CURRENTLY NOT ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS. My goals: to help you get un-stuck, face your difficulties, and restore your connection to yourself and others. I am focused on walking alongside you as we get to the root of issues, while providing you with new tools along the way. I work with individuals around trauma/PTSD (past abuse, dangerous childhoods, sexual assault, witnessing violence), grief/loss, divorce, spiritual instability and identity issues. I also help couples with pre-engagement/pre-marital counseling, healing from emotional and/or sexual affairs, conflict/communication issues, and relationship enrichment. LGBTQ affirmative.

You deserve to live a life with a calm and focused mind, a relaxed body, and a sense of wellbeing. Sessions with me involve a collaborative approach to help you improve relationships, ease your racing mind, relax physical tension, and live a more fulfilling and balanced life. Whether it be work stress, trauma, challenging relationships or addictive behaviors, I will help you explore the issues you are facing and cope with crisis better.

Mike graduated from Adler University with a master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. He is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Illinois. Mike has worked with individuals, families, intimate partners, adolescents, and children on many issues including, but not limited to, anxiety, depression, communication, conflict resolution, emotional regulation, Autism spectrum disorder, trauma, and life transitions. Mike bases his approach to therapy on the idea that the secret to change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.

You are not alone. Fear, anger, anxiety, insecurity are some ways our minds informs us that we are in need of something more. Maybe it is quitting an unhealthy habit, discovering who you are, or setting new boundaries in relationships. I will work with you to discover how to change the behavior or thought patterns that may be keeping you from thriving and feeling empowered in your own life.

I believe that it is in relationship with others that we find healing from past and present hurts. I am passionate about creating a safe environment for that healing to take place. My counseling background includes working with children, adolescents, and adults, as well as families. My clinical skills include helping people with communication/relationship problems, self-esteem building, stress management, coping techniques, and treating anxiety and depression. I am an EMDR trained therapist.

You want to feel securely connected to others in your life. You want to feel empowered to navigate through life’s obstacles, with someone reliably in your corner. You want to trust in your own value and heal from being hurt. You deserve to feel seen and heard for all that you bring to this world and accepted for the myriad of identities that you inhabit.

With 20 years of experience in residential, inpatient, and outpatient settings, my primary focus is helping individuals of all ages better deal with emotional regulation. This includes a range of mental health conditions, including ADHD, depression, anxiety, autism spectrum, obsessions, anger management, and interpersonal conflicts. I work with children, adolescents, and adults who have experienced significant life stressors and are looking for positive ways of coping. I provide both short- and long-term therapy for individuals seeking healthier methods of understanding and dealing with a variety of life issues.

I am passionate about creating a safe environment in which people can experience healthier, whole relationships. In my work, I focus on equipping families, couples, and individuals to navigate life’s challenges in relationship with others. I am deeply honored and humbled to walk alongside people in their journeys.

Oftentimes, we develop patterns of behaving and relating to others as a way of coping with and protecting ourselves from our early environments. As we expand out past those early experiences and relationships, we may find that these old ways of thinking, behaving, and relating no longer work for us. Together in therapy, we will explore the origins and functions of those patterns, gaining an awareness of how they show up and how we might develop a new path.

Do you ever experience sadness, anxiety, or a hard time getting your point across within relationships? Often these root experiences will lead us to increased feelings of loneliness, confusion, distress, and overwhelming thoughts. It takes strength to reach out and ask for assistance, I am here to work with you and to help you live the life you deserve. Working together we will find ways to manage thoughts and feelings, establish boundaries, and make positive changes. I am here to support you as we reach your goals.

*NOW OFFERING TELETHERAPY VIA VIDEO OR PHONE* Becoming a first time mom and/or growing your family can be the most transformative event of a woman’s life. The transition can be overwhelming physically and mentally. Women often think to themselves, "What did I get myself into?" Whether it’s dealing with fertility issues, grief for your old life, the trauma of birth, managing the challenges of a newborn, older siblings, or infant colic, there are many factors that can affect the transition. The anxiety and depression that come with these transitions are a common part of the pre and postpartum experience.

Life can be difficult and all of us struggle at times. We deal with hardship, loss, pain, break ups, hurt, relationship turmoil, work/life balance, transitions, crisis, sadness, worry and difficulty managing intense feelings. We are also resillient. We all have the inherent ability to change and thrive. Each day offers an opportunity to learn from the past and fully immerse ourselves in the present. We offer the space and tools to learn and grow through collaborative, compassionate therapeutic relationships.

When we feel stuck, we might need help to step back, see the patterns, and find a new way forward. I specialize in helping you unpack what shapes the ways you understand and cope with the world, and how to shift out of patterns that keep you from living your life to the fullest. My practice focuses on what makes you who you are today, what you want to keep, and what you want to change. Whether you begin therapy as a means of self-care, to navigate a transition, or to heal from trauma or a mental health condition, we start from wherever you are today, and move at the right pace for you.

I am a Marriage and Family Therapist skilled at creating a safe therapeutic space where hope fuels change, forges resilience and inspires growth for families, couples and individuals. I have been honored to work in multiple cross-cultural contexts and am dedicated to incorporating culturally sensitive and contextually informed practices in therapy. I am passionate about empowering clients to find congruence, balance, self-compassion, and transformation in their lives. I offer a warm and supportive atmosphere that is strength-based and goal-oriented.

The clients that I have had the most experience with are those that have experienced trauma at some point in their lives. They are coming in because they are ready to begin the healing process. It's important for clients to see and feel what it's like to have a supportive person in their life. They also need someone who believes them and will not question their story. Clients often seek help to manage their triggers, nightmares, learn better coping skills, and many other things. They would also like to eventually get to a place where they don't blame themselves for what happened. They want to live a happier life.

A down-to-earth, irreverent straight shooter, I prefer therapy to be free of pretense and to be a partnership. Together, we will focus on individual growth and healing rather than diagnoses or one-size-fits-all treatment approaches. If you are underinsured, have a prohibitively high deductible, or you just want to get help without going through your insurance, I may be a good match for your needs and offer a sliding fee scale to keep my services affordable.

Life can be beautiful, complicated, and messy all at the same time. The road at times can be riddled by twists, turns, and detours you were not expecting. It would be nice if life was a straight path to fulfillment and happiness but life is not linear. Perhaps you found yourself starting over after a recent break-up? Or, you experienced the loss of a loved one. Maybe even faced with an unexpected medical diagnosis or have been questioning your purpose in life. Whether you’re prepared or not, life has a way of making you feel the challenges you are faced with are too difficult to overcome.

I emphasize diversity, creativity, and inclusion in my practice. I recognize the effects of the larger societal and cultural environment in which identity and relationships around sexual orientation and class are shaped. It is my goal to promote the process of healing by helping clients cultivate an understanding within themselves that can help unveil the deeper meaning their struggle is pointing towards.