FAQs about counseling, therapy, and psychotherapy in Chicago

Lincoln Park in Chicago IL

Chicago is a perfectly sized city, if you ask me. It is big enough to enjoy a good meal at a restaurant from any part of the world, to have whole industries who use Chicago as home base, to offer cultural experience for every palate, awesome sports teams, beaches, and direct flights to almost anywhere in the world. And yet Chicago is just small enough to navigate with ease; it has neighborhoods that have everything you need, and density that still can feel spacious. I spent my early adulthood in other states out west, which I love, but I am glad every day that I settled back here in Chicagoland.

And yet, when you are going through a hard time, and you decide you need some extra support to get through it, it can be overwhelming to know how to get scheduled with a good therapist.

If you’ve been in therapy before, you know how it important it is to find someone among all the therapists out there who fits what you are looking for. If this is your first time getting into therapy, there might be a lot you aren’t sure about: what am I even looking for? Do I need counseling in the first place? Even when you find a few therapists in Chicago that seem nice enough, you probably have a lot of questions- that is completely normal.

Here are some of the most common questions I hear from new clients. You might recognize some of your own from among them!

FAQs about therapy and counseling in Chicago

Question #1: How do I know if I need counseling?

Counseling can be a great option if you notice that you are struggling more days than not, in your relationship or just in yourself; if you keep trying to make things better and nothing seems to work; if you know what you need to do yet find that it’s just so hard to get yourself to do it. You may feel stressed out, anxious, discouraged and just want to figure out how to feel better. Counseling is beneficial in just these circumstances. Meeting with a skilled clinician can give you just the support you need to make the changes you seek.

Question #2: What should I ask a therapist before meeting with them?

You were probably already planning to ask about insurance, cost of sessions, availability, virtual vs. in-person, those kinds of logistics. But what comes after that? I have written about this more extensively elsewhere, but among all the questions you could ask, my personal favorite is, “Have you worked with someone like me (my kind of issues) before?” and “What is your approach?” Listening to how they respond, and noticing how much it resonates with what you are looking for, helps you know if you should schedule that first appointment or keep looking.

Question #3: How long will therapy last?

The truth is that there is no set amount of time you could expect to be in therapy. Solution-focused therapy tends to be brief, somewhere between 8-15 sessions, and can be ideal for someone who is functioning in their life but struggling with something specific: heightened anxiety, mood changes, parenting issues, relationship challenges, or life that has just become more stressful. For other people, it helps to develop a long-term relationship with a therapist, to work through trauma, complicated grief, prolonged depression, or pervasive anxiety. You might benefit from doing deeper work on old issues and staying in therapy for months or years. It might even be that you start therapy focusing on one issue, like job stress, but uncover other things you would like to work on now that you are in treatment.

The bottom line is that counseling lasts as long as you are benefiting from it! When you are feeling better in the way you wanted to when you began therapy, you know that you might be ready to stop.

Question #4: What is the difference between a counselor, therapist, social worker, and psychologist in Chicago IL?

The main difference among counselors, therapists, social workers and psychologists is the type and length of education they pursued before becoming licensed. Counselors and therapists (same thing, different words for it) and social workers all have Master’s degrees, while psychologists have PsyD’s or PhD’s. In another blog I go into a lot more detail about this if there is more you’d like to know.

Question #5: How often will we meet?

Typical counseling or therapy meets weekly for 45-50 minute sessions, especially at the beginning of treatment. If you are experiencing more distress, and you find a counselor who offers it, you might benefit from meeting twice a week initially. When you start meeting the goals you had for therapy, you may shift to a biweekly or as-needed schedule, in order to reinforce the changes you have made.

Question #6: What actually happens during a session?

Typical sessions revolve around a conversation you have with your therapist: you share what is going on in your week, you talk about your past in order to gain insight about your life today, you talk about how the things you are working on in therapy are going. Your therapist asks questions, offers insights, shares empathy and even challenges, but will rarely give you advice.

Question #7: How will I know if therapy is working?

Hopefully you talked with your therapist at the beginning about what your goals are for therapy. In 3 or 6 months, how would you like to feel? What will be happening if therapy is working for you? This gives you both a way to notice when what you are doing in session is working or is getting off track. Generally, you’ll know that therapy is working because you will feel better, more in charge of your life, have more clarity and confidence and less emotional dysregulation. At least more days than not!

I hope this helps you find the right therapist in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. If you are still feeling stuck, feel free to call me at (312) 409-4960 for a free 15-minute phone consultation. I’d be happy to hear about what is happening and help direct you to the right person. If you are looking for help with couples counseling in particular (my specialty), you can read more about how I can help here.

Author Bio
Melinda Yachnin, LCPC, is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in La Grange and Chicago IL.  She specializes in couples counseling for people in long-term relationships and has been counseling couples for almost 30 years in the Chicago area.  She uses Gottman Method, Imago Therapy, EFT and RLT in her work with couples so that couples can access the practical skills in everyday life and the deeper currents that can transform their relationships.  She has been married for 25 years and raised three children with her husband, a perspective that has enhanced her commitment to helping couples navigate the many stages of a life together.