Career Counseling & Work-Life Balance Therapy
Reclaim Your Professional Identity Without Sacrificing Your Life
Staring at your computer screen wondering "is this it?" Exhausted from constantly proving yourself? Feeling like work is consuming everything? Whether you're facing career burnout, struggling with work-life balance, or navigating the impossible intersection of ambition and motherhood, you don't have to figure it out alone.
When Success Comes at Too High a Cost
You've done everything "right"—the degree, the promotions, the achievements—yet something feels deeply off. Your career is thriving on paper, but you're struggling on the inside. The work-life balance everyone talks about feels like a cruel myth.
You might be experiencing:
- • Sunday night dread about Monday morning
- • Chronic exhaustion that vacation can't fix
- • Guilt about work when home, guilt about home at work
- • Imposter syndrome despite your accomplishments
- • Resentment toward your career or family
- • Physical symptoms from stress (headaches, insomnia)
- • Feeling like you're failing at everything
- • Lost sense of who you are beyond your job title
These feelings aren't weakness—they're signals that something needs to change.
Career stress and work-life balance issues are some of the most common struggles for professional women today. The system wasn't designed for us, and trying to succeed within it takes a toll.
Therapy can help you recalibrate, set boundaries, and build a sustainable professional life aligned with your values.
Career Challenges We Address
Burnout & Stress
- • Chronic career burnout
- • Compassion fatigue (helping professionals)
- • High-pressure environments
- • Always-on culture exhaustion
- • Recovery from overwork
- • Stress-related health issues
Workplace Issues
- • Toxic work environments
- • Sexism and microaggressions
- • Office politics and dynamics
- • Difficult colleagues or bosses
- • Being the "only woman"
- • Professional boundary setting
Professional Identity
- • Imposter syndrome
- • Perfectionism paralysis
- • Fear of failure or success
- • Comparing yourself to others
- • Lost passion or purpose
- • Identity beyond job title
Career Transitions
- • Questioning your career path
- • Career pivot anxiety
- • Job change stress
- • Promotion adjustment
- • Returning after career break
- • Entrepreneurship challenges
Leadership Challenges
- • First-time leadership stress
- • Managing former peers
- • Executive pressure
- • Likability vs. competence bind
- • Leading authentically
- • Decision-making confidence
Specific Situations
- • Returning after maternity leave
- • Working parent challenges
- • Age discrimination concerns
- • Academic career pressure
- • Creative blocks
- • Financial anxiety
The Work-Life Balance Myth
Let's be honest: "balance" suggests equal time and energy, which is rarely realistic. What we're really talking about is work-life integration and sustainability. Creating a professional life that doesn't require sacrificing your health, relationships, or sanity.
Common Work-Life Struggles:
- • Never truly "off" from work
- • Constantly checking email
- • Missing important life moments
- • No time for self-care or hobbies
- • Relationships suffering from work stress
- • Sacrificing health for career
- • Parenting guilt (working mothers)
- • Partner conflicts about household division
We Help You:
- • Set and maintain boundaries
- • Identify what's truly important
- • Challenge perfectionism
- • Navigate workplace expectations
- • Communicate needs effectively
- • Build sustainable routines
- • Process guilt and resentment
- • Find flexibility within constraints
Navigating Career & Motherhood
The intersection of career ambition and motherhood presents unique challenges. Society often frames it as an either/or choice, but the reality is more complex and personal.
Common Challenges:
- • Timing career with biological clock
- • Pregnancy discrimination concerns
- • Maternity leave transitions
- • Pumping at work logistics and stigma
- • Childcare costs vs. income calculations
- • Mom guilt about work hours
- • Career advancement fears
- • Decreased mental capacity (mom brain)
- • Partner expectations and support
- • The "second shift" reality
Therapy Support:
- • Processing conflicting desires
- • Challenging societal expectations
- • Building confidence in your choices
- • Navigating workplace conversations
- • Setting family boundaries
- • Managing guilt and shame
- • Partner communication strategies
- • Identity integration (mother + professional)
- • Practical decision-making frameworks
- • Self-compassion development
Our Therapeutic Approach
Values Clarification
- • What actually matters to you (not others)
- • Identifying non-negotiables
- • Aligning career with authentic values
- • Distinguishing "shoulds" from "wants"
Practical Strategy
- • Boundary setting at work and home
- • Time management and prioritization
- • Communication skill building
- • Sustainable routine development
Emotional Processing
- • Managing career-related anxiety
- • Processing burnout and exhaustion
- • Addressing guilt and shame
- • Building stress resilience
Systemic Understanding
- • Recognizing workplace inequities
- • Understanding gendered expectations
- • Challenging internalized messages
- • Advocacy and self-protection
The Unique Challenges Professional Women Face
The Mental Load
Planning, managing, remembering—for work, home, and everyone else
The Double Bind
Too aggressive or too soft, never just right at work
The Guilt Factor
Feeling selfish for having needs or career ambitions
The Biology Question
Career timing pressures intersecting with fertility windows
The Pay Gap Reality
Making less while often doing more at work and home
The Second Shift
Full day at work, full evening managing household
We understand these realities and factor them into your support
Career Therapy FAQs
"Is career therapy different from career coaching?"
Yes. Career coaching focuses on goals, strategies, and action plans. Career therapy addresses underlying emotional patterns, trauma, mental health issues, and systemic barriers that impact your professional life. We integrate both practical strategy and deeper emotional work.
"I can't quit my job or make major changes. Can therapy still help?"
Absolutely. Many people can't or don't want to leave their jobs. Therapy helps you manage the emotional impact of your situation, set boundaries, build resilience, and maximize options within your constraints. Sometimes the most powerful change is internal.
"How is this different from regular therapy?"
We have specialized understanding of workplace dynamics, professional identity issues, and the unique pressures women face in career settings. We can help you navigate both the emotional and practical aspects of your professional life in an integrated way.
"Will my employer or insurance know what I'm seeking help for?"
No. Your sessions are completely confidential. Insurance claims use general diagnostic codes and don't specify that you're working on career issues. Your employer has no access to your therapy information.
Signs It's Time for Career Counseling
- •Sunday night anxiety ruins your weekend
- •You fantasize about escaping your career
- •Physical symptoms from work stress
- •Relationships suffering from job demands
- •Lost sense of who you are beyond work
- •Can't sustain current pace much longer
- •Constant guilt about work or family
- •Questioning your entire career path
- •Success feels empty or meaningless
- •Knowing something needs to change
You don't need to be in crisis to deserve support. Prevention is valuable too.
Accessible Career Counseling Support
Insurance Accepted
- • Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO
- • Aetna
- • Cigna
Self-Pay Options
- • Initial session: $250
- • Ongoing therapy: $185
- • HSA/FSA eligible
Consider
The cost of staying stuck vs. investing in sustainable change and professional well-being
Build a Sustainable Professional Life
You don't have to choose between career success and personal well-being. Work with therapists who understand the unique challenges professional women face and can help you create a path forward that honors all parts of your life.
Evening and weekend appointments available
Conveniently located in Bucktown, serving Chicago professionals from all neighborhoods. Virtual sessions for flexibility.