Strategize & Navigate Life Changes with Next Step

Phase of Life Changes

Life transitions are our specialty because we love working with clients who are going through important experiences that cause them to re-examine their present sense of self and move towards greater authenticity and happiness. Some may even contribute to a quarter or midlife crisis.

Phase of Life Transitions include:

  • Living in a new city
  • Career confusion or changes
  • Motherhood or new parents
  • Deciding whether to have kids or not
  • The coming out process
  • Shifting from school to the workforce
  • Changes in relationship status
  • Grief and loss
  • Substance abuse and recovery
  • Becoming vegan or vegetarian
  • Being in a different phase of life than your friends.
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How you approach & perceive your life transition

Impacts how you feel getting through it.

Quarter & Mid-Life Crisis

“People may call what happens at midlife ‘a crisis,’ but it’s not. It’s an unraveling – a time when you feel a desperate pull to live the life you want to live, not the one you’re ‘supposed’ to live. The unraveling is a time when you are challenged by the universe to let go of who you think you are supposed to be and to embrace who you are.” – Brene Brown

Both the Quarter-Life Crisis and Mid-Life Crisis are embedded in an existential uncertainty about one’s life happiness. There is search for reassurance, direction and greater meaning. But there's also an inability to pinpoint exactly what you should be doing.

At the root of resolving these difficult life phases is authentically and deeply knowing yourself and bravely moving towards your path outside of social, familial and societal influences.

Quarter-Life Crisis

You’re in your 20’s to mid 30’s and you’re feeling confused and doubtful about your life, decisions, and path. You’re trying to figure out and balance what will actually make you happy, your own internal pressures, as well as family and society pressures. You’re torn, lost and unsure.

A Quarter-Life Crisis can be triggered by the pressure to find the right path or career, pressure to be successful, a loss of a relationship, or even seeing your peers in a different phase of life than you. You find yourself wondering, “What am I doing with my life?” “What is going to make me happy?”  

  • Self-doubt, confusion and difficulty making decisions
  • Feeling adrift and lost
  • Fear about making the wrong decision
  • Career confusion & comparing yourself to peers
  • Difficulty transitioning into adulthood

Mid-Life Crisis

Also known as the mid-life happiness slump, the mid-life period can be a stressful time, where you feel bored and unsettled and you’re reflecting on your life and yearning for a greater sense of purpose.

The Mid-Life Happiness Slump is an emotional crisis of identity and purpose that can occur in early middle age. Triggers could include grief and loss, aging or health changes, financial stressors, family obligations, or wanting more work and personal achievement.

  • Confusion about who you are or how you’ve spent your life
  • Desire for more purpose and meaning in life
  • Difficulties with relationships or disenchantment with career path
  • Feeling bored and needing change and adventure
  • Feeling disconnected from yourself and others
  • Becoming overly nostalgic for a time gone by

We’re Excited to Help you Steadily Move through this Transition:

1

Make sense of emotions

Sort through your confusion and distressing feelings
2

Explore your deeper self

Increase self-awareness, discover and find alignment with your authentic self
3

Live in the present

Let go parts of the past that keep you from being happy in the present as well as find more gratitude and joy
4

Acquire helpful skills

Gain tools to help you to feel more in control and make decisions
5

Process your inner emotions & conflicts

Cope with difficult feelings that come with uncertainty and uncomfortable change
6

Know what lies ahead

Gain reassurance, direction and greater meaning
7

Have a plan of action

Create a solution focused plan for your immediate and long term change
8

Align values with goals

Help you examine and identify your values and strengths to make realistic future goals

Contact Us. 

Pay Us a Visit

70 E Lake St #222
Chicago, IL 60601

Serving Chicago, Streeterville, Gold Coast, West Town, West Loop, River North, Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Lincoln Square, Bucktown, Ravenswood and surrounding areas.

Common Questions

Do you accept insurance?

We are in network with the following insurance carriers:

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Choice Advantage
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Choice Preferred
  • United Behavioral Health, aka United Health Care
  • Optum Veterans Affairs Community Care Network

However, if you have a carrier that we don’t accept we can still work together! Using your out of network benefits, many insurance companies will provide you with 20% to 80% reimbursement for sessions. We provide you with an invoice, you send it into your insurance company and they mail you a check. If you’d like to know what your out of network benefits are call the number on the back of your card and ask, “What are my out of network benefits for mental health counseling?” Please contact us to provide you with additional information about this.

Is there parking available at your office?

All el lines are within 1-2 blocks, and, there are two parking garages nearby at 60 E. Lake St. and 20 E. Randolph.

I tried therapy and didn't like it. How's this different?

Therapy varies depending on the personalities of the counselor and client, as well as the particular concerns brought forward. Sometimes the chemistry between the counselor and client or the counselor’s style or approach just isn’t a good fit. The relationship between the client and the therapist is of utmost importance. Therefore, we work to create a safe environment where open and honest communication is encouraged so that concerns or questions about treatment or the relationship can be addressed in session. This often benefits the therapeutic process and deepens the therapeutic relationship.

What can I expect from the first few sessions?

During the first and second session, we will gather information about what has brought you into therapy including your concerns, what you’d like to work on and information about your current and past emotional health and life history. This information helps us gain a deeper understanding about your situation, you as a person and how to best help you. As noted earlier, since it is important that clients feel comfortable with their counseling, we encourage clients to also use the first session as an opportunity to assess if this is a good fit for you as well.

What can I expect during a typical therapy session?

During therapy you will begin to discuss and share your feelings, thoughts, and reactions in order for you to begin to gain insight, develop new thinking patters, coping skills and overall improved quality of life. It is natural to feel uncomfortable about opening up at first but this process because much easier after a few sessions. Since self-growth is possible through commitment and work I will encourage you to practice the things you discuss and learn outside of session.

How long will I need to be in therapy?

The number of sessions needed is different for everyone depending on a number of factors including but not limited to your goals, severity or intensity of your concerns or symptoms, how long you’ve been dealing with your concerns, current levels of stress, and the progress you make towards reaching your short or long-term goals.

Is what I say in therapy confidential?

In general, all communications between a client and counselor are confidential and can only be released with the client’s written permission. However, there are some exceptions required by law to this rule. Exceptions include:

  • When there is a reasonable suspicion of child/dependent abuse or of an elder adult.
  • When the client communicates a threat of bodily injury to others.
  • When the client is suicidal.
  • When disclosure is required pursuant to a legal proceeding.
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