Meet Your Holistic Therapist for Anxiety, Stress and Burnout in Grayslake, IL
I’m Susan Love. Anxiety, burnout, somatic therapist in Grayslake, IL
I see you…
You just got home from work, looking forward to a few minutes alone to decompress, maybe with a glass of wine.
The kids are at practice with their dad, and they will have dinner on the way home.
These moments of alone time are precious and rare.
Then, your phone beeps with a text from your friend, another crisis with her husband. You want to ignore it–but you can’t. Because you are always there for her. It’s who you are.
You have spent years doing it all for everyone, with little to nothing left for you.
You have been the competent one, the strong one–maybe managing a difficult marriage, raising a child who needs more than most, caring for aging parents–often, while also working a full-time job.
The people-pleasing, perfectionistic, quietly anxious woman who holds everyone else up and just keeps going.
You look confident and successful, but inside you doubt yourself and just feel fried or numb a lot of the time.
I get it…
I get where you are, because I have been there myself. I’m an oldest daughter of 4, so proud that I could do it all by age 7, when my second little sister was born. “So mature!” “Such a little mother!” Comments like that make a little girl feel proud, and grown up. But it also set me up for unconsciously attracting a partner who would allow me to continue to feel like I could do it all–and let me.
And I reached for the same pattern at work: the one who would do it all, do it best, and always with a smile. It felt empowering, for a while—until it started to feel like a trap I never meant to walk into, and didn’t see a way out of.
I stayed in that trap for longer than I wish I had. Then, I started therapy with the right person.
That relationship helped me pay attention to what was missing and what I needed, and to re-connect with my own intuition. Ultimately, it helped me reclaim myself. Now, helping other women reclaim themselves is one of the great joys of my life.
Holistic therapy for anxiety, depression, and burnout can help
When we are together, you can set it down. Even for an hour, here you are taken care of. It is all about you, and for once, you do not have to carry the mental load. Set it down. Breathe. Let’s untangle how you got here and figure out how to start setting it down in real life. You will learn tools to manage your anxiety and stress. We will look at the specifics of your life today and create a plan for shifting from the isolation, resentment, and burnout you are feeling to a place of peace. You will learn how to recognize and choose to honor your own needs, not just those of everyone around you.
Take the first step toward reclaiming yourself.
Is holistic therapy with Susan in Grayslake IL right for you?
Maybe you are hesitant to try therapy–people often are, for various reasons.
For one thing, women tend to put taking care of others before taking care of themselves, and therapy is all about you!
Or maybe you have tried before and it just didn’t feel so helpful.
One thing I know for sure is that what works, is working with the right person FOR YOU. I certainly tried therapy with a couple of people before I found that person, for me, and then everything started to click.
This is why I offer a free, 15 minute consultation. It gives us a chance to get a feel for each other and see if this could be the relationship that will help you get to where you want to be. I encourage you to give it a try!
My approach is holistic. I address the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of my clients’ lives. This helps them release emotional (and sometimes physical) pain and achieve balance and fulfillment.
I’ve been at this for a while! In the last 25+ years, I’ve assisted clients of all ages with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and OCD. I’ve also helped with trauma, grief, life changes, relationship issues, parenting, divorce, school and work challenges.
Insight is important, but you also need tools. Understanding why and how your life got to this point is helpful, but my clients like to start feeling better quickly. I’ll teach you how.
I know some things! But you are the expert on you. This is a collaboration. Together we will explore your journey and make sense of how you may have lost yourself somewhere along the way. Then, we will find your way back. To peace. To joy. To you.
Education and license
I received my formal training and Master’s degree in clinical social work at Loyola University School of Social Work.
Illinois LCSW license #149.006494
In addition to my therapeutic training, I trained and worked for several years in Waldorf education.
Certifications
I am an A.C.P.I. certified parent coach, and a certified Simplicity Parenting counselor and coach. I am also certified in Simplified EFT Tapping.
Behind the Scenes
I am an eldest daughter, sister, mother, stepmother, friend. I grew up as an Army brat, so I moved every couple of years and was the “new kid” a lot! I was an actor in my early years, and while doing this, I also worked at a lot of different “survival” jobs–until I started feeling like “survival” was not what I came here for. I wanted to use my precious time in a meaningful way, so I went to grad school to formally do what I had always done informally: listen really well and help people figure their stuff out.
Now, I get to do that as my work in the world. What a gift!
In my spare time, you will most likely find me outside–walking in the woods with my dog Delta or pulling weeds in the garden. Or inside the studio, throwing pots.
Besides formal training, I’m a woman with the wisdom of age and experience. I’m curious and compassionate, and easy to be with. I LOVE being a therapist, and I look forward to working with you!
