Zayn Singh, LCPC

I’m a licensed clinical professional counselor and completed my Master’s of Counseling from Northwestern University. I am currently a doctoral student at the Institute for Clinical Social Work’s PhD program where I am completing further training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. My current scholarly interests lie in exploring the analyst’s subjectivity when working with patients holding similar identities, the body as a link and memorial for disavowed histories, and the construction of one’s gender identity as it relates to acts of creativity and agency. Most importantly, I maintain a curiosity and ambition to continually learn, engage in professional consultation spaces with colleagues, and sharpen my psychoanalytic conceptualizations.

I work well with adults of all ages, backgrounds, and experiences, many of whom are queer, trans, working professionals, college students, artists, writers, and those generally trying to make sense of their positionality in the world. I particularly work well with those who are looking for a stronger sense of internal continuity, emotional awareness, and interpersonal engagement, not just a “quick fix” or symptom relief.

I believe psychic change comes through the experience of feeling what once felt unbearable and thinking what was once unthinkable. This comes from being able to speak freely about anything that comes to your mind, without holding back in an effort to think together about what is unknown to us. Insights into relational patterns, conflicting desires, self-critical thoughts, disavowed reactions, and states of being all work to give greater clarity to the unconscious desires that, when integrated, lead to greater freedom and greater ability to truly know oneself.

I specialize in any combination of the following:
Anxiety, particularly around one’s perception of self
Depression
Identity questions, life transitions, intersectionality
Shame, self-criticism, or self-hatred
Relationship difficulties
Creativity blocks such as writer’s block/artist’s block
Trauma

What I’m like as a therapist:

I rely heavily on psychoanalytic theory, particularly Bionian, Kleinian, and contemporary relational theories, to inform how I think about psychotherapy and all that it entails. In practice, this means I listen closely and deeply to whatever comes to your mind, tending to both what is said and unsaid, with particular curiosity around dreams, slips of the tongue, and reactions to the therapeutic relationship. I have found that most patients find it useful to meet at least 2-3 times a week. I work hard to create a space that is steady, warm, and compassionate as we work together to make sense of what is unknown, together.