Therapy for Individual Adults · Chicago, IL
You don't have to carry all of this alone.
Individual therapy for adults in their 20s, 30s, and 40s who are thriving on the outside and silently struggling on the inside. If you're a high-functioning adult in Chicago looking for a warm, nonjudgmental space to finally let it all out, you're in the right place.
As an individual therapist for adults in Chicago, I work with people who are accomplished, self-aware, and often the ones everyone else leans on. People who are genuinely succeeding in their careers but quietly exhausted by the internal battles nobody else sees. People who have never given themselves permission to struggle.
My focus is high-functioning adults in their 20s, 30s, and 40s
You might be doing well by most external measures: a good career, relationships, a full life. But inside, something feels off.
Maybe you've been carrying a specific struggle for years. Maybe something has shifted recently and you can't quite name it. Maybe you just know you deserve more than this.
Whether you're brand new to therapy or returning after a gap, individual therapy for adults gives you a dedicated hour each week that belongs entirely to you. No agenda but yours. We talk about what's actually going on.
People Who Often Come to Work with Me
- High-achieving adults succeeding professionally but quietly exhausted, burned out, or unfulfilled inside
- Adults questioning their purpose in life, or caught at a career crossroads and unsure which direction to go
- New parents navigating major identity shifts, including new dads stepping into therapy for the first time
- Adults dealing with aging parents, caregiver stress, or the shifting dynamics of grown-up family relationships
- People who hold everything together for everyone else, while privately running on empty
- Adults working through relationship struggles, with a partner, with parents, or with themselves
- High achievers who have never allowed themselves to ask for help before
- Adults in their 30s and 40s experiencing anxiety for the first time and trying to understand why it's showing up now
You don't need to be in crisis to benefit from individual therapy
Most adults come in because something feels off, even if they can't fully articulate what it is. Here are some of the most common things clients bring into sessions:
Racing thoughts, physical tension, spiraling worry, or panic attacks showing up in your 20s or 30s without a clear reason why. Individual therapy for anxiety in Chicago helps you understand what's driving it.
Career Stress and Uncertainty
Wondering if you're on the right path, feeling stuck in a role that no longer fits, or facing a major career pivot without a clear direction.
Disconnect with your partner, patterns you keep repeating, difficulty communicating, or general friction that's wearing on your closest relationships.
Low Mood and Loss of Motivation
Feeling numb, flat, or like you're going through the motions. Not quite depressed, but not yourself either.
Aging parents, becoming a parent yourself, divorce, career changes, or grieving the life you expected to have by now.
Identity and Purpose
Questioning who you are outside your roles as a parent, employee, or partner, and what actually matters to you.
Shame and Self-Criticism
An inner critic that never shuts off. Constant comparison, relentless "should" statements, and the feeling that you're never doing enough.
Sleep Difficulties and Fatigue
Trouble falling or staying asleep, chronic fatigue, irritability, and difficulty getting through daily tasks.
Procrastination and Avoidance
Putting things off, feeling paralyzed by decisions, or avoiding situations that trigger anxiety.
Financial Stress
The weight of money worries bleeding into your relationships, your self-worth, and your overall wellbeing.
Adult-Parent Relationships
Navigating complicated dynamics with your parents, wanting them to change, struggling to accept them, or working through the lasting weight of your upbringing.
Unwanted, recurring thoughts that cause significant distress. ERP therapy is the gold-standard treatment and we can work through it together.
Each session is 45 minutes, dedicated entirely to you
There is no script and no pressure to cover the "right" things. Some weeks you will want to dig into something specific. Other weeks you will need to vent, and that is just as valuable.
As your therapist, I bring warmth and directness in equal measure. I will gently challenge you when it helps, sit with you through the hard moments, and adapt my approach based on what you actually need rather than following a rigid protocol. Some clients want structure and concrete goals. Others come in needing space to process. Both are completely valid, and I adjust accordingly.
What You Can Expect from Individual Therapy
- A genuine, nonjudgmental relationship built on trust and safety from the first session
- Goal-oriented structure if you want it, or open conversation if you just need space
- Practical tools and coping skills you can use between sessions, not just during them
- Insight into why you feel the way you do, including connections to past experiences
- Support navigating the most important relationships in your life
- A space where you are never too much or not enough
What Clients Often Experience After Working Together
- More clarity and understanding around their emotions and what's actually driving their reactions
- Stronger, more connected relationships at home and at work
- A better ability to pause before acting on intense emotions, which ripples outward to the whole family
- A kinder, more compassionate relationship with themselves
- A life that reflects their values rather than their fears or avoidance patterns
The most important component to effective treatment
More than any specific technique, how safe and understood a client feels with their therapist determines whether therapy actually works.
As humans, we store our emotions in our bodies. Lived experiences manifest physically, and we can only carry those for so long before they start coming out in unhealthy patterns and behaviors. Isolation makes this worse. Having a safe, consistent, and genuinely supportive relationship with a therapist is healing in and of itself, before we even get to the specific interventions.
The therapeutic relationship also models what healthy connection can look like. Being fully seen and genuinely accepted by another person, without judgment, can shift how you show up in every other relationship in your life.
Being fully seen and genuinely accepted by another person, without judgment, can shift how you show up in every other relationship in your life.
Evidence-based modalities, tailored to you
I draw on multiple evidence-based modalities depending on what each individual needs. Most clients benefit from a combination of approaches rather than one rigid framework. Here is how I typically work:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Helps you identify unhelpful thought patterns and replace them with more balanced, realistic ones. Effective for anxiety, depression, and persistent self-criticism. We look at the connection between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and shift what is keeping you stuck.
Learn MoreAcceptance and Commitment Therapy
Rather than fighting anxiety or painful emotions, ACT helps you make room for them while still moving toward the life you want. We explore your values, practice cognitive defusion (separating yourself from your thoughts), and help you live in alignment with what actually matters to you, even when discomfort is present.
Learn MoreCompassion Focused Therapy
Designed for people who carry a lot of shame, self-criticism, or guilt. CFT helps you develop a kinder, more compassionate relationship with yourself, recognizing that being a flawed human being does not make you less worthy of care.
Learn MoreExposure and Response Prevention
For clients dealing with OCD, specific phobias such as fear of vomiting or fear of leaving the house, or panic. We gradually expose you to feared situations in a safe, controlled way, retraining your nervous system to respond without alarm.
Learn More
Your questions, answered honestly
Do I need to be in crisis to start therapy?
Not at all, and honestly, waiting until you are in crisis is one of the biggest misconceptions about individual therapy. Many of the adults I work with in Chicago are doing reasonably well by most external measures. They have a job, relationships, a functioning life. But something feels off, and they want support before things get worse. Individual therapy for adults works best when you engage with it proactively rather than reactively. If you have been considering it, that curiosity is reason enough to take the first step. A free consultation costs you nothing but 20 minutes of your time.
How often will we meet, and how long does therapy typically last?
Sessions are 45 minutes and typically weekly, especially at the start of treatment. Consistency matters a lot early on, as it allows us to build the kind of therapeutic relationship that actually produces change. How long therapy lasts depends entirely on you, your goals, and what comes up along the way. Some clients work with me for a few months and feel they have what they need. Others find ongoing monthly or biweekly sessions helpful as life continues to bring new challenges. We reassess together on a regular basis, and you always have a say in the pace.
What is the difference between therapy and just talking to a friend?
A trusted friend is genuinely valuable, but individual therapy offers something different. As a licensed therapist, I bring training, evidence-based tools, and a clinical perspective that a friend simply cannot. More importantly, I have no stake in the situation. I am not going to minimize what you are going through because it makes me uncomfortable, give you unsolicited advice based on my own experience, or bring my own emotional baggage into the conversation. The therapeutic relationship is specifically designed to be one-sided in your favor, which is rare and actually quite powerful. Many of my clients in Chicago describe therapy as the one relationship in their life where they never feel like a burden.
What if I have no idea what I even want to talk about?
That is completely normal and more common than you might think. You do not need to arrive with a prepared agenda or a clear presenting problem. Many clients start with some version of "I just feel off and I can't explain it," and that is a perfectly valid place to begin. Part of the early work in individual therapy is simply helping you get clearer on what is actually going on beneath the surface. We will figure it out together.
Do you work with men who have never tried therapy before?
Yes, and I genuinely enjoy working with first-time therapy clients, especially men who have spent years holding everything together on their own. There is still a real stigma around men seeking mental health support, and I see that stigma in action when new dads come in struggling with identity shifts and relationship strain that nobody prepared them for. My approach is warm but direct, and I will never make you feel like you are doing therapy wrong. Many of the men I work with in Chicago say the biggest surprise was how straightforward and practical the process actually is.
Is online therapy actually effective, or is in-person better?
Research consistently shows that online therapy produces outcomes comparable to in-person therapy for most presenting concerns, including anxiety, life stress, relationship issues, and the kinds of internal struggles that bring most adults into individual therapy. I offer virtual therapy to clients throughout Illinois, and many people find the convenience of attending from home actually makes it easier to show up consistently, which matters a lot for outcomes. If you are based in the Chicago area and prefer in-person sessions, that option is available as well. We can talk through what makes the most sense for your life during the free consultation.
How do I know if you are the right therapist for me?
Fit matters enormously in therapy, and I want you to feel confident before committing. That is exactly what the free consultation is for. In 15 to 20 minutes, you will get a real sense of how I communicate, what working together might feel like, and whether my approach resonates with you. If after that conversation it does not feel like the right match, I will genuinely help you find someone who is. Your growth matters more than filling a spot on my schedule.
Do you accept insurance?
I am a private pay practice and do not bill insurance directly. This is an intentional decision that allows me to work without the restrictions that come with insurance coverage, including session limits, required diagnoses, and limitations on the type of treatment I can provide. As a courtesy, I've partnered with Mentaya, a HIPAA-compliant platform, to help clients with out-of-network benefits get reimbursed. They handle claim submissions on your behalf, and any reimbursement goes directly to you. You can quickly check your out-of-network benefits here. Many clients in Chicago with PPO plans receive partial reimbursement this way. I am happy to walk you through how that works during our first conversation.
You don't have to carry the weight of these internal battles alone.
I invite you to find a safe space for growth. A free 20-Minute consultation costs you nothing — and it's the best way to find out if we're the right fit.