2nd Story Counseling | Mindfulness Therapy in Chicago’s Lakeview
📍 655 W Irving Park Rd #204, Chicago, IL 60613 | 📞 773-528-1777
Are you searching for a mindfulness therapist in Chicago? At 2nd Story Counseling in Lakeview, mindfulness is woven throughout our clinical work — not as a standalone technique, but as a foundational way of relating to your inner experience that makes all other therapeutic work more effective.
Mindfulness-based therapy helps you develop the ability to observe your thoughts, feelings, and sensations with curiosity and without judgment — creating the space between stimulus and response where genuine choice becomes possible. For many clients, this shift is transformative.
What Is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment with openness, curiosity, and non-judgment. It involves cultivating awareness of your thoughts, emotions, and sensations without getting caught up in them or trying to push them away.
Most of us spend the majority of our time on autopilot — replaying the past or anticipating the future while the present moment passes unnoticed. Mindfulness practice interrupts that autopilot. Over time, it builds a different relationship with your inner experience — one where you are the observer of your thoughts rather than someone carried away by them.
What Is Mindfulness-Based Therapy?
Mindfulness-based therapy integrates mindfulness practices into structured therapeutic approaches. Rather than simply teaching meditation, mindfulness-based therapists help you apply present-moment awareness to the specific patterns, emotions, and challenges you bring to counseling.
One of the most well-researched forms is Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) — a structured approach that combines mindfulness practices with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques. MBCT helps you recognize negative thinking patterns and automatic reactions — rumination, avoidance, catastrophizing — and respond to them with greater skill and self-compassion rather than being swept along by them.
🌿 What Mindfulness Therapy Helps With
Mindfulness-based approaches have strong research support for a wide range of challenges. At 2SC, our therapists use mindfulness techniques with clients working through:
- Depression — breaking cycles of rumination and developing self-compassion; MBCT is particularly effective for preventing depressive relapse
- Stress and overwhelm — building genuine resilience rather than white-knuckling through
- Emotional dysregulation — developing the ability to observe intense emotions without being overwhelmed by them
- Chronic pain and illness — changing the relationship to physical suffering in ways that meaningfully reduce distress
- Relationship difficulties — cultivating presence, empathy, and non-reactivity in interactions with others
- Sleep difficulties — quieting the mind and reducing nighttime rumination
- Trauma and PTSD — building present-moment grounding as a foundation for trauma processing
- Work-life balance and career stress — developing boundaries and reducing the cognitive load of a demanding professional life
- Self-exploration and personal growth — gaining insight into patterns of behavior and aligning actions with values
- Perfectionism and self-criticism — building a more compassionate relationship with yourself
Mindfulness and IFS: A Natural Combination
At 2SC, mindfulness is closely integrated with our Internal Family Systems (IFS) work — and the connection is a natural one. Both approaches share a core insight: that the ability to observe your inner experience with curiosity and compassion, rather than being merged with it, is itself deeply healing.
In IFS, this capacity is called Self energy — the calm, curious, compassionate state from which you can relate to your parts without being overwhelmed by them. Mindfulness practice builds exactly this capacity. Clients who develop a mindfulness practice often find that the deeper parts work in IFS becomes more accessible — because they’ve cultivated the inner stillness that makes it possible to turn toward difficult feelings without being consumed by them.
Mindfulness-Based Approaches We Use at 2SC
🧠 Mindfulness-Based Approaches at 2SC
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) — combines mindfulness with CBT to interrupt negative thinking patterns; particularly effective for depression and anxiety
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) — uses mindfulness to build psychological flexibility and values-based action; accepting thoughts and feelings rather than fighting them
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) — mindfulness is the foundational module of DBT, supporting emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness
- Internal Family Systems (IFS) — mindfulness-informed present-moment awareness supports the Self energy needed for parts work
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) — an evidence-based program incorporating structured mindfulness practices for stress, chronic pain, and overall well-being
- Trauma-informed mindfulness — adapted mindfulness approaches that prioritize safety and grounding for clients with trauma histories
Benefits of Mindfulness Therapy
Clients who engage in mindfulness-based therapy at 2SC commonly experience:
- Reduced stress and reactivity — responding to difficult situations with greater intention rather than automatic reaction
- Improved emotional regulation — the ability to observe and tolerate difficult emotions without being overwhelmed or acting impulsively
- Greater self-awareness — understanding your own patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior at a deeper level
- Reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety — particularly through interrupting rumination and building self-compassion
- Enhanced relationships — more presence, more empathy, less reactive conflict
- Increased sense of meaning and purpose — living more in alignment with what actually matters to you
Mindfulness is also a skill that extends well beyond the therapy room. Clients often describe it as becoming a different way of moving through daily life — one that they continue using long after therapy ends. For more on how we approach therapy overall, see our individual therapy page.
⭐ Why Choose 2nd Story Counseling for Mindfulness Therapy?
- Mindfulness integrated throughout our clinical work — not just as an add-on technique
- Therapists trained in MBCT, ACT, DBT, and IFS — all mindfulness-informed approaches
- Particular expertise combining mindfulness with IFS for deeper therapeutic work
- Comfortable, private office in Lakeview on Chicago’s North Side
- Telehealth available throughout Illinois
- Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO accepted; self-pay options available
- Flexible scheduling including evening appointments
- Over 20 years serving Chicago clients
If you are ready to develop a different relationship with your thoughts, emotions, and inner experience — one built on awareness rather than reaction — our Chicago mindfulness therapists are here to help.
Ready to get started? Call us at (773) 528-1777 or reach out through our confidential online contact form. In-person sessions in Lakeview and telehealth throughout Illinois.
Frequently Asked Questions: Mindfulness Therapy in Chicago
What is mindfulness therapy?
Mindfulness therapy integrates mindfulness practices — present-moment awareness, non-judgmental observation of thoughts and feelings — into structured therapeutic work. Rather than just teaching meditation, mindfulness-based therapists help you apply these skills to the specific patterns and challenges you bring to counseling. Approaches include MBCT, ACT, DBT, and mindfulness-informed IFS.
What is MBCT and how is it different from regular mindfulness?
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a structured, evidence-based approach that combines mindfulness practices with CBT techniques. Where general mindfulness teaches you to observe your experience, MBCT specifically targets the negative thinking patterns and automatic reactions — rumination, avoidance, self-criticism — that drive depression, anxiety, and stress. It is particularly well-researched for preventing depressive relapse.
Do I need to meditate to benefit from mindfulness therapy?
No. While mindfulness practices often include meditation, mindfulness therapy is much broader than sitting meditation. Many clients benefit from mindfulness principles — noticing thoughts without fusing with them, staying present in difficult moments, responding rather than reacting — without a formal meditation practice. Your therapist will work with you to find what fits.
How does mindfulness connect to IFS therapy?
The connection is deep. Both mindfulness and IFS center on the ability to observe your inner experience with curiosity and compassion rather than being merged with it. In IFS, this is called Self energy. Mindfulness practice builds exactly this capacity — making the deeper parts work in IFS more accessible for many clients.
Is mindfulness therapy good for depression?
Yes — MBCT in particular has one of the strongest evidence bases in psychotherapy for depression, especially for preventing relapse in people who have experienced multiple depressive episodes. It works by interrupting the rumination cycles that sustain depression and building self-compassion as an alternative to self-criticism.
Is mindfulness therapy available via telehealth?
Yes. Mindfulness-based therapy translates very well to telehealth — the inner work of awareness and observation happens in your experience regardless of format. Virtual sessions are available for clients anywhere in Illinois.
How do I get started with mindfulness therapy at 2nd Story Counseling?
Call us at (773) 528-1777 or use our online contact form. We’ll match you with a therapist whose approach and training fit your needs and get you scheduled for an initial consultation.