Matters of the Heart
“Look at my life
Look at my heart
I have seen them fall apart
Now I’m ready to rise again
Just look at my hopes
Look at my dreams
I’m building bridges from these scenes
Now I’m ready to rise again”
I believe we are shaped by our experience of relationships. The quality of care, protection, and guidance we receive early in life creates the blueprint for our identity and our relationships, and these relational encounters often repeat throughout the lifespan. Because our well-being depends on these bonds, we often instinctively bargain away parts of our true Selves to maintain them—sometimes even bonding with those who are unsafe or unloving.
Love is not a privilege; it is a vital necessity. This is the heart of matters, and the heart of what matters. When our authenticity feels like a threat to our belonging, our "core Being" goes into hiding. We exchange our true feelings for pseudo-belonging, or, in the face of repeated harm, even when it’s in the past, we dissociate into a state of "pseudo-living". Many of the people I work with are "high-functioning" in the eyes of society, yet privately harbor a sense of emptiness, doubt and shame.
My practice is dedicated to those who are tired of life standing still in an endless loop and are ready to reclaim the authenticity they once set aside for survival.
About
Individual Therapy I Specialize in Supporting:
‘High-functioning', high-achieving individuals who, despite their outward successes, carry a private sense of unease, shame, or disconnection.Creative and sensitive souls who have often felt 'other' or different within their families or cultures.
‘Workaholics’ who believe they have to earn approval by pushing past their limits, being “high-producing” and often overworked.
Perfectionists who are constantly chasing the illusion of an idealized world and the pursuit of their ideal, Aspirational Self.
Intellectuals who have mastered the security of reasoning and logic, but are baffled by matters of the heart
Caretakers who learned that focusing on the needs of others is a way of earning love and value
Peacemakers who mediate and harmonize their environments but feel empty and unsure of who they are, often feeling unheard, unseen and unknown
Professional troubleshooters in their own lives—people who are skillful at preparing for the 'worst-case scenario' but struggle to access a sense of internal security and peace, despite their best laid plans
Those who may be trapped in a cycle of novelty-seeking and dopamine cravings, fearful of deprivation and encountering the void
Couples Therapy:
Because we are built for connection, I also work with couples to illuminate the hidden dynamics of their partnership, helping both people understand their role in creating a relationship that is both resilient and nourishing.
Jennifer Stridh, LMFT, CCTP
Founder & Psychotherapist
(She/Her)
Approach
Guiding Values
honesty . curiosity . authenticity . transparency . mutuality . compassion commitment . reliability . courage . accountability . connection . trust acceptance . humor . empathy . truth . symbolism . integration . reverence
Whether you are navigating a specific trauma or simply feel stuck in a difficult season of life, I offer a non-judgmental space to reconnect with yourself with honesty and compassion. My practice is dedicated to fostering a therapeutic relationship where clarity and self-actualization can emerge through newfound capacities.
Clinical Specialties & Modalities
Focus Areas: Relationship Therapy, Complex Trauma, Relationship to Self, Family of Origin, Toxic Shame, Perfectionism, Difficult Trusting Self & Others and Life Transitions. (Please see offerings & services tab for a full list of clinical topics)
Framework: Relationally-Centered, Insight-Oriented, Compassion-Focused and Trauma-informed.
Modalities:
Attachment Theory
Humans rely on attachment to a safe, secure other as an essential part of staying alive. The quality of our earliest bonds serves as a "working model" for how we view ourselves and how we interact with the world throughout our lives.
Depth/Insight Work
Depth oriented Psychotherapy is founded on the idea that the "soul" or "psyche" has layers, and that healing requires descending into the parts of ourselves we have ignored or suppressed. Depth oriented psychotherapy engages in bridging the unconscious and conscious states through symbolism, imagery, dreams, complexes and the Relational Field
Parts Work
Identifying and growing by being in relationship to and integrating the world of inner complexes, or “parts”
Systemic & Integrative Therapies
The importance of understanding how our identities and lives are embedded in systemic contexts, such as cultural/political/economic/social structures
Gestalt
The Felt Sense of Here & Now; Encountering our Existential Nature
Compassion
Gentle, Loving-kindness in the face the suffering
Mindfulness
The practice of non-judgemental, present-centered awareness of thoughts, feelings, sensations, stimuli, and the surrounding environment
Qualifications & Trainings
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in the states of Illinois & Colorado
MSc- Marriage & Family Therapy - Northwestern University
BM- Vocal Arts & Performance - Manhattan School of Music
Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP)
Clinical Fellow - American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists
Member: MFTs in Trauma - American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists
Clinical Practicum -The Family Institute’s Bette D. Harris Family & Child Clinic
Clinical Training Program in DBT & RO-DBT -The Family Institute’s Mindfulness & Behavior Therapy Program
Post-Graduate Clinical Training in Analytical Psychology - The Salomé Institute of Jungian Studies
Post-Graduate Advanced Clinical Training & Consultation - Chicago Center for Integration & Healing
Post-Graduate Clinical Consultation - WomenCare Counseling & Training Center
10 years experience practicing in clinic, private group & solo practice settings in Chicago
“You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
― Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit
Location
Offering in-person appointments in the Lincoln Square-North Center neighborhood of Chicago, and offering HIPAA-compliant telehealth appointments to Illinois & Colorado residents.
4256 N. Ravenswood Ave., Suite 219
Chicago, IL