Meet Christopher Walker

CHRISTOPHER WALKER, LCPC

Staff Therapist

Chris says:

Psychotherapy can be a transformative, empowering, and very beautiful process. I am so grateful and humbled to see the effects of that process on a regular basis. It never ceases to amaze me to witness individuals tap into a vast wealth of inner resources that lead to healing, peace, power, and creativity. I am someone who facilitates change, and the people who come to see me for therapy really deserve credit for the growth and empowerment in their lives.

Tell us a little about your work:

Since March 2012 I have been a therapist with Counseling Solutions, and before that I worked as a therapist in other settings, going back to 2008. The work I do as a therapist is eclectic, but mostly cognitive-behavioral: traditional cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment-based therapy, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, and motivational interviewing. I am also in the process of getting a hypnotherapy certification. I work with individuals, couples, and groups. I see adults, adolescents, and children. I specialize in anger management, depression, anxiety and transition issues with men.

Tell us about you as a person:

The person I am informs my work as a therapist. I am a husband, and a soon-to-be father. I lived in Chicago for 12 years before moving to the western suburb of Glen Ellyn where I also have an office out of which I practice. I used to perform live music in Chicago and still consider myself a musician. I am an advocate of social, economic, and environmental justice. Go Cubs!

What is one of your favorite quotes and why?

“I’m not perfect, but I’m enough.” –Carl Rogers

I love this quote by Carl Rogers, the founder of Person-centered therapy. The statement embodies the attitude of so much of what I do as a therapist. It creates a foundation that can soothe anxiety about the challenges of the future, it can transform the kind of depressed mood that comes from low self-worth into a feeling of acceptance, it can motivate people to persevere towards behavioral change even after falling off the wagon and making mistakes, whether that behavioral change is related to substance abuse, anger management, or something else.

Said another way: none of us is perfect, but every one of us is enough. There’s reassurance and relief in the fact that we all struggle, we all make mistakes, but every mistake we make is ultimately redeemed by the “enoughness” of who we are. It may feel like a cliché to say “we all make mistakes,” but how many times do we forget to remember that on a real level? How many times do we unconsciously say “I am not enough”, “I do not accept part of myself”, or “Yeah, I really am a mistake”?

I can be reached at christopher@counselingsolutionschicago.com with any questions or comments.