Erik Giles, LCSW
Direct, conversational, interactive therapy.
I came to this work after 25 years in the corporate world and after raising both my biological and blended families. I also spent plenty of time in therapy myself during those years, and that shaped me as much as anything else. It gave me a strong sense of what real help feels like, what does not, and the kind of therapist I wanted to become later in life.
Before becoming a therapist, I worked in engineering, business, and executive leadership across large institutions and high-pressure environments. I know what it is like to carry responsibility, make difficult decisions, manage loneliness at the top, and try to keep work, partnership, parenting, and identity from pulling your life in different directions. I became a therapist because I wanted to offer the kind of therapy I would have wanted earlier: authentic, useful, direct, and grounded in real life.
Erik Giles, LCSW is a Chicago therapist and the founder of Modern Therapy Alliance who works with adults and couples dealing with couples and relationship issues, career and work stress, men’s issues, parenting and family strain, financial challenges, major decisions and transitions, and therapy for therapists. He also connects especially well with professionals, executives, parents, caregivers, and clients who want therapy to feel active, honest, and grounded in lived experience. Erik offers both in-person and telehealth therapy.
How I Help Clients at Modern Therapy Alliance
I work primarily with adults and couples who are trying to solve real problems in real life, not just understand themselves a little better for an hour each week. A lot of my clients are dealing with relationship stress, work pressure, identity conflicts, parenting strain, financial stress, or the kind of decision that follows you around all day because the stakes feel high. Others come in because they are successful on paper but know that something about the way they are living is out of alignment.
A lot of my work comes down to helping people close the gap between their values and their behavior. Sometimes that gap shows up in a marriage that keeps circling the same fight. Sometimes it shows up in a career that no longer fits, a parenting style that is not getting the result you want, a financial life that feels loaded with shame or avoidance, or a life transition that has left you paralyzed. Sometimes it shows up in people who are used to functioning at a high level while quietly knowing that underneath, things are not working.
Whether I am working with an individual, a couple, or another therapist, my goal is the same: help you get honest about what is happening, understand what is driving it, and move toward a life that is more aligned, more workable, and more fully your own.
How I Work
- I keep therapy conversational, interactive, and direct, so it feels like a real dialogue rather than a passive or overly clinical experience.
- I am not afraid to offer feedback, practical suggestions, psychoeducation, metaphors, or concrete next steps when they would actually help.
- I bring both clinical training and lived experience into the room, including years in corporate leadership, family life, and the kinds of decisions people often feel too embarrassed or overwhelmed to say out loud.
- I work relationally, but I am not rigid about method. I draw from psychodynamic, attachment-based, trauma-informed, ACT, DBT, CBT, and emotionally focused ideas when they serve the work.
- I value authenticity in both directions. I am not interested in hiding behind therapist jargon or pretending that neutrality is the same thing as usefulness.
- I work best with people who are open to feedback, ready for change, and willing to apply what we talk about outside the session.
Clients I Work With
I work with adults, couples, parents, professionals, executives, and other therapists who want therapy to be useful in real life. Some clients come in because they are stuck in the same relationship pattern, work dilemma, or financial stress cycle and cannot figure out why insight alone has not changed it. Others come in because they are carrying too much: too much pressure at work, too much responsibility at home, too much self-doubt, too much unspoken resentment, or too much uncertainty about what comes next.
I connect especially well with men, high-functioning professionals, parents trying to build healthier families, couples who need more than surface-level communication advice, and therapists who want a therapist of their own. I also work well with women who prefer a more direct, conversational style and with clients who want accountability as much as empathy. If you want therapy that feels human, honest, and focused on real movement, we may be a good fit.
Specialties & Services
Couples & Relationship Issues
I work with individuals and couples who want help with communication, recurring conflict, money, sex, parenting strain, commitment questions, and the deeper issues underneath the same old fight. Couples and relationship therapy with me is direct, practical, and focused on understanding what is really happening between two people, not just replaying arguments.
Career & Work Support
I work with professionals, managers, executives, and other adults dealing with job decisions, burnout, work identity, unemployment, performance pressure, role transitions, and the challenge of building a career that still fits the rest of their life. Therapy can help you think more clearly, decide more confidently, and stop feeling trapped between options.
Men's Issues
I work with men who want a therapist they can talk to directly about work, relationships, sex, identity, shame, performance, fatherhood, and the complicated emotional weight of being a man right now. This work is honest, practical, and grounded in both therapeutic skill and lived male experience.
Parenting & Family Support
I work with parents and families dealing with parenting stress, discipline problems, mismatched parenting styles, guilt, anger, and the fear that they are getting it wrong. Parenting work with me focuses on helping you build resilient kids, healthier family systems, and a parenting style that is grounded rather than reactive.
Financial Challenge Issues
I work with individuals and couples whose relationship with money feels loaded with anxiety, shame, avoidance, conflict, or confusion. This is not financial planning. It is therapy for the emotional and relational side of money, so your financial life can support your values instead of constantly threatening them.
Decisions & Transitions
I work with clients facing major decisions and life transitions: whether to stay or leave, move or stay put, take the job or turn it down, start the family, end the relationship, or make peace with a decision they have already made. This work is about finding the path you can actually live with.
Therapy for Therapists
I work with therapists who want their own therapy to be clinically informed, efficient, direct, and honest. This is not supervision. It is therapy for therapists who know the language, know how easy it is to talk around the problem, and want real work on their own patterns, relationships, countertransference, and emotional life.
Ready to Start Working with Erik?
If you are looking for therapy that is direct, relational, and focused on helping you make meaningful change in real life, reach out today. Whether you are dealing with relationship conflict, work stress, parenting challenges, money issues, a major decision, or the private exhaustion of being the person everyone else relies on, Erik can help you get clear, get honest, and move forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Erik's approach to therapy?
My approach to therapy is direct, conversational, relational, and focused on real change. I want therapy to feel like an honest conversation that actually goes somewhere. I am going to listen carefully, ask a lot of questions, offer feedback when it is useful, and help you understand the patterns behind relationship stress, work pressure, men’s issues, parenting strain, financial challenges, and major life decisions. I do not think therapy needs to be cold or vague in order to be effective.
Who is a good fit for working with Erik?
I work especially well with adults and couples who want more than just support or validation. A lot of the people I connect with are men, professionals, executives, parents, therapists, and couples who want accountability, honesty, and practical movement. You do not need to have everything figured out before you start, but it helps if you are open to feedback and willing to work on what is actually happening in your life.
Who is not a good fit for working with Erik?
I may not be the best fit if you want therapy to stay mostly reflective, highly passive, or focused only on being heard without moving toward change. I am also not the right fit if you are looking for me to simply take your side against a partner, validate a parenting choice that is not working, or avoid saying the harder thing when it matters. My style is respectful, but it is also direct.
How is Erik's style different from therapy that's mostly validation?
Validation matters, but I do not think it is enough by itself. Most people come to me because they want something to change. That means we are going to look at your goals, your behavior, your blind spots, and the gap between what you say matters and how your life is actually functioning. I am not here to criticize you. I am here to help you do something useful with what you are learning.
Can Erik help with specific skills and action steps?
Yes. I do a lot of practical, skills-based work when it fits the problem. I can offer concrete tools, homework, reframes, communication strategies, and very specific things to try between sessions. I am not tied to worksheets for the sake of worksheets, but if actionable steps would help, I am happy to be direct and practical.
What will the first session with Erik look like?
The first session is usually active and practical. I want to understand what is bringing you in, why now, and what would make therapy feel useful right away. We are not going to spend weeks circling before we address the real issue. We will start with the problem in front of you, begin getting to know how you work, and start building a direction for the therapy from the beginning.
What does Erik mean by "men's issues"?
Usually it means the kinds of things a man may be more comfortable talking through with another man: provider pressure, relationship issues, sexual concerns, dating, fatherhood, shame, bad behavior, performance stress, or the emotional baggage around what it means to be a man. It is not a gimmick or a stereotype. It is simply an acknowledgment that some issues really are gendered, and some men find it easier to be candid with a therapist who understands that from the inside.