Alex Patterson, PsyD

I completed my doctorate at The Chicago School for Professional Psychology at their Chicago campus. My dissertation focused on the application of psychoanalytic theory to hip-hop lyrics, and how to utilize lyrics/music that click with patients in therapy. In my free time, I coach and race for a sim racing academy. I also enjoy chess, video games, listening to and analyzing music, and spending time with friends and family. I absolutely love being a therapist and feel very lucky to have found a profession that I truly, deeply find enjoyable and stimulating.

I have experience working with older adolescents, emerging adults, and adults with a wide variety of presenting concerns. This includes depression, anxiety, guilt, shame, relational concerns, family difficulties, and coming to grips with how one’s childhood impacts them. I have additional experience working with students, athletes, and employees who experience performance anxiety and panic.

I work quite well with folks who want to take a deep look into their past experiences and build insight and understanding into the way they perceive the world. Accordingly, I tend to also work well with patients who have had painful experiences and relationships with people who share any of my identities (White, Straight, Male). I have received feedback that working with me has healed those wounds and subsequently improved people’s experiences with these demographics.

What I’m like as a therapist:

I am an authentic, warm, humorous, active therapist who believes that all individuals treat themselves the way the world has treated them up to this point. I highly value the relationships and life experiences of patients and aim to create a uniquely healing experience for patients who entrust me with their care. I believe that therapy should be safe, but not always comfortable. I have received feedback that my penchant for fighting for patients in the therapeutic space has been effective.

Theoretically, I work from a relational, psychodynamic lens that aims to uncover the unconscious forces that govern patients’ behavior through an examination of their childhoods and relationships. I also have been trained in existential, gestalt, and cognitive-behavioral techniques, and will bring those into the space depending on what patients need. For individuals who prefer short-term and goal-oriented work, I also work from a motivational interviewing and problem-solving approach. That being said, I am committed to whatever it takes to help patients thrive, and I have found patients benefit highly from healing deeper wounds regardless of how superficial they may initially appear.