Therapy for Medical Professionals in Chicago

What’s your identity beyond the white coat? When’s the last time you had a chance to think about that? Being a doctor becomes an all-encompassing identity. Therapy can help physicians explore: Who am I outside of this role? It supports them in reconnecting with passions, values, and personal relationships that often get sidelined.

You can probably think of several occasions when you’ve experienced moral injury & ethical dilemmas. Many physicians feel emotionally wounded by systemic constraints—like being unable to provide the care they know is needed due to insurance, hospital policies, or time limitations. Therapy helps them process anger, grief, and ethical distress without suppressing it. We can help you decide what, if any, action to take that feels in alignment with your values.

Given the all encompassing nature of the work, it’s common to experience relationship strain & disconnection from the people who are most important to you outside of work. Long hours, emotional depletion, and stress can take a toll on marriages, parenting, and friendships. Therapy gives physicians a place to improve communication, show up more fully in their relationships, and feel less alone.

Therapy for Nurses

Nurses also have unique experiences in their role that can create a strain on their mental health. We’ve compiled a list of some of the most common…

Compassion fatigue & chronic stress is no joke. Nurses, in their role, are putting their patients needs above their own for their entire shift. Nurses are on the front lines of patient care, often absorbing intense emotional experiences. Therapy provides space to process the overwhelm, recharge emotionally, and reconnect with their capacity to care—without depleting themselves in the process.

Nurses are often implicitly in the role of being the “strong one” for everyone. Many nurses are natural caregivers—not just at work, but also at home. In therapy, they can finally stop holding it all together and receive support, validation, and care for themselves.

Workplace trauma & PTSD can be a regular part of the job. Exposure to patient deaths, medical emergencies, and workplace violence (especially in ER and ICU settings) can leave lasting trauma. Therapy helps nurses process those experiences in a safe, healing space.

There are so many reasons why nurses may feel guilt, grief & helplessness. Whether it’s the loss of a patient, witnessing suffering, or not being able to do “enough” due to systemic limitations, many nurses carry unresolved grief or guilt. Therapy allows them to name and release that emotional weight.

Nurses often navigate toxic or hierarchical work environments. Many nurses feel undervalued, dismissed, or overburdened in hospital systems. Therapy helps them develop assertiveness, process workplace dynamics, and explore healthier ways to advocate for themselves or consider new career paths.

Somatic Therapy for Physicians, Nurses & Medical Professionals

In medicine, you're trained to stay calm under pressure, keep going through exhaustion, and care for others no matter the cost. But that “survival mode” can leave lasting effects—physically, emotionally, and mentally.

Somatic therapy, one of our specialities at Balanced Awakening, is a body-based approach that helps you regulate your nervous system, release stored stress, and feel more grounded—without having to talk through every detail. It’s especially powerful for physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers who carry invisible burdens every day.

Why Somatic Therapy?

Somatic therapy has so many benefits for medical professionals!

Shift out of chronic fight-or-flight and into a calm, steady state, through a regulated nervous system. Somatic therapy helps you recover from long-term stress and reset your baseline. Ready to heal burnout from the inside out? Burnout isn’t just mental—it lives in the body. Somatic therapy helps replenish energy, restore inner balance, and reconnect you with what it feels like to rest. Somatic therapy can be key in helping you heal from trauma, gently. Whether you’ve witnessed suffering, made life-or-death decisions, or felt helpless within a broken system—somatic therapy offers a safe way to release those experiences without re-triggering or retraumatizing. It also can help you learn to recognize stress signals early, stay present under pressure, and bounce back with more ease after tough days. After years of pushing through, many professionals feel numb or disconnected. Somatic therapy helps you come home to your body, your needs, and your sense of self.

Who Somatic Therapy Helps in Healthcare

Somatic therapy is ideal for:

• Physicians, residents, and fellows

• Nurses, NPs, and nursing students

• CNAs, EMTs, and frontline healthcare workers

• Medical professionals healing from burnout or trauma

• Anyone ready to feel again—not just think

Art Therapy for Physicians, Nurses & Medical Professionals

In healthcare, you're trained to think fast, stay composed, and put others first. But constant emotional suppression can take a toll—leaving you feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or stuck.

Art therapy offers a creative, non-verbal way to process stress, burnout, and trauma—especially when words aren’t enough. You don’t need to be an artist. You just need a safe space to express what you carry every day.

Why Art Therapy?

Art therapy can help medical professionals tap into a different way of being in the world, which has many benefits for their role in healthcare. Sometimes the stress, grief, or ethical conflict you experience can’t be put into words. Art therapy gives you a language beyond talking—one that taps directly into your emotions and nervous system. Engaging in creative expression helps calm the nervous system, reduce anxiety, and release physical and emotional tension—without needing to "perform" or explain. Art therapy can also aid in processing trauma. Whether it’s a difficult case, systemic injustice, or feeling helpless in a broken system, art therapy helps make sense of painful experiences in a safe, embodied way. Who comes first in your role in healthcare? Usually the patient. Medical professionals often lose touch with their own needs and identity. Art therapy helps you rediscover joy, imagination, and parts of yourself that may have been neglected. This can lead to tapping into your meaning and purpose. Through the creative process, many professionals reconnect with their "why"—the deeper reason they chose medicine in the first place. Art therapy helps reawaken that sense of purpose.

Imago Relationship Therapy for Medical Professionals

Physicians, nurses, and healthcare workers often give so much to others that their own relationships are left running on empty. Long shifts, emotional exhaustion, and constant stress can leave little space for connection, intimacy, or meaningful communication.

Imago Relationship Therapy helps you reconnect—with your partner, your loved ones, and yourself. It’s especially powerful for medical professionals who want to feel seen, heard, and valued in their relationships again.

Why Imago Works for Healthcare Workers

When your energy is depleted at work, there’s often nothing left to give at home. Imago helps you and your partner understand each other’s inner worlds—so you can move from disconnection to closeness and rebuild your connection. Ready to learn safe, structured communication? Imago’s intentional dialogue technique helps you express yourself clearly while truly listening to your partner—without defensiveness or blame. Imago can also help heal the impact of stress on relationships. Chronic stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout can lead to irritability, withdrawal, or resentment. Imago helps both partners understand how those patterns form—and how to repair them with empathy.

Did you know that Imago can bring awareness to unconscious patterns that could be unknowingly hindering your relationship? Imago explores how early relationship dynamics shape how we show up in adult partnerships. This insight helps break cycles of conflict, misunderstanding, or emotional shutdown. Finally, Imago sessions can be a dedicated time for individual and relationship growth. Even if one partner works long hours or carries emotional trauma from the job, Imago makes space for healing—together and individually.

Who Imago Helps:

• Physicians, nurses, and residents navigating stress-related relationship challenges

• Healthcare couples trying to reconnect after burnout or trauma

• Partners of medical professionals who want to feel seen and understood

• Anyone ready to grow together in deeper, more conscious ways

No matter what your role is in healthcare, we are here to support you.

If you’re not sure where to start, take a few minutes to complete our matchmaking form and we’ll connect you with a therapist who is a good fit for you.