Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people become more psychologically adaptable. ACT encourages you to be more fully in the present. Accepting your deep emotions, traumas, or negative coping mechanisms is key in this therapeutic approach.
ACT maintains that to adapt and grow, a person must fully accept themselves as they are. Therapists practicing ACT believe that suppressing or ignoring painful emotions or experiences is counter-productive to growth and change.
You must investigate your current patterns of thinking to change. After examining these patterns, you can better understand the way your thinking impacts you. This acceptance of your patterns and habits helps you change your behaviors.
Trying to stop ways of thinking can be detrimental to ACT. Your therapist will help you understand how and why you think a certain way. Your ACT therapist will encourage you to accept yourself within a given moment. This acceptance is ultimately the catalyst for change.
After fostering the acceptance of the present moment, with all its thoughts, beliefs, and experiences, your ACT therapist will encourage you to develop a new, more compassionate relationship with your experience.
Individuals experiencing a wide range of psychological issues can benefit from ACT because it emphasizes their unique relationship with their problems.
Have you ever felt stuck, ashamed, embarrassed, guilty, stressed, traumatized or overwhelmed? These are some of the many emotions we can experience on a daily basis throughout our lives. You are not alone. I enjoy working in collaboration with clients in recognizing this, as well as identifying their strengths, working through past events, thoughts, feelings or behaviors, that they have felt ha...
I enjoy working with clients to identify and commit to what's most important in their lives, grow inherent strengths and wisdom in order to meet life's challenges, and explore new possibilities. I believe each person deserves a process of change and healing appropriate their unique life story. My approach is centered on compassion, acceptance, mindfulness, practicality and is often infused with...
I specialize in working with young adults, adolescents, and their families in individual, couple, and family therapy. Sometimes we worry that coming to therapy means something is wrong. I believe it means something is right. Often, my clients find themselves facing more decisions and questions about who they are and what they want out of their lives and relationships than ever before. This is a...
Gretchen is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor. She comes from a strength-based approach that is understanding and non-judgemental. Her career path originally started out in Public Relations and Marketing at Bradley University in Peoria, IL. Her early career was focused on live events, sports marketing, advertising and entertainment media with Fortune 500 companies. She enjoys executive...
I am a warm, caring, and compassionate Therapist with experience in working with young adults and professionals of various backgrounds. I am passionate about social justice and human rights and I consider myself culturally, developmentally, and trauma informed in order to assist and guide individuals towards growth, resiliency, and a sense of healing (w/ a focus on BIPOC). I have extensive...
We are a comprehensive mental health agency composed of an integrated team of psychologists, physicians, therapists, and speech/language pathologists who specialize in different areas to offer treatment and assessments to children, teens, adults, and families. We aim to provide clarity and recommendations for individuals to achieve academic, social, and mental health goals, including but not...
IMPORTANT CHANGE IN RESPONSE TO CORONA VIRUS: I am now offering telemental health counseling only. Telecounseling, or video therapy sessions, are now the most protective and effective way to access compassionate support during this time of crisis. I am using the Doxy.me platform which meets the highest HIPAA and Health Information Technology and Clinical Health Act requirements. Please remember...
HERE FOR YOU. If you are feeling defeated in your relationship, overwhelmed by life, burned-out by obligations, or angry at others, you’ve come to the right place. Here you can find a safe place to share and honor your story, discover your purpose, and break free of shame, guilt, anger, and other areas holding you back from being the most effective and authentic version of yourself. The clients...
Johanna Jelenek is a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in anxiety, depression, eating disorders, life transitions, and substance abuse. Ms. Jelenek works with adults, adolescents, and couples and is integrative in her treatment approach, often combining cognitive-behavioral, cultural-systemic, emotion-focused, and mind-body techniques. She tailors treatment interventions to the speci...
You want to stop worrying so much & enjoy your life. You’re constantly comparing yourself to others & believing that you don’t measure up. You want to feel more fulfilled at work & create a clear career path. You want to learn more about yourself & what has been holding you back. If any of these statements sound like you, I can help. Through our interactive sessions, I will help you identify yo...
My practice is rooted in the idea that we are all born with basic goodness, something we never lose. As we grow, messages are passed down from parents, family, and society that create our world view. Experiences shape how we attach to others and ourselves. As children, we would have had no choice but to take in these beliefs. These messages were often the products of well-meaning, conditioned...
Have you ever experienced an incident in life that you couldn’t quite figure out how to get through on your own? Has there been a time in your life or childhood where you have something traumatic or life altering happen to you? Have you ever lost a loved one or someone close to you and can’t figure out how to move passed it? Have you ever felt sadness, anxiousness, or confusion about life? If y...
Treatment is a partnership, where we explore together what approaches work best for your needs. It will only work if it works for you. Emotional safety and pacing yourself, in what you decide to address, how, and when, is important to making progress. Your information and sessions will always be kept private and confidential. As of 10/9/2020, my practice is full, but I will be re-evaluating on...
*Mon/Tues/Thur daytime openings* Whether adolescent or adult, many of us have gone through times in our lives when we have experienced confusion and doubt about ourselves, our relationships, the world, and our place in it. This distress can lead to symptoms of anxiety and depression among other mental health disorders which take us farther from our intended and hoped for destination: a useful a...
