Posts by Sarah Suzuki, AM, LCSW, CADC
Illinois Social Workers and Counselors: Our CE Renewal Bundle is Here!
If you’re a Social Worker or Professional Counselor in Illinois, 2023 is the license renewal year. And this year there are some new requirements. Specifically: We’re here to help! Now for only $29, you can get all three of our CE courses plus access to our free (non-CE) sexual harassment prevention training for Chicago/Illinois. What makes…
Read MoreThe Horrible Holiday Hangover
While emotional hangovers are deeply uncomfortable, that discomfort contains powerful information. You can’t change what happened in December, but your mind, body, and spirit tell you that you need something different moving forward. Wisdom will reveal itself. But before you can get to the learning, you must deal with the exhaustion.
Read MoreExcerpt: We Need to Talk About Antisemitism
It’s time to talk about antisemitism and antiracism when we’re educating about white supremacy.
Read MoreExcerpt: A Harm Reductionist’s Guide to Dealing with Despair
Now is when we are most vulnerable to severe consequences from drinking: when we feel terrible but tell ourselves a story that we are drinking to celebrate.
Read MoreHow Does Midlife Crisis Affect Men and Families?
PsychCentral writer Jon Patrick Hatcher interviewed Sarah Suzuki on male midlife crisis (Check out the full interview here): Licensed Social Worker and owner of Chicago Compass Counseling Sarah Suzuki shares, “What I often hear from men is, ‘I’m already halfway dead, so what’s the point of going on?’ They feel as though their purpose is…
Read MoreAn Interview with Clinical Director Alexandra Backis of Chicago Compass Counseling
Spotlight on Alexandra Backis, Therapist and Clinical Director in Chicago, IL What does anti-racist practice look like in psychotherapy? Today, we’d like to introduce you to Alexandra Backis, LCSW. As Clinical Director, Alexandra draws on over a decade of experience incorporating anti-oppressive practice in her work as a therapist and supervisor in how she guides…
Read MoreFounder and Group Practice Owner Sarah Suzuki Explains How the “Mass Shooter Mental Illness Myth” Perpetuates White Supremacy
Check out Sarah Suzuki’s widely shared article on how psychological profiles of mass shooters perpetuate White Supremacy (You can find the full article here): “And so, already — the media is pushing the false story that the Atlanta-area perpetrator was driven by “mental illness” — not racism. (See Reuters, Sex addiction, not racial hatred, may…
Read MoreIs My Pandemic Drinking Becoming a Problem?
October is National Emotional Wellness Month. As an alcohol counselor, I have to ask: how is your drinking these days? American adults are drinking 14% more often during the pandemic than 1 year ago, according to a recent report in the JAMA Network Open. Women, in particular, are drinking 17% more frequently than they were…
Read MoreRising Suicides Among Black Residents of Cook County
The Chicago Sun-Times interviewed Matt Lawson on the alarming increase in suicides among Black residents of Cook County. (Check out the full interview here): “Within the first month of George Floyd happening, that conversation became very front and center,” says Matt Lawson, a counselor at Chicago Compass Counseling. “That conversation has led into a lot…
Read MoreBeyond Performative Allyship: On Statement-Making and Organizational Commitments
Our group has been taking time to think about Black Lives Matter and how best to share our stance. It has been particularly interesting to see how various companies have crafted their responses. As a business owner and Asian American POC, I read countless organizational statements last week and asked myself: Why now? I noticed…
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