I did not take a straight path into becoming a therapist, and that shapes a lot of how I work now. Both of my parents were counselors, so this kind of work never felt foreign to me, but it still took me time to get here myself. Before therapy, I spent years trying on other directions, including politics, law school, corporate work, restaurant work, and other jobs that taught me a lot about people, pressure, and what it feels like to question whether you are in the right place. I kept coming back to the same thing: I wanted work that felt more direct, more meaningful, and more human. I wanted to sit with real people, understand what was actually going on for them, and help them figure out what to do next.

Part of why I became a therapist is that I know how much the right fit matters. Therapy can be incredibly helpful, but it can also feel frustrating when it stays too vague, too passive, or just does not quite connect. I have always found people interesting. I like understanding how they think, how they get stuck, what they tell themselves, and what actually helps them move forward. To me, therapy is not just about talking in circles. It is about figuring things out. It is about understanding what is wrong, what keeps happening, and what may need to change.

As a therapist, my style is collaborative, conversational, and direct. I like a real back-and-forth. I ask a lot of questions, I bring ideas into the room, and if I think I am seeing something important, I will say it. That does not mean I think I know your life better than you do. It means I want therapy to be active and useful. I will support you, but I am also going to be honest with you. I think good therapy helps you ask better questions, see your patterns more clearly, and start doing something different with what you are learning. If therapy is working, it should feel like something is actually moving.

I tend to work especially well with young professionals and other adults who want to do the work. By that, I do not mean having everything figured out before you walk in the door. I mean being willing to think about therapy outside the room, bring your real life into the conversation, and try to apply what we are talking about instead of leaving it behind at the end of the session. A lot of the people I connect with are dealing with anxiety, ADHD, self-doubt, work stress, life transitions, relationship concerns, or the feeling that life looks mostly fine on the surface but something still is not working underneath. I also work well with people who want help understanding how they show up in relationships, how communication breaks down, and why the same patterns keep repeating.

A few parts of my own life make that feel personal. I am not originally from Chicago, so I know what it is like to move to a new city and have to build a life there from the ground up. I know what it is like to look around and wonder where you fit, how to create routine, and how long it takes before a place starts to feel like yours. I also know what it is like not to feel fully sure what you want to do with your life, to work toward something for a long time and then realize you may need to make a change. I have had to make those kinds of decisions myself, and I know how hard it can be to trust your own judgment when you are trying to figure out whether to stay the course or do something different.

I also spent about fifteen years in intense athletics and played college soccer, so I understand what it is like when sports, structure, routine, and a big part of your identity fall away and you have to figure out who you are without them. A lot of people underestimate how hard that transition can be. You lose the built-in community, the physical outlet, the rhythm, and sometimes the clearest version of who you thought you were. I know what it is like to have to rebuild after that and find a different way to structure your life.

I live with type 1 diabetes as well, and that has shaped the way I understand people who are carrying something real that they did not choose. I know what it is like to live with a chronic medical issue without wanting it to define you as a person. I know what it is like when part of your life requires constant attention, and you still have to build a full identity around more than just that one thing. That experience makes me especially aware of what it feels like to live with something difficult while still trying to be fully yourself.

If you are looking for a therapist who will be thoughtful, direct, and willing to work with you to make sense of what is going on, I would be glad to talk. If this sounds like the kind of therapy you are looking for, reach out and we can start figuring it out together.