Chicago Therapist

Zoe Mittman, Licensed Social Worker Have you found yourself asking the question, “why doesn’t my partner understand me?” If so, this blog is for you. I get it. It is extremely upsetting to feel misunderstood and not heard in a relationship. You can see your perspective so clearly that it is so frustrating when your partner cannot view a situation in the same way. Exploring Relationship Dynamics I want you to pause for a moment and visualize…

Jessica Pontis, LCSW Making the choice to connect with a therapist can be challenging, after all, people don’t usually seek out therapy if they’re feeling great. Finding a good therapeutic fit is essential to having a good experience.  It’s important to be thoughtful in what you’re looking for in a therapist and trust the process. Recognize that maybe the first person you connect with isn’t going to be the best fit for you, but don’t let that…

Jessica Pontis, LCSW Close family bonds are important for development and overall mental and physical health. However, healthy boundaries are mandatory when creating a healthy and functional family unit. What happens when a family system fails to create appropriate and healthy boundaries? Often, that family becomes enmeshed with one another. Enmeshment is the phenomenon that occurs when the dynamics of the family don’t allow individuals to maintain their own space, both physical and emotionally (Spears, 2022).   While…

Jessica Pontis, LCSW Like all other systems, families also seek to achieve some sort of homeostasis. In healthy family dynamics, there is a system in place that gives all members permission to acknowledge their feelings and discuss them openly with other members of the system and the trust of knowing that these feelings will be respected. For those who exist in what may be considered a dysfunctional family, people may not feel safe displaying their authentic selves,…

Written by Kara Thompson, Licensed Clinical Social Worker In a previous blog post “Calming Down: “What Do You Need From Me?’”, we explored how we can provide support to our loved ones by seeking to better understand their needs. It was recommended that instead of trying to assume what our loved ones need in a moment of high emotions, we could ask the question, “What do you need from me?” As explained in that article, one of…

By: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC If you read my previous blog post, you learned about the value of listening, the improv approach, leadership, and motivation. Part two of the lost art of listening blog series will discuss the never-ending learning curve and go over some helpful dos and don’ts to listening that you can implement into your own life. Rather than just sitting quietly, make an active effort to show the person that you are listening…

By: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC It’s likely that when you feel cut off while speaking, it’s by your closest family members, friends, and or colleagues. Have you ever wondered what it is that keeps so many of us from really listening? This two-part blog series will help you to understand and provide you with helpful reasons people tend to not hear one another, as well as easy-to-learn techniques that can help you to become a better…

I Am Miserable at Work: Why Can’t I Leave My Job? By Eric Dean JD, MBA, MA, MA, LPC James was completely unhappy in his job as an associate litigation attorney at a large law firm. After joining the firm right out of law school he was excited, proud, and driven to make partner. However, after two years of working 80-hour weeks, he felt burnt out and unmotivated as his levels of dissatisfaction, stress, and anxiety were…

By: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC For those of you that have worked in a restaurant before, you may resonate with this blog. It’ll paint a picture for you to get a good understanding of what it means to experience the emotions of stress and overwhelm, not only in the restaurant industry but in normal everyday life as well. What Is Stress? We feel “stressed” when we “evaluate environmental demand as beyond our ability to cope successfully.…