I see compassion and curiosity as some of the most powerful tools to go to deeper levels of the heart and mind. I strive to build a solid foundation of trust, safety and rapport so clients feel safe and empowered to embrace the process and empowered to embrace the process of healing.

Warm wishes and kudos to you for reaching out in this time of such uncertainty. I know all too well how uncertainty in the future and loss of control can contribute to anxiety and feelings of defeat. I have over 10-yrs of experience supporting individuals and couples in the midst of crisis and loss of control. While each circumstance is unique and will vary, please be assured that you are not, and do not have to navigate this alone. Whether it’s loss of purpose, lack of direction or feeling an overall loss of control, I will partner with you to identify your goals and reach fulfillment while gaining a sense of relief along the way.

I am a licensed clinical psychologist with over 15 years of experience working with children ages 3-18, with a variety of emotional and behavioral issues. I have a nurturing, yet directive style that helps children and families to feel at ease, as I believe that feelings of safety in the therapeutic relationship are most important. My passion lies in helping children emotionally heal, and helping parents to play an integral role in this process. I know that it is difficult to ask for help in helping your child, and consider it a privilege to be allowed into your life to help you do so.

The path to healing is a collaborative effort that the client and therapist engage in together. I believe that my clients are capable, intelligent human beings who actually know quite a bit about what they need to feel whole and happy. I have a special interest in working with couples, relational issues, and parenting issues. I am an "integrative" therapist. Instead of ascribing to one school of therapy, I incorporate different methods of treatment based on each client's individual need

It can be truly difficult to acknowledge you need help and seek that help out. Thank you for taking the first step in the path to healing! I provide therapy utilizing a relational, collaborative, person-centered approach. The fundamental basis of any relationship is centered on trust. I model this by strengthening rapport and creating a comfortable, non-judgmental space for you to explore thoughts, feelings and address your reasons for coming to therapy. I believe my role as a therapist is to guide my client(s) as they navigate through life stressors, reprocess distressing experiences, and increase self-awareness.