Hello & Welcome

My practice specializes in the treatment of Complex Trauma, which has several names: Childhood Trauma, Attachment Trauma, Developmental Trauma & C-PTSD.

I believe we become based on how we are treated by others. The quality and consistency of love, care, protection, play, nurturance and guidance we receive early in life shapes us, creating the blueprint for our relationship to ourselves and others, our course of love and identity. We bond to other people for our well-being and sense of security in the world. Our being depends on it. So much so, that we innately are willing to bargain and forfeit parts of our true Selves to get and keep attachment. We may even bond with people who are unsafe or cause repeated harm.

Love isn’t a privilege, it is a vital necessity. Herein lies the heart of Complex Trauma.

I believe humans have a core being, or Soul, that often has had to go into hiding for safe-keep. When we sense that we will not be accepted, liked, safe or wanted based on our true feelings, preferences, needs, differences, qualities, opinions-we exchange our authenticity for pseudo-belonging. If we are repeatedly harmed, or deprived of acknowledgement and care- we dissociate from life itself, pseudo-living. Humans are deeply resourceful and find ways to cope with the unyielding need for love and the unbearable suffering of its absence, soulache.

Many people I’ve worked with learned how to be “high-functioning” members of society, while privately harboring a sense of emptiness, shame and alienation. They often yearn for connection and validation, while remaining stuck in unfulfilling relationships, and in familiar roles at work and in love. Painful experiences keep repeating, while the yearning persists.

About

Woman with short curly hair and bangs wearing a floral blouse, sitting on a green chair, with a plant in the background.

Jennifer Stridh, LMFT

Founder & Psychotherapist

(She/Her)

Approach

Guiding Values

honesty . curiosity . authenticity . transparency . mutuality . compassion . commitment . reliability . courage . accountability . connection . trust . acceptance . humor .

In therapy, we will engage in four dimensions:

  1. The topical dimension which reflects the observable situations, relationships, systems, behaviors, patterns, symptoms and circumstances of your life

  2. The inner dimension (including the nervous system) which reflects potentially unseen but deeply felt, real and embodied experiences past and present

  3. The relationship between the outer and inner dimensions

  4. And lastly, the relational dimension between therapist & client/s which observes, interweaves and contains these three dimensions through dialogue and connection

Whether you enter therapy identifying with trauma, or come in to work through other challenges and stuck-points you have been facing in your life, therapy can offer a process that supports reconnecting to yourself with more depth and clarity. I am passionate about supporting people who are struggling to recover a sense of identity, self-worth and security in relationship to themselves and others. In my work with individuals, couples & families, I offer guidance in addressing a wide range of presenting issues that often accompany trauma: grief, relationship challenges, anxiety, loneliness, fixations, perfectionism, fears, depression, low self esteem, conflict, betrayal, moral dilemmas and life transitions.

I am interested in how relationships affect personal change and draw from relational models of treatment. I view therapy as an on-going relational encounter between client/s and therapist in which meaningful qualities and newfound capacities emerge as the relationship develops over time. Within those unique aspects of the relationship we explore personal and interpersonal themes that bring you to therapy.

My therapeutic style is engaging, direct, curious and nurturing. I believe therapy founded on trust and respect makes the process of healing more meaningful and possible. I am mindful of the presence of power, privilege and systemic oppression, and see love as systemically-embedded. I utilize and draw form humanistic & integrative models of treatment, including Attachment Theory, Parts Work, Systemic & Integrative Therapies, as well as Mindfulness-based and Psychodynamic orientations.

Additionally, I am dedicated to offering clinical consultation to other clinicians seeking additional perspectives and support on their cases. I also offer supervision to provisionally licensed clinicians seeking support in professional and personal development.

QUALIFICATIONS & TRAININGS

  • Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in the states of Illinois & Colorado

  • MS-Marriage & Family Therapy - Northwestern University

  • 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 -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

  • 9 years experience practicing in clinic, private group & solo practice settings in Chicago

Common Newfound Capacities in Therapy

  • Greater Self-acceptance & Self-compassion; Being your own ally

  • Capacity to feel your own inherent unconditional worth

  • Greater emotional flexibility; Capacity to feel a wide range of natural emotions including joy, anger and suffering

  • Clearer sense of identity

  • Capacity to extend respect & care to others

  • Capacity for new perspectives & outlooks

  • Capacity to discern safety & trustworthiness in relationships

  • Capacity to draw comfort from relationships

  • Capacity to feel relaxed in your body

  • Capacities for rest & observing healthy limits

  • Courage to express yourself more honestly & openly

  • Capacity to care for yourself in behaviors & decisions

  • Capacity to repair conflict with others

  • Capacity to make decisions for yourself

  • Capacity to engage meaningfully with others

  • Motivation, Persistence & Purpose; Capacity to connect and stick with meaningful activities, goals, relationships & projects

  • Capacity to feel a sense of belonging in groups & in chosen community

  • Capacity to be mindfully present in daily life & activities

  • Capacity to confront challenges

  • Capacity to receive feedback from others

  • Capacity to engage in the unknown

  • Capacity to grieve loss & change

  • Capacity for healthy problem-solving

  • Capacity to tolerate complexities

  • Greater capacity for self-reflection

  • Capacity to be accountable for yourself & your own behaviors

  • Self-regulation; New capacities for managing triggers, stress and self-soothing in healthy ways

  • Capacity to speak up for yourself when necessary

  • Capacity to play and have fun

  • A newfound sense that Life is a Gift; Life is worth living

“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 Ravenswood-North Center neighborhood of Chicago, and offering HIPAA-compliant telehealth appointments to Illinois & Colorado residents.

My in person appointment slots are currently full. I have a wait-list for in person appointments for new patients. For immediate availability, video appointments are available at this time.