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Surviving the Holidays with Family Boundaries: Coping Strategies for a Stress-Free Season By Farah Hussain Baig, LCSW The holiday season is here, and whether it’s about finding gifts, planning travel, or meeting year-end goals, this time of year can bring a lot of stress. A common source of holiday stress? Spending time with family. Not […]

Surviving the Holidays with Family Boundaries: Coping Strategies for a Stress-Free Season By Farah Hussain Baig, LCSW The holiday season is here, and whether it’s about finding gifts, planning travel, or meeting year-end goals, this time of year can bring a lot of stress. A common source of holiday stress? Spending time with family. Not […]

Discover the Power of Gratitude to Enhance Wellbeing, Boost Happiness, and Transform Your Mental Health By IVPC Staff Imagine you are on a dream tropical vacation that you have been planning for months to escape all your chores and daily stressors. It is winter, cold and snowy in your hometown, and you look forward to […]

Boundaries and Relationship Tips from a Chicago Therapist By Farah Hussain Baig, LCSW Picture this scene…You are standing at the corner, waiting for your bus to take you home after a long day at work. You’ve been waiting patiently for ten minutes, and it’s nowhere in sight. Ten minutes turn into twenty, and you start […]

Boundaries and Relationship Tips from a Chicago Therapist By Farah Hussain Baig, LCSW Picture this scene…You are standing at the corner, waiting for your bus to take you home after a long day at work. You’ve been waiting patiently for ten minutes, and it’s nowhere in sight. Ten minutes turn into twenty, and you start […]

Mindfulness Practice and DBT Have you ever found yourself reconnecting with a friend or loved one at the end of a day, and after 15 minutes of conversation you realized that you had not heard a word they said because you were lost in your thoughts planning for the next day or worrying about your […]

By Felicia Levy, LCSW Have you ever heard of EMDR? EMDR is short for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is an evidence based therapy technique that helps people reprocess past events in order to alleviate current symptoms, triggers and distress from troubling memories. I was first introduced to the process many years ago following […]

By Felicia Levy, LCSW Have you ever heard of EMDR? EMDR is short for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is an evidence based therapy technique that helps people reprocess past events in order to alleviate current symptoms, triggers and distress from troubling memories. I was first introduced to the process many years ago following […]

Love is in the air, or maybe not. February is often the month that brings up the topic of relationships, romance and love. Everywhere we go we’re reminded that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. For some though, relationships aren’t always filled with Hallmark cards, flowers and chocolate. Sometimes relationships can be a challenge. […]

by Farah Baig, LCSW   Fall is a favorite season for many people. The leaves are changing, the air is crisp, football is on TV, people are cooking and baking, fireplaces are lit, and so much more. For others this time of year is not so easy. It signals the end of summer, the days […]

by Farah Baig, LCSW   Fall is a favorite season for many people. The leaves are changing, the air is crisp, football is on TV, people are cooking and baking, fireplaces are lit, and so much more. For others this time of year is not so easy. It signals the end of summer, the days […]

Seeking Help for Addiction? Addictive disorders are difficult to come to terms with. According to the National Institutes of Health, ten percent of adults in the United States will suffer from a drug abuse disorder of some kind at some point in their life. What’s further, Chicago is one, unfortunately, deeply affected. The Substance Abuse […]

What is EMDR therapy? Eye Movement Desensitization & Bilateral Stimulation explained. EMDR stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. EMDR therapy approaches mental health – particularly painful events and negative beliefs, using eye movement desensitization. Bilateral stimulation is used to induce eye movement, which, through multiple sessions, can often calm emotional distress. Why, though? Bilateral […]

What is EMDR therapy? Eye Movement Desensitization & Bilateral Stimulation explained. EMDR stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. EMDR therapy approaches mental health – particularly painful events and negative beliefs, using eye movement desensitization. Bilateral stimulation is used to induce eye movement, which, through multiple sessions, can often calm emotional distress. Why, though? Bilateral […]

By Alana Lehrfield, LSW “Don’t give up what you want most for what you want now.”  –Richard G. Scott Delayed gratification refers to the ability of an individual to resist doing something fun, pleasurable or rewarding now, in order to gain a more valuable reward in the future.  For example, you could go to a […]