Meet Samantha Sperlak, providing therapy for women’s issues in Chicago & across IL

It’s time to take your needs seriously.

You’ve been in therapy before and you don’t know why it feels like it didn’t quite work.

You are worried that you are broken.

You have always been the strong one and are starting to feel like you are falling apart.

You don’t know why your life looks different than you envisioned it would.

You’re in the right place.

I work with ambitious women to break free from unfulfilling relationships and patterns that are holding them back. Often they’re in caregiving roles such as parents, therapists, teachers, or healthcare workers and they’re looking to bring more joy, intention, and peace into their lives.

My clients often care a lot about what other people think, sometimes they call themselves people pleasers. They often carry the weight of the world on their shoulders and don’t even know it. It can often feel difficult to stop all of the “doing” for others and to start “doing” for themselves.

You’ve been to therapy before and are wary of putting more metaphorical bandaids on a metaphorical broken bone. Or maybe you are the biggest cheerleader of therapy for your loved ones but you’ve never taken the plunge yourself. Either way, I am here to be a non-judgemental and compassionate source of support to meet you where you are at and to help get you to where you want to go.

I have years of experience helping women gain more insight into themselves, achieve more balance in their relationships, and experience the sense of peace knowing that they are in control of their lives.

Therapy can be intimidating, there’s a lot that happens behind closed doors.

I am here to be a guide as you navigate your therapy journey and begin to learn how to take care of you.

I will be a source of support to:

encourage you to get to know yourself better
challenge unhealthy thought patterns
discover valuable resources and skills

Believe it or not, once we improve the relationship we have with ourselves we start to show up differently and more intentionally in other areas of our lives. I understand how freeing it can feel to create a new path for yourself and enjoy a life that aligns with your authentic self.

My years of working in the mental health field have provided me with various opportunities to deepen my understanding of what things motivate humans to make the choices we do. I believe the answer to this lies in the core relationships that shape our lives and who we become.

My education, trainings, and passion for deep life chats have allowed me the opportunity to approach each client with a compassionate and flexible style that is direct and unique to each client’s individual needs. By using a more insight-oriented and relational driven perspective with my clients, we are able to get to know you and how you got here, which will help us guide you to where you want to go.

The relationship between a therapist and their client is my favorite ingredient in the recipe of therapy. Research tells us time and time again that the quality of the relationship between the client and therapist is the best indicator of change, not preplanned scripts or blanket coping skill lists. Each client is unique and deserves a therapy space that is uniquely created just for them and their healing.

Together in our working relationship, we can help you to have real life experiences of being cared for, successfully having difficult conversations in a safe place, and being seen for who you really are. I have found over and over that these essential ingredients of depth therapy have a profound impact in supporting my clients to make lasting changes.

Training & Education

Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Illinois
Perinatal Mental Health Certification (PMH-C)
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MA in Counseling Psychology with Concentration in Trauma & Crisis Intervention from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, IL
BA in Psychology from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL
Exposure Response Prevention for People with Vaginismus from Dr. Martha Tara Lee

My core values

These are the values that guide my work as a therapist.

Vulnerability

I am a human helping other humans. I may get it wrong sometimes and I do my best to be open to that feedback and own up to it when I can.

Empathy

I am here to walk alongside you and to hear you, not to talk down to you.

Reflection

Together we are helping you to look in the mirror and see the world as it is, not how your pain may see it.

Cultural Humility

My experiences are my own and I work hard to be available to hear the experiences of others.

Pleasure

I believe everyone has a right to pleasure and hope to help you own yours.

Dependable

In working with you, I am making a commitment to care for you. I do my best to show up consistently from scheduling to session structure.

Why ‘Olive & Sage Wellness’?

If I didn’t live in such a cold climate, I would have a garden full of sage bushes and olive trees. In addition to being some of my favorite foliage, I feel connected to the symbolism behind each of the words:

Olive Branches- Peaceful offerings, second chances. Sage Leaves- Wisdom, intelligence, and experience.

After all, isn’t therapy ultimately about growing your inner wisdom and fostering peace?