Mark Silveira, LCPC

PSYCHOTHERAPY

So Now What?

Well, since I imagine we’ll be seeing each other on a regular basis for at least a while it would be nice if it wasn’t too much of a trek to get here. So take a look and see if either of my two locations would be reasonably convenient for you. Then I’d suggest you call or send me an e-mail, which I promise I will respond to promptly—almost always within 24 hours—since you already made it through the initial and most important screening test: You read all the way to here.

What Are You Hoping to Find?
I only ask because having spent 25 years writing advertising I know there’s a chance I might inadvertently give you the impression I’m it when that’s really the last thing I want to do.
Truth be told, for a good percentage of the people reading this my approach to helping individuals come to grips with whatever it is that's making them miserable—anxiety in all its unnerving varieties, depression in its equally grim assortment of somber hues, anger, confusion, stress, all the trials and tribulations life is heir to—might be entirely wrong.

I’m a little on the intellectual side, use a lot of analogies & metaphors and have a “colorful” way of putting things. I talk a lot. Like to explain things so people can connect the dots. But have no desire to connect them for people, (since it’s unlikely I’d get it right in the first place). I can be awfully blunt, which some find abrasive, others refreshing. I can also be pretty irreverent. Again, a way of going about things some people find unsettling, others disarming. But then I would never claim to be everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, there are days when I’m not even my own cup of tea. It all depends on your perspective.

Which coincidentally just might be the best guide to actually finding exactly what you're looking for—in a therapist and life in general I'd venture to say—your ever-changing and adaptive perspective on people and things.

So how might you further develop the sense of me you’re already getting (and presumably if you’re still here finding at least somewhat intriguing)?

A quick phone call wouldn’t be a bad idea. That way you could see how I do at listening, (since all I’ve been doing so far is talking) and get a sense of how comfortable it is to tell me stuff. If that connection feels good, that’s about as sanguine a sign we could hope for at this stage. And if it doesn’t, well the sooner we discover that the better, right?

Practical Considerations
Of course there are a few more things we could get clear on before you go through the bother, (and c’mon, admit it, the discomfort) of making that first call.

For example, what kinds of people do I work with?

I work with men and women 18 years of age or older with no particular preferences as far as demographics go, although I do seem to work especially well with professionals, the kind of people who are accustomed to having all the answers and thus especially flummoxed when they suddenly don’t, smart people and verbal people, (now there’s a surprise!).

I don’t specialize in any particular area although most of the people I work with would likely say depression or anxiety was what inspired them to look for a therapist. That, and maybe finding it harder and harder to tolerate people, including themselves, along with a nagging feeling that life could be a whole lot more fulfilling and enjoyable than it presently is.

I also have no one-size-fits-all, evidence-based approach to which I subscribe. I use CBT tactics when it appears they might be useful, same with ACT and REBT. (EIEIO I leave to Old McDonald and his farm). Mainly I concentrate on being an observant listener poised to pounce on anything that might elicit responses such as: “gee, I never thought about it that way” or “that’s a different way of looking at things…” both hallmarks of therapeutic progress since they tend to suggest a shift in perspective.

I charge $160 a session and accept Aetna Student Health, BCBS PPO, BCBS Blue Choice, Cigna, Humana, UMR and United Healthcare insurance plans. It’s also possible to arrange for a sliding scale or deferred payment plan when circumstances warrant.

Contact me

Evanston Office

1604 Chicago Ave., Evanston, IL 60201

847.254.4663

Chicago Office

30 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1515, Chicago, IL 60602

847.254.4663

marksilveirainc@gmail.com