about Isabel C.
“As a couple and family therapist, I believe that our relationships have the power to create great healing or great hurt. I help my clients harness and understand this unmatched power, to create harmony in their most meaningful relationships. Life transitions and changes create strain on relationships, as they are required to flex and adjust to these adjustments. I guide my clients through these multilayered life changes and help them find deeper connection during times of stress. I provide a space for my clients to express the complex feelings that come up during these transitions, and explore how their relationships are evolving and changing. Times of transition can leave people feeling powerless and out of control of their own lives. I have found that all transitions hold potential for growth and healing, and the therapeutic process can be influential in helping people find their power during times of change.
I especially enjoy working with couples and individuals navigating changes such as struggling with infertility, welcoming a new baby/navigating the postpartum period, becoming parents/co parenting/adjusting parenting styles as children grow, divorce/separation, blending of families, transitioning stages of life, etc. Through my own journey with therapy, I have learned how self-compassion and changing the way we communicate with ourselves can lead to more genuine connections with others, and help us recognize which relationships need to change or even end. In addition to helping my clients adjust their inner dialogue, I help them express their own experiences of change more effectively to the important people in their life, by teaching them communication skills and strategies.
Although times of change can be difficult and tense, I find space for playfulness and humor in the therapeutic relationship and appreciate the depth that vulnerability can foster. I have learned that growth happens when we can first show up as our authentic selves, and I am honored to create a space where my clients feel safe exploring their personal challenges with change, and finding greater depths in their relationships as a result of this growth.
I received my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Hope College in Holland, MI and my Master of Arts in Couple and Family Therapy at Adler University. I live in Chicago with my fiance and our cat, Lizzo. I’m a big fan of game nights with friends, reading, camping and exploring new spots in the city when I am not working. My self care includes strength training, taking my time to cook meals that nourish me and making time to connect with long distance friends.”
“Times of transition can leave people feeling powerless and out of control of their own lives. I have found that all transitions hold potential for growth and healing, and the therapeutic process can be influential in helping people find their power during times of change.”
- isabel cunningham, M.A. (she/her/hers)
Isabel Cunningham is a therapist fellow at Empower Family Therapy. She has completed her Master of Arts in Couple & Family Therapy and has clinical experience. Isabel is on track for licensure and receives direct supervision under Aubrey Reynolds, LMFT, the clinical director of Empower Family Therapy.
To schedule an appointment with Isabel, contact us and mention her name.
isabel’S SPECIALTIES INCLUDE:
Postpartum / perinatal mental health & growing families
Couples & Families navigating divorce / separation & Coparenting
New couples & Pre-marital counseling
Blending families & balancing parenting styles
Teens / Young adults in life transitions & Parents adjusting their parenting styles as their children grow
Exploration & deconstruction of religion or spirituality