Jaime Altman, LCSW

 

Sometimes life carries one on a journey that is full of uncertainty at every turn; transitioning to a different phase of life can exacerbate this uncertainty. I find myself interested in working with individuals who find themselves in two particularly transitory phases, namely older adolescents/young adults and the senior population. With the former, I work with clients in identifying their goals and understanding how their beliefs about themselves and the world at large can impact their choices; with the latter, narrative therapy is a wonderful tool that encourages older adults to create meaning from memories while adjusting to the changing conditions of their current lives (via retirement, medical issues, caregiving for a spouse, etc).

 

I enjoy working with young adults because I remember all too well the Sturm und Drang of the age; it took me quite some time to grow into who I was meant to be, and I went down several different paths before finding my way as a therapist. I earned my BA in French and History from Wittenberg University and was halfway through a doctoral program in Romance Languages and Literatures at the University of Michigan before I accepted the fact that becoming a French professor was not actually something I wanted to do. Instead I accepted the Master’s degree from Michigan and turned my focus on becoming a therapist, in the end earning an MSW from Loyola University Chicago.

 

My fondness for older adults stems from the strong relationship I had with my grandma, as I was fortunate to spend a significant amount of time with her in her later years. I also worked with seniors as part of my placement as an intern at Family Service of South Lake County and developed an understanding of some of the many challenges seniors face while working to connect them with resources.

 

Before I joined Be Well, I worked at Samaritan Counseling and Family Services and Community Mental Health Center for McHenry County. I enjoy helping clients identify the goals they would like to accomplish and being by their side on the journey. I tend to use a combination of techniques, including but not limited to CBT, narrative therapy, DBT, and psychoeducation to help clients create meaning and discover opportunities for growth within their lives. I also enjoy learning about new techniques and was recently trained in the Safe and Sound protocol, which is based on polyvagal theory and can help reset the brain after trauma. When I am not seeing clients, I enjoy reading, archery, cooking, and being out in nature with my family.