You deserve to feel supported and heard throughout your fertility and pregnancy journey. Our counseling practice in Chicago, IL offers group therapy and workshops to help you connect and heal. Sessions at Flourish Counseling & Wellness are currently conducted using an online group therapy format.
Six Benefits of Group Therapy:
- Group therapy allows individuals to develop self-awareness by listening to others with similar issues.
- Hearing from others who have similar experiences helps validates your feelings, allowing you to feel less alone.
- Group therapy provides a sounding board, in which you will receive a broad range of perspectives.
- Groups help propel you forward, getting you unstuck by facing challenges and confronting fears.
- Group therapy is a cost-effective to receive support.
- Group therapy can be an incredibly powerful, healing way of connecting with others and gaining coping skills while simultaneously learning a great deal about yourself.
Current and Upcoming Groups at Flourish
Queer Conceptions: A Fertility Support Group
Connect virtually with other hopeful queer parents-to-be. In this group, you’ll be able to share the ups and downs of the conception process in a safe and affirming space.
Discussion Topics:
- Building resilience in a cis/heteronormative medical world
- Gender identity and pregnancy
- Known vs. unknown donors
- Coping with insemination cycles & living life in two-week increments
- Aspects of the conception process that are unique to queer families
Group Information:
Online group meetings will take place bi-weekly beginning on Wednesday, March 3rd at 12:00pm. The cost of attendance is $30 per session.
Group sessions will be led by one of Flourish’s therapists, Kara Peterson, M. Ed, LPC. Register for this group by contacting us using our contact form.
Your Voice, Your Story: Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Support Group
Recurrent pregnancy loss can be devastating. And, you are not alone. Talking about your experience in a safe place can be your first step towards a path to healing. So, we welcome you to share your story with us. Through group sessions guided by a perinatal mental health specialist, you can be the narrator of your experience.
Group Information:
Online group sessions will be held bi-weekly on Mondays from 6:00pm – 7:00pm. Group sessions begin Monday, February 22, 2021 and end May 3, 2021. (There are six sessions in the series). The cost is $30 per session.
Group sessions will be guided by Flourish Counseling and Wellness Staff Psychotherapist, Michelle Perkins PhD, LSW. Register by contacting us using our contact form.
Navigating Your Fertility Journey: An Online Process Group
Family planning can be a consuming, overwhelming and isolating experience. Especially, amidst a pandemic. In fact, 1 in 8 couples have difficulty getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy. Of those, only 5% will seek additional support, despite evidence of how beneficial therapy can be. This infertility online support group can help you feel a sense of community with other women who are in the midst of their fertility journey.
Discussion Topics:
This group will offer you support, coping tools, and weekly fertility topics, such as:
- Relationships: Navigating your friends/family/workplace dynamics
- Anxiety: How it shows up & tools to manage it
- Social Media: The pros & cons
Group Information:
We are currently recruiting for our next online support group cycle. To register, please get in touch with us using our contact form.
Past Groups & Workshops
Healing Birth Circle Workshop
Gain support and connection with women who have given birth during the COVID-19 outbreak. Flourish’s Healing Birth Circle is a one-time workshop to share and connect about birth stories.
Discussion Topics:
- Discuss the expectations for your birth
- Process and rewrite the story of what occurred
- Develop coping skills for stressors, including: anxiety, grief and shame
- Create options for continued support
Workshop Information:
This circle will be held periodically. Please contact us if you are interested in being added to the contact list for the upcoming healing circle.
New Moms: An Online Support Group
Pregnancy is a period of tremendous adjustment and uncertainty. And, mow more than ever, our levels of stress and anxiety may be heightened. So, this ongoing online support group offers an opportunity to connect with a community of women during your pregnancy and postpartum journey. You will be able to discuss the collective challenges mothers are facing amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Group Information:
This group will be held periodically. Please contact us if you are interested in being added to the contact list for the upcoming session.
She Flourishes: A Mind+Body Workshop
Motherhood changes our physical and emotional states. And, this leads to a variety of challenges as we navigate our postpartum journey. This workshop will offer strategies for reconnecting with your body by setting mindful intentions to simplify post-baby body challenges and emotional well-being. Further, all women are welcome, no matter where you are at in your prenatal or motherhood journey.
Workshop Information:
In this workshop, Emily Heilman of Flourish Counseling & Wellness and Rebecca Qualiato of The She Revival will help participants:
- Explore the significance of the mind-body connection
- Engage in mindfulness & grounding techniques to help alleviate stress, anxiety and restore a connection to the mind-body
- Gain understanding of the pelvic floor & diastasis recti: what it is and how it is impacted during pregnancy & birth
- Learn pelvic floor exercises you can do at home to help heal/tone the pelvic floor
- Receive local resources for postpartum health & wellness
Facilitator Information:
- Emily Heilman, MA, LCSW, PMH-C, Psychotherapist & Founder of Flourish Counseling & Wellness
- Rebecca Qualiato, Pregnancy/Postpartum Exercise Specialist, Founder of The She Revival
This group will be held periodically. Please contact us if you are interested in being added to the contact list for the upcoming workshop.
Birth Doula Process Group
Nearly 1/3 of births are identified as “traumatic” by women and their partners. And, whether the trauma is medical or social-emotional, birth workers are at the forefront in supporting women through birth and postpartum journey. Further, Doula work is a high-risk profession, requiring the birth worker to support the birth giver and partner. All this takes place while carrying their own birth experiences, trauma history and mental health. This group will provide you with a safe space to process the birth journeys you witness, while paying particular attention to what gets stirred up in you, allowing you to be more present and self-aware with the women and families you serve.
Group Information:
This group will be held periodically. Please contact us if you are interested in being added to the contact list for the upcoming session.
Get Involved in Group Therapy and Workshops in Chicago, IL
Support groups can be an impactful tool for healing. Further, processing with others experiencing similar situations can lead to powerful connections. If you are ready to sign up for a support group or workshop at our Chicago-based counseling center, follow the steps below.
- Reach out to us with questions and inquiries using our contact form.
- Speak with one of our caring therapists.
- Connect with other Chicago-area parents and find support.
Other Services at Flourish Counseling and Wellness
At our Chicago-based therapy practice, we focus on women’s and LGBTQ+ individuals’ needs. We meet with clients in-person or online using online therapy in Chicago. Further, our therapists specialize in full-spectrum mental healthcare for fertility struggles and pregnancy. Along with our support groups and workshops, we provide individual counseling services and couples counseling for one or multiple partners. If you’d like to learn more about us, feel free to check out our blog!
(312) 659-4718 | contact@flourishcounselingltd.com