By: Sarah Crawley, Marble Wellness Therapist in Chicago, IL
Hi! I’m Sarah, a therapist in Chicago’s West Loop. As a social worker, I strive for a culture that values growth and well-being for everyone. I decided to become a mental health professional because of the impact. Creating space for you to focus on and honor your mental health is not only important to you and me, but to our wider community.
How Can Therapy in Chicago Help?
Growth in therapy can improve your life in profound ways, no matter how small. The impacts ultimately create a ripple effect through homes, workplaces, and relationships, too. Imagine the possibilities when your anxiety is accepted and managed: your self-esteem improves. Your burnout is addressed. Your sense of fulfillment is increased. You focus on your intentions more, etc.
I thought that my favorite clients to work with would always be youth and adolescents because they really keep me on my toes, which I love. When young people find that you truly respect, accept, and empathize with them, they seek out your support. I see the highs and lows and general turbulence of teenage day-to-day as full of potential for growth and learning. Being a mental health resource for young people can be very serious, but also very rewarding.
To my surprise, I have also very much begun to enjoy working with adults in Chicago! Especially adults dealing with anxiety, burnout, or depression. In a way, I’ve found that the needs and goals of a burnt-out adult can mirror the stressors that young people face. Being an adult with a career or a family doesn’t mean everything is innately manageable alone. The vulnerability realized in needing support as an adult creates the ideal space for reflection and growth.
I love this work because it involves helping people discover strengths and learn skills to restore a sense of balance. That balance empowers people to manage their relationships, their work, their health, their household, and their free time in ways that really feel good.
How Do I Work With Adults in Therapy?
When clients are in therapy with me, we always center their strengths. Due to the depth of experience that adults bring into therapy, it’s important to figure out effective and realistic approaches early on. I generally start with a CBT frame. Specifically, goal setting via behavioral activation, cognitive reframing, and mindfulness practice.
Adults have developed some level of cognitive abilities to be reflective and insightful. We explore experiences and associated emotions with careers, relationships, identity, and existential questions. Establishing goals while exploring strengths early on helps map out potential directions for later sessions.
Is therapy in Chicago overwhelming?
Clients sometimes feel overwhelmed by the nature of self-reflection. This may be a worry that they won’t know what to talk about or where to start. Perhaps, discomfort with vulnerability. Or maybe, just having unclear or unrealistic expectations for what they want to do.
I try to offset these worries or unchecked expectations with gentle reminders that therapy isn’t pass/fail. Nor is it based on a to-do list or a tight timeline. It is a collaborative, non-linear process. There may be internal pressure to go deep before you’re ready, to make progress quickly, or to achieve highly specific results. We work on reframing the task-based approach. This may contribute to feelings of disappointment or frustration if progress is more difficult or slower than anticipated.
Meeting With a Chicago Therapist is Safe
Our therapy session itself is a safe, professionally organized space where your mindful presence in the moment is used to examine your past, and to set your intentions for your future self. Therapy is all the stuff between.
What I want everyone considering counseling to know is that it is not just for acute crises. Yes, it’s ideal to have a therapeutic space when your stress, workload, relationship, or mental health issues have escalated, and you need to reinforce coping skills and address concerns. But therapy is also good for when things are normal.
Start Therapy in Chicago’s West Loop
You should get started with your therapy journey because you deserve it. If you live in Chicago and are ready to improve your ability to set boundaries, we are here to help. We’ve got convenient hours, a lovely therapy location in the West Loop, and of course, we’re happy to meet you virtually with online therapy in Chicago. Let us know how we can help YOU thrive.
Contact Us!
Additional Counseling Services at Marble Wellness in St. Louis, MO and Chicago, IL
Counseling services are designed to help set you on a path of living a more fulfilled, calm, and happy life.
St. Louis Therapy Services
Our St. Louis team of therapists has a variety of training backgrounds and areas of expertise. We specialize in anxiety, depression, grief, chronic illness, therapy for men, couples, and maternal overwhelm. Also, our practice also helps new moms with various postpartum concerns, moms in the thick of parenting, and moms with teens. We can also chat from wherever you are in the state with online therapy in Missouri and online therapy in Illinois. No matter where you are in your journey, we would love to support you.
Chicago’s West Loop Therapy
Our Chicago team of therapists offers a wide range of mental health services to help our clients through the different challenges and hurdles in their lives. In addition to anxiety, depression, grief, therapy for men, and maternal overwhelm, we specialize in professional burnout, therapy for breakups, and love partnering with working moms.
