Solution Focused Counseling

If you're experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma, or any other form of decline in your emotional well-being, counseling can help you manage your symptoms and improve your overall mental health.

Whether you're graduating from college and nervous about joining the workforce, changing careers, or adjusting to a new phase of life, counseling can provide you with the support and guidance you need to navigate these transitions.

If you're feeling stuck in your personal or professional life, our counseling services in Chicago can help you explore your options, identify your goals, and develop a plan to move forward.

Whether you're dealing with communication issues, conflicts, or trust issues in your relationships, counseling can help you learn effective communication and conflict resolution skills and improve your relationships.

beliefs, build self-confidence, and develop a more positive self-image.

Counseling can be right for anyone who wants to improve their mental and emotional well-being, overcome challenges, and achieve their goals. At Head First Health, we offer a compassionate, personalized, and evidence-based approach to counseling that is designed to help you feel better and live a more fulfilling life.

Our therapists provide a warm, welcoming, and non-judgmental environment where you can feel safe to express yourself without fear of being judged or criticized.

We recognize that every individual is unique, and that's why we take a personalized approach to counseling. Our therapists work with you to understand your specific needs, goals, and concerns, in order to tailor a treatment plan that is right for you.

Our Counseling in Chicago, IL, is a collaborative process, and our therapists work with you as a partner to help you achieve your goals. We'll work together to explore your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and help you develop new coping skills and strategies to overcome those challenges.

Our therapists use evidence-based techniques such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based therapy, and solution-focused therapy (and many more!) to help you achieve your goals. These techniques have been proven to be effective in helping individuals improve their overall mental health.

We provide ongoing support and guidance throughout the counseling process. We'll be there to listen, provide feedback, and help you stay motivated as you work towards your goals.

Are your thoughts driving you crazy? Do you feel like you’re getting in your own way? CBT may be the solution.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a short-term therapy, and is rooted in the present. It emphasizes that the way we think, feel, and behave all effect and influence one another. CBT focuses on challenging our limiting beliefs in order to gain a more helpful view of our experience.

It’s our perception of an experience, not the actual experience itself that often leads to us feeling unwell, and powerless. CBT allows us to take charge of our thoughts and learn new ways of coping with life events.

In CBT you get “homework” to do between sessions. These exercises will help you learn to apply the skills and solutions you come up with in therapy to the way you think and act in your day-to-day life.

Have you ever felt like you’ve tried everything in your power to change something, but it all stays the same—meanwhile you feel defeated, angry, or like you’ve lost? Then ACT is for you.

The theory behind Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is that it is ineffective, and often counterproductive, to try to control painful emotions, because suppression of these feelings ultimately leads to more distress. It is not the emotion itself, but our judgement and relationship to the emotion that determines how stuck we feel.

Whether it be a situation you cannot control, a personality trait that is hard to change or an emotion that overwhelms, accepting it can allow you to move forward in a way that improves and enriches your life.

In session we help our clients determine what is most important to them, then we use that knowledge to create value-driven goals.

Have you ever been terrified to do something, but did it anyway? Asked for a raise. Gave a presentation in front of a big audience. Said yes to a cute date. I bet you felt a surge of confidence afterwards! You began to cultivate an inner knowing that “I can do things that I once believed I couldn’t.” This is ERP in a nutshell.

Exposure and Response Prevention is a type of therapy focused on our behavior. Our counseling services with ERP work to make a list of things you are afraid to do; aspirations that are connected to a desire or value you have. Then we create goals that we slowly begin to expose ourselves to without doing rituals/unhelpful behaviors such as avoiding, distracting, or seeking reassurance. You’d be amazed at how much fear you can handle and how much you can achieve in your life if you just began going for it!

If you’ve ever wanted to change something, you must have first been aware that there was something you wanted to change. In order to be aware, we have to be in the present moment. Getting to the present moment is challenging! Most of us live in the past or future (which is why we feel so depressed or anxious).

Mindfulness is the tool that helps us get back to the present. Mindfulness takes committed effort. It involves consciously bringing awareness to the present moment, with curiosity, openness, and acceptance.

In session, we practice this by connecting to our breath, and noticing our thoughts without trying to judge them. Once we notice our mind wander, we reset our attention back to the breath. Repeating this cycle helps ease our mind and body by being more intentional about living in the here-and-now.

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is future-focused, goal-directed, and focuses on solutions, rather than on the problems. One of the first steps is to identify and clarify your goals.

SFBT encourages you to develop a vision of the future then determine the skills, resources, and abilities needed to achieve that vision successfully.

A Chicago counselor can help individuals overcome psychological challenges such as depression, anxiety, trauma, and stress. Therapy can also help individuals manage symptoms of mental illness and improve their overall mental health.

Therapy provides individuals with a safe and confidential space to explore their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. By gaining a better understanding of themselves, individuals can make positive changes in their lives and relationships.

Counseling can improve individuals' ability to communicate effectively with others, leading to better relationships and fewer misunderstandings.

Chicago counseling services can help individuals learn effective problem-solving strategies and develop coping skills to deal with life's challenges.

Therapy is also known to help individuals build self-confidence and self-esteem by providing them with the tools to overcome negative self-talk and beliefs.

Our counselors in Chicago can help you develop resilience and learn to bounce back from setbacks and challenges.

Counseling can also have a positive impact on physical health, as individuals may be more likely to take care of their bodies when they are feeling better mentally and emotionally.