Empowered Connections Counseling

While many LGBTQIA+ Americans living today realized their orientation and came out of the closet when they were teenagers, there are many adults who experience this at an older age and have the challenge of coming out to a romantic partner. It can be emotionally fraught to not only face the reality that your orientation is different than you originally believed, but to admit this to your partner. There is so much to consider – will they be supportive? Will this fundamentally change the nature of your relationship? If you’re anxious or unsure about how to come out as q***r to your straight partner, ECC Therapist Gia Scalise offers some guidance in our latest blog post to help you prepare for the conversation. Head to the link in our bio to read it.

Our sexual and gender identities can have a distinct impact on our mental health, in ways both positive and challenging, and every person’s experience is unique.

Whatever your experience has been, you deserve support as you learn to express your authentic self.

We’re here for you. Reach out today if you need support, just head to the link in our bio. 💛🏳️‍🌈

June is Men’s Mental Health Month. Stats show that 16% of American men are in mental health therapy, vs 25% of women. In his Q&A for our blog today, ECC Therapist Peter Beer shares about the most common issue he sees among young men seeking therapy for the first time—loneliness—and how he coaches them through it.

He also shares his journey to becoming a therapist and the approaches he he finds beneficial in working with clients.


Read Peter's Q&A via the link in our profile.

Realizing the dynamic between you and your partner feels imbalanced isn't fun. 😣

Maybe you're the partner who has a hard time expressing yourself because it feels like your partner is always talking over you, and their emotions can feel overwhelming.

Or maybe you're the partner who does more labor in your relationship, from hashing out disagreements, to managing money, meals, appointments, and plans, while your partner seems to do the bare minimum.


👀 One framework therapists use to explore high-conflict relationships is over- and under-functioning, and it might be helpful for you and your partner(s).


In a recent blog post, ECC therapist Grace Eiden breaks down this framework and why it can be helpful for couples who are struggling to understand each other, and how gender dynamics can come into play. If you're looking for constructive ways to break through old patterns in your relationship, follow the link in our bio to learn more. 👉🔗

🏳️‍🌈 This month and every month, we celebrate people of all identities along the LGBTQIA+ spectrum and acknowledge the unique impact one’s identity can have on their mental health, from being afraid to come out for fear of rejection, to the joy of feeling safe to be your whole self in every room you enter.

Wherever you’re at on your journey, our therapists at ECC are here for you. Our diverse group of licensed therapists support individuals, relationships, and families of all backgrounds, identities, and mental health histories. Reach out today if you need support. 💛

How you feel in your relationship and how you relate to each other can have an enormous impact on your mental health and well-being.

Relationship therapy (a.k.a. couples counseling) counts as mental health treatment, and there are several therapy approaches that have sufficient evidence to be considered effective treatments* for relationship distress:
💚 Cognitive‐behavioral couple therapy,
💚 Integrative behavioral couple therapy (IBCT)
💚 Emotionally-focused couple therapy (EFT)

At ECC, our diverse group of therapists work with individuals and families of all backgrounds and all types of romantic relationships – straight, LGBTQIA+ 🏳️‍🌈, monogamous, polyamorous, partnered, married, divorced, etc. Together, we can help you find the right therapist and therapy approach to forge healthy bonds with your loved ones. (We provide IBCT and EFT at ECC!)

Head to the link in our bio to book an intake session today 👉🔗



*Source: Lebow & Snyder, 2022

🎉 Congrats to our team members on their recent professional milestones! We're proud of you.

Our team at ECC is committed to professional growth so that we can better serve our clients. Learn more about our team members via the link in our bio.

No one likes feeling emotionally uncomfortable—sad, angry, anxious, rejected—but that discomfort can be perceived as extra scary or threatening if you process sensations that come with emotions (e.g., increased heart rate) differently due to a neurodivergent condition, such as autism.

😓 One person may be able to experience a heart rate increase related to anxiety and go about their daily lives with minimal disruption, while a neurodivergent person may experience that heart rate increase and not be able to focus on anything else.

💡Somatic Experiencing Therapy (SET) can be a useful therapeutic tool for helping neurodivergent individuals learn to experience these uncomfortable body sensations safely and release tension or stress in healthy ways.

🧠 In a traditional talk therapy session, a therapist will start with the brain—in other words, they work with patients to use cognitive skills to approach memory and trauma. But in Somatic Experiencing Therapy, therapists flip the script and start with the body to work towards the brain, addressing bodily sensations as a path to accessing thoughts, emotions, memories, and trauma.

Read our full post to learn more about how SET works and why it can be beneficial for neurodivergent people, as well as those who have a history of PTSD, anxiety, addiction, and even chronic pain. 👉🔗💛

Oftentimes individuals seek therapy in order to learn the “why” of their current issues. Yet many times, an individual already knows the answer to that question, thinks ECC Associate Therapist Tothyanna White. In her work with clients, Tothyanna offers a person-centered, non-judgmental approach to help clients uncover the answers to the questions they're asking. She utilizes solutions-focused therapy practices to guide clients to their own ability to address issues and change their lives, and collaborates with them to determine the goals and solutions that best suit their needs.


With a Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Tothyanna specializes in working with adults with anxiety, depression, and psychosis. She also has experience working with children, adolescents, and families.

Tothyanna has availability for new clients of all ages. Learn more about Tothyanna by visiting our website via the link in our profile.

Caregiving for children is hard work. It’s an enormous responsibility, and if you’re the primary caregiver, you’re probably facing not only the ins and outs of your child’s development, but the social and financial pressures that come with raising a kid, on top of all the other responsibilities you have: work, relationships, family. 😓

Taking care of children can also bring up feelings and memories about how *you* were treated by your caregivers as a child.

If you’re facing feelings of inadequacy, burnout, and frustration as a caregiver, or you’re caught off guard by how parenting has triggered painful memories, you’re not alone. You deserve mental health support so that you can show up as the supportive parent we know you want to be for your kid(s).💚

At ECC, our diverse group of therapists work with individuals and families of all backgrounds and mental health histories, and with flexible schedules (in person and online!) to meet your needs. Head to the link in our bio to book an intake session today. 👉🔗

Research points to a noticeable increase in prevalence for the two most common types of mental health disorder—anxiety and depression—when one’s partner has the same condition. Specifically, studies have shown that a woman in a relationship with a man who has anxiety are three times more likely to face anxiety themselves. Women in a relationship with men who have depression were over 4x more likely to experience depression. (Source: BrainsWay)

It’s normal for your partner’s well-being to affect your own, but here’s the thing: you both deserve mental health care. 💚

If you need support so that you can continue to be a strong support to your partner(s), we’re here for you. At ECC, we offer multidisciplinary therapy to individuals, couples, and families of all backgrounds and mental health histories. Reach out today to book an intake session via the link in our bio. 👉🔗

We’re so much more than the most painful or difficult parts of our lives, whether it’s Big ‘T’ Trauma, our brain chemistry, a chronic condition, a mistake that we've made, or something else that’s causing us sadness and grief.

If you need help tapping into joy, confidence, self-compassion and forgiveness, or contentment, we’re here to help. Head to the link in our bio to connect with an ECC therapist. 🔗💛

🧠✨Moving through the world as a neurodivergent person can feel like an emotional rollercoaster, at times exciting as you realize how uniquely your brain functions, and other times exhausting as you face engrained social biases and misunderstanding.

Having a safe space to explore these experiences with a therapist who trusts your perspective can help you build self-acceptance, confidence, and contentment.

At ECC, we have several therapists who offer neurodivergent-affirming therapy, applying multidisciplinary methods from Acceptance and Commitment therapy, to expressive art techniques, to somatic experiencing, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and other methods to create a unique experience suited to each individual’s needs and goals.

If you’re looking for neurodivergent-affirming therapy in Chicago, Empowered Connections Counseling offers treatments for individuals of all ages. Head to the link in our bio to learn more and book an appointment 👉🔗

It's true - you don't have to walk the path to healing alone. 💚

If and when you're ready to seek support, our therapists at ECC are here to help you find a way forward. We offer multidisciplinary support to people of all ages and backgrounds, and with a range of mental health experiences: depression and anxiety, neurodivergent conditions, PTSD, eating disorders, relationship conflict, and more. Together we'll find the therapist and approach to suit your unique needs.

Whether we’re talking about our personal lives or our collective past, it takes courage to break cycles, try new approaches, and embrace change.

If you need help breaking old patterns, we’re here to support you. Link in bio.🔗💛

April is and we’re here to voice our support for survivors of all backgrounds, genders, and ages. You are not alone, and you don’t have to carry the weight of your experience by yourself.

This month and always, we’re here to offer compassion, validation, and empowerment. If you’re looking for a safe space and person to talk about what happened, reach out. Our team will help you find the therapist and approach to support your needs.

Associate therapist Leticia Pérez has worked individuals of all ages and backgrounds to trust themselves and cope with the challenges of life. She brings a multidisciplinary approach to her therapy practice, incorporating Adlerian theory to help clients reflect on their early childhood and family dynamics and how those experiences influenced them, as well as art therapy practices to help clients feel comfortable opening up in sessions.


Leticia specializes in working with individuals of all ages who are struggling with anxiety, depression, grief, self-esteem, body image, chronic illnesses, stress, and life changes.

You can read a blog post by Leticia, "5 Tips for Managing Social Anxiety" via the link in our blog.


Leticia has availability for new clients of all ages - in English or Spanish! Learn more about Tania by visiting our website via the link in our profile.

One of the most important things to understand about social anxiety disorder is that it is a mental health issue, not a personality trait such as shyness or introversion. It’s also not a developmental phase or lack of confidence. It’s something that can interfere with your daily life and keep you from connecting with others, even those you love.

If you’re a person with social anxiety, you probably already know this instinctively and might have had a hard time articulating this to the people in your life.💔

👥You’re not alone – an estimated seven percent of American adults have social anxiety, with 75% experiencing the onset of social anxiety symptoms as teenagers.* If you’ve noticed an increase in the volume and intensity of anxious thought patterns in the last few years since the COVID-19 pandemic, you aren’t alone — it’s estimated that social anxiety disorders rose more than 25% globally since 2020.**

A multidisciplinary approach to therapy can help you learn to regulate your mind + body together:
🧘‍♂️mindfulness practices like deep breathing
🎨 art therapy
🛋traditional psychotherapy like CBT

At ECC Chicago, we’re committed to working with patients to find the right therapist and combination of therapeutic methods to suit your needs and experiences. Read our latest blog on social anxiety via the link in our bio, or book an intake session to learn more. 👉🔗
💛Together we can help you connect meaningfully with your life.



--
Stat sources:
*Mental Health America
**National Library of Medicine

Does the dynamic between you and your partner feel imbalanced sometimes? Like you’re the person in the relationship who works hard to express your emotions, while your partner shuts down at the first sign of conflict? 😑

Or maybe the opposite is true: you’re the partner who has a hard time expressing yourself, because when you’re in conflict with your partner, their emotions can feel overwhelming. 😓

Maybe one of you does more of the labor in your relationship—managing money, meals, appointments, and plans—while the other seems to do the bare minimum?

💡One way to understand this dynamic is through the framework of emotional over-functioning and under-functioning. Let’s be honest, it doesn’t feel great to realize you’re either one. You and your partner probably both feel a sense of disconnection and misunderstanding, especially when the same old fights come up again and again. In today’s blog post, ECC Therapist Grace Eiden (MA, AMFT), unpacks the over/under-functioning dynamic and how therapy can help you and your partner practice new ways of showing up for each other, for real. Read the full post at the link in our bio 👉🔗

Sexual assault effects individuals of all backgrounds, genders, and ages. This month, and every month, we at ECC Chicago stand with survivors.

We're here to provide a beacon of hope, understanding, and healing. Your story matters, and you deserve support every step of the way.

At ECC, our diverse group of therapists provide multidisciplinary support to survivors of all ages and their families. Head to the link in our bio to learn more.

Transformation is possible.🌷 Sometimes we all need help tapping into that inner strength to embrace change.

ECC therapists are here to help you connect meaningfully with your life. Head to the link in our bio to book a session today. 🔗💛

“I don’t believe in anything being a ‘personal problem,’” says Riley Brennan, our current graduate intern therapist who is completing her Master’s in Couple and Family Therapy at Adler University.

In her Q&A on our blog today, Riley shares what it means to be a systems therapist: someone who works with clients to consider the system influences that impact their mental health, from family and friends, to workplace dynamics, religion, and politics.

“This approach is helpful because it can free you from the responsibility and shame of being or having a problem; it’s not all you! We can all take responsibility for problems and we can all work together to make them better. This provides opportunities for real, lasting change.”

For more about Riley, including what she’s reading, listening, and watching, visit the link in our bio. 👉🔗 Riley and a few other ECC therapists have immediate openings for relationships, families, and individuals, including adolescents and teens. Book an appointment with one of them today on our website. 💛

We get it: the social stigma around relationship therapy can prevent partners from seeking much-needed external support, and even more so for romantic partners who don’t conform to hetero monogamous relationships.

But we think seeking relationship therapy is a really good sign: it shows that you and your partner(s) are invested in improving or repairing your bond. ❤️‍🩹

In our new blog post, we cover the warning signs that you and your partner(s) should seek relationship therapy, and which therapy methods can be helpful. Follow this link to read the full post. 🔗 https://empoweredconnectionscounseling.com/blog/2024/2/6/do-you-amp-your-partners-need-relationship-therapy

At Empowered Connections Counseling in Chicago, our therapists support all types of romantic relationships—straight, LGBTQIA+ 🏳️‍🌈, monogamous, polyamorous, partnered, married, divorced—as well as individuals who are single, healing from heartbreak or loss of a partner, or recovering from intimate partner violence or betrayal. Together, we can help you find the right therapist and therapy approach to forge healthy, meaningful connections in your life. Reach out today to book a session.

In the age of social media, concepts like gaslighting can spread in the cultural conversation in ways that are both helpful (👍more people being aware of abuse dynamics!) and hurtful (👎misinterpreting conflict with a partner out of fear of being gaslit.)

Think about it this way: emotional invalidation and manipulation are tools in an abuser’s toolbox. 🛠🧰 Gaslighting takes manipulation to extreme with the intention of controlling another person.

☝️ But for most of us, manipulation is something we do as a maladaptive communication style because we learned it from our families of origin, not because we’re intentionally trying to hurt or control our loved ones.

🔍 It’s important to take a step back when you’re in conflict with someone to discern the difference so that you can communicate freely and form secure attachments.

💡In a healthy relationship, partners will work together to bring these behaviors out into the open and learn to accept influence from one another i.e., be open to the other person’s perspective, reach compromises, and understand each other better.

In today’s blog, we outline the key differences between gaslighting and manipulation, along with signs that you may be experiencing gaslighting. Head to this link to read the full post. 🔗 https://empoweredconnectionscounseling.com/blog

If these concepts are helpful to you, follow along! 💛Save our posts to revisit, and share your own thoughts in the comments.💬 If you’re looking for personalized support to help you create meaningful connections and change in your life, we’re here to help. Licensed in the state of Illinois, ECC’s group of therapists offer multidisciplinary counseling to adults, children & teens, relationships, and families. Book an appointment today via the link in our profile. 🔗

We hope you take this day to remember to honor yourself. To show yourself the love that you freely give to others.
Showing love to those that have lost someone they love today.
Showing love to those who are creating their own version of love.
Showing love to those who are celebrating love.
Showing love to every single one of you 💕

Embrace the beauty in our diversity✨
Beautiful words spoken by author . Have you read one of books? Let us know 👇 👇 👇

For this week’s blog post we are highlighting the dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) skill, GIVE (with a twist).
Typically GIVE is a tool used to practice healthy communication in relationships. However, staff therapist Garth LaHue, LMFT dives into how you can *also* use this highly effective tool when it comes to your relationship with yourself.
CLICK the link in our bio to read more about using GIVE to practice positive self-talk. There is no better time than the new year to put self-love into action!

Happy holidays, from our team to yours.
We hope everyone has a warm and restful holiday ❄️

Have you been looking for an organization to support this year? Do you value mental health? Do you want to support a black charitable organization? Do you enjoy coffee and hip-hop?
Then STOP what you are doing to read more about this wonderful organization .
is helping CHH&MH reach their $65,000 fundraising goal for 2022. Every dollar will go towards therapeutic services for those facing financial hardships, rent for their café that supports their therapy program, and SO MUCH MORE.
Click the link in our bio to send all donations to practice owner, Danielle Zawadzki.
[email protected]
*PLEASE note that your payment is for a CHH&MH donation*

SWIPE >>>
What is your grounding affirmation for the day? A phrase and intention you can consistently circle back to.
There is power in the language we use and speak to ourselves. It can be a simple subtle shift, and on some days can make the world of difference.
Affirmations are not a one size fits all solution. However, they can be a simple tool to place in your tool box on any given day.
So bust out a sticky note and hang it on your wall in front of you!