Depression Therapy in Northbrook & Libertyville
Depression is not only sadness. For a lot of people it arrives as flatness, irritability or exhaustion — and it is treatable whichever way it shows up.
The version of depression people recognise from films — lying in a darkened room, unable to get up — is one presentation among several. More often it looks like going to work, answering the emails, getting the kids where they need to be, and feeling nothing much about any of it.
It also looks different by age. In teenagers it frequently presents as irritability and withdrawal rather than sadness. In older adults it is routinely mistaken for ageing, grief or a physical health problem, and goes untreated for years because of it.
We see clients at our Northbrook office on Academy Drive and our Libertyville office on Hollister Drive, and by telehealth anywhere in Illinois.
What depression can look like
- Losing interest in things that used to matter, including people
- Tiredness that sleep does not fix, or sleeping far more or far less than usual
- Difficulty concentrating, deciding or remembering — often mistaken for a cognitive problem
- Appetite or weight changes in either direction
- Feeling worthless, guilty, or like a burden to the people around you
- In teens: irritability, anger and withdrawal more often than visible sadness
How we treat it
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and behavioural activation have the strongest evidence base for depression, and for many people they work as durably as medication. Behavioural activation in particular tends to surprise people: it starts with what you do rather than how you feel, because waiting to feel like doing something is how depression keeps its grip.
Where depression is bound up in relationships, loss, identity or long-standing patterns, our clinicians also work psychodynamically and interpersonally. For depression alongside a medical illness, our health psychology work addresses both together.
For moderate to severe depression, the evidence favours therapy and medication together. We do not prescribe, so we coordinate with your physician or refer you to a prescriber — with your consent — so the two halves of the plan are actually talking to each other.
Clinicians who work in this area
Matched from each clinician's own stated specialisms. Our Intake Team will pair you with the right person for your situation rather than the next available slot.
- Marina Shakhman, Psy.D.Licensed Clinical Psychologist · Clinical Director
- Marisa Kunz, Psy.D.Licensed Clinical Psychologist
- Christine Petersen, Psy.D.Licensed Clinical Psychologist
- Angela Eads, Ph.D.Licensed Clinical Psychologist
- Carol Dreyer, LMFT, LCPCMarriage & Family Therapist
- Andrew Hamlyn, LCPCLicensed Clinical Professional Counselor
- Ellen Rodman, M.S., LCPCLicensed Clinical Professional Counselor
- Bella Sisarica, MA, LCPCLicensed Clinical Professional Counselor
Insurance, including Medicare
Grand Oaks Behavioral Health is in-network with most major plans — Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Aetna, Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Evernorth (Cigna), UnitedHealthcare, BCBS Community Medicaid, Oscar — and with Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans, which a good number of behavioral health practices in the area do not accept. We also take BCBS Community Medicaid. Our Intake Team verifies your specific benefits and tells you your cost before your first appointment.
Where we see clients
604 Academy Drive, Northbrook, IL 60062 and 1800 Hollister Drive, Suite 201, Libertyville, IL 60048, plus telehealth anywhere in Illinois. We regularly see clients from Northbrook, Glenview, Deerfield, Highland Park, Northfield, Wilmette and across Lake County and the North Shore.
Common questions
The usual markers are duration and reach: most of the day, most days, for two weeks or more, and it is affecting your work, your relationships or your ability to look after yourself. A rough patch lifts when the circumstance changes; depression tends not to. If you are unsure, that uncertainty is a reasonable reason to call — an initial consultation is for working out what is going on.
Therapy is a first-line treatment for mild to moderate depression, with results that hold after treatment ends. For more severe depression, research consistently supports therapy and medication together rather than either alone. Our clinicians will be straight with you about which category you appear to be in.
Yes, and it is worth knowing that depression in teens frequently presents as irritability and withdrawal rather than sadness, which is why it gets read as attitude. Several of our clinicians work specifically with adolescents, with parent guidance alongside the individual work.
That is worth telling us at intake, in detail — what was tried, for how long, and what specifically did not land. Sometimes the fit was wrong, sometimes the approach was, and sometimes something else was driving it: untreated ADHD, a trauma history, a thyroid problem, or a sleep disorder. Our Intake Team uses that history to match you differently rather than repeating it.
Related
Not sure which of these fits? That is what the first call is for. Phone (847) 549-1189 and our Intake Team will talk it through with you before anything is booked.
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