Family Therapy in Forest Park, IL

Looking for a warm, safe and accepting space to process your life experiences and develop a plan to achieve your desired outcomes? My name is David Walker and I am an experienced Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). When engaging in the therapy relationship, my work has been grounded in supporting Black, Indigenous, and people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, and other intersecting identities. I have worked in addressing concerns related to: discrimination from the criminal justice system, racial and societal injustices, anger, substance use, trauma, self-image and self-esteem, changes in life, relationship concerns, & healing.

I believe that it takes a lot of strength and courage to ask for help. If you are ready to take the next steps to improve your quality of life, please reach out to me to schedule a free 15-minute consultation to see if I’m the right clinician to support you on your journey. I am a solution focused therapist and use a strength-based approach in my practice. While I believe that processing past trauma and experiences can be an important part of recovery, I am here to meet you where you are right now to help focus on your goals for the future.

I enjoy providing therapy for adults and couples, including LGBTQ+ and non-monogamous couples. I am poly, sex work, and kink - allied and -informed. I identify as a feminist trauma-informed therapist and am EMDR Trained, although I integrate many modalities depending on each client's unique personality and needs. I am a Gottman Level 1 Certified Couple's Therapist and utilize what I learn while working with couples to help individuals experiencing relational issues. My experience includes working with people with anxiety disorders, PTSD/complex PTSD, workplace issues and discrimination, spiritual concerns, and relationship issues.

I believe it is a privilege to be involved during challenging times. I anticipate learning and growing as a result of working alongside you. I consider myself a guide; I provide a compassionate environment that fosters open communication. We focus on increasing self understanding which is paramount in manufacturing peace within our unique and complex environments. My therapeutic design is to focus on strengths and goals, while sifting through the many layers that make us who we are today. Together we’ll uncover practical strategies for emotional and mental wellness.

Seeking a therapist is a positive step in your pursuit to feel better. As a trauma-informed therapist, I understand that trauma does not discriminate and may present in several different forms. Research has shown that both “big T” (a single, terrible event) and “little t” trauma (daily stressors) can block the brain’s ability to process distressing events and have a profoundly negative impact on emotional, psychological, physical and spiritual well-being. Both of these types of traumas can lead to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, addiction, phobias, relationship issues, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or more.

I am an experienced psychotherapist and I work with clients from diverse backgrounds. I have extensive experience working with clients who are adult children of alcoholics and helping clients who have suffered a loss(es) and seek bereavement counseling. I also work with adults and youths who have both depression and anxiety, including panic attacks and phobias. I offer specific strategies to combat anxiety and panic attacks. My particular expertise has been working with parents and their children. Other areas of practice are sexual abuse and domestic violence.

Trauma can make you feel like someone has robbed you of your innocence, purpose, sense of belonging, your voice, and ability to feel safe in your own body. You might be searching for a sense of control, but feeling completely powerless. You escape into activities or relationships in order to feel anything at all and other times to make the feelings stop all together. You may have developed parts of yourself in order to survive, but what would life look like if you could shed old scripts and truly live a life that’s worth living?

Life is filled with transitions, both good and painful, and it is our attention to those transitions that help us build joy and fulfillment in our lives. I believe that therapy is about a good match between the therapist and the person seeking assistance and that this partnership forms the basis for a real opportunity for self knowledge and growth. In our work together I provide a thoughtful, caring and safe space to attend to the life issues that are most in the forefront for you. With focused attention to those issues, surprising and hopeful things begin to occur.

My specialty is providing therapeutic services to children and adults. I utilize a client centered approach to join with my clients in the therapeutic process and offer gentle, non-judgmental support through the journey of therapy. I meet you where you are.

Chicago native, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor with experience working with children and adults. I love helping children blossom into their own identities, empowering women through a variety of life changes and personal growth, and supporting men with self-love. As a current PhD Candidate in Organizational Leadership and Certificate in Women's Entrepreneurship, I'm able to explore the anxieties around leadership, workplace and entrepreneurial stress.

I specialize in the assessment and treatment of behavior problems in children and adolescents, as well as depression and anxiety in individuals of all ages. I also specialize in the treatment of relationship problems and the psychological management of acute and chronic medical disorders, particularly cardiovascular disorders and encopresis. I help people gain insights into their difficulties and teach them skills that will facilitate the resolution of their difficulties. When requested, I confer with attending physicians and, in the case of minors, with their teachers and/or school social workers. I am on the medical staff of Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

I believe that strong mental health is a fundamental right, and so I strive to help clients live their best lives! I offer a warm values-based approach to counseling in an open and empathic space so clients can effectively process adversity and learn healthier coping strategies – discovering how to approach the world from a more optimistic and authentic place! I thank you for considering Inner Focus to help you through.

I provide a supportive, empathic, and hopeful environment. I encourage my clients to be open-minded and honest while approaching their sensitive personal challenges, guiding them in understanding why past efforts at addressing these challenges may have been ineffective. We (me and the client) then develop alternative goal-directed and client-centered solutions. I recognize that successful therapy requires collaborative goal setting. Your participation in setting goals allows for a more willing exploration of the thoughts, feelings, and experiences that guide both current and past choices. This engenders the type of change that is both true and sustainable. Lasting change rarely happens quickly, but is a process that often begins through gaining perspective on past choices. Such understanding often provides insight and wisdom for future choices, resulting in positive transformations

Dr. Nakisher offers a practical approach in a supportive, yet challenging atmosphere to help clients gain insight, make lasting changes in life and get out your own way. He works particularly well with people who have previously experienced therapy as unhelpful. Dr. Nakisher also works a business consultant to major corporations, improving business through human capital.

I use an integrative approach to therapy with adult clients to help them explore and address sources of distress in their lives.

You want to be well, content, and feel better. But, managing chronic health conditions, feeling overwhelmed by high levels of stress and anxiety, and facing unexpected and sudden loss/grief can be enormous tasks, especially during our challenging times. Across the lifespan, we face emotional, relational, and physical difficulties that are often best navigated when we are heard, supported, and able to cultivate the natural curiosity that invites us to change.

I believe you are capable of unprecedented growth and healing. I work together with my clients to develop curiosity and compassion for themselves and others; acceptance of feelings, healthy boundaries, and more adaptive and satisfying ways of being in the world. My approach to therapy prioritizes developing an understanding of who you are as an individual, and focusing on your unique strengths and abilities. Past and present experiences, relationships, genetics, biology all impact the way you are in the world, but you have something unique to offer.

Many people feel that difficult or painful experiences have the power to define them, or that it may have damaged them permanently. I aim to help my clients recognize that difficult situations will not ‘destroy’ or ‘define’ them, and instead help them regain some control in deciding who they are and the path they want to take. I believe in utilizing therapy to help my clients recognize their own personal story and growth. I provide support and tools for my clients to use along the way, drawing from a wide toolbox of therapy approaches, including EMDR.

Welcome and best wishes on your search for help. Please know that therapy is a good option that has helped many others in difficult times. I offer a compassionate, calm and supportive environment for clients to talk about their experiences, organize their thoughts and understand their emotions. You may be struggling with behaviours that you feel are unhealthy, or emotional difficulties that are impacting functioning. Maybe it’s thoughts that are not serving you well or life events that are hard to process. You do not have to go through it alone.