Welcome to the Chicago Counseling Center Blog

  – Carolyn Moriarty, LCPC What is Bipolar Disorder?   Bipolar disorder (BP) is a mental health condition characterized by extreme shifts in mood, energy levels and activity levels. These two extreme states of being are known as mania/hypomania and depression. There are two subtypes of bipolar disorder: bipolar I (BPI) and bipolar II (BPII). The distinction between these two subtypes ... Read More...

   – by Madison Di Silvio The core fear is an important part in the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  Identifying the core fear is like revealing “the man behind the curtain” of OCD; we must pay attention to it in order to understand how it is controlling thoughts and compulsions. What is a Core Fear? The “core fear” in ... Read More...

  – Carolyn Moriarty, LCPC     Reassurance seeking is a behavior or mental act aimed at clarifying or verifying something that is typically already known. It often emerges through an individual’s inability to tolerate uncertainty. Most people can obtain information and feel relatively satisfied with being “sure enough” of a specific quandary.  However, this “sure enough” part of the brain ... Read More...

  – Carolyn Moriarty, LCPC     Sometimes, life can feel unfair—not just mildly inconvenient but, like, really unfair. We’ve all been there. Maybe your offer for an apartment didn’t get accepted. Or you got rejected from the job you really wanted. Or months of diet and exercise are “undone” by an unexpected injury or week of stress-eating. If several of these events happen close ... Read More...

  – Carolyn Moriarty, LCPC   Contamination OCD is among the many subtypes of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Before looking more closely at this particular subtype, let’s do a quick review of OCD. OCD is characterized by the presence of disturbing thoughts or images (obsessions) that are intrusive and unwanted. As a result, people with OCD feel driven to engage in repetitive ... Read More...