About Jeremiah
I am Jeremiah Bergen, a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and the founder of Bergen Counseling Collective in Chicago. I have spent over 20 years working with individuals and couples navigating depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, relationship conflict, work related stress, self esteem, substance use, anger, and the general sense that something is not working the way it should.
For the past decade, the majority of my caseload has been high functioning, high achieving professionals. People who look successful on the outside but are dealing with real internal friction: perfectionism, burnout, relational patterns that keep repeating, difficulty being vulnerable, or a growing disconnection between who they are at work and who they are everywhere else.
I take a direct, evidence based approach grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Existential Theory. That means we focus on concrete patterns in your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors while also making space for the bigger questions: meaning, purpose, identity, and what kind of life you actually want to be building.
What Brings People to My Office
The specifics vary. Some people come in because anxiety has taken over their daily life, the constant overthinking, the tightness in the chest, the replaying of conversations and scenarios that keeps them up at night. Others come because a low grade depression has quietly settled in and they cannot pinpoint when it started, only that they used to feel more alive than they do now. Some are navigating a divorce or the aftermath of one. Some are grieving a loss that no one around them seems to understand the depth of. Some are dealing with trauma they have never spoken about, and some are just stuck in a pattern they cannot seem to break no matter how many times they try.
But underneath all of those different stories, there is usually a common thread. Something has shifted. The way you have been coping is not working anymore. The version of yourself that could push through, ignore it, or just handle it is running out of gas. And you are starting to wonder if there is a better way to move through life than white knuckling it.
There is. That is not a sales pitch. It is what I have watched happen thousands of times over two decades of doing this work.
How I Work
I am not the kind of therapist who sits silently and nods while you talk. I am engaged, I am direct, and I will be honest with you. I ask real questions. I push back when something does not add up. And I also know when to just listen, because sometimes what you need most is for someone to hear you without trying to fix you.
For individuals, we work on understanding the internal dynamics driving your distress, developing practical strategies to shift them, and building a life that actually reflects your values rather than just your obligations.
For couples, I focus on the relational system: how you communicate under stress, what triggers conflict, where trust has eroded, and what it would take to rebuild genuine connection. I draw from relational systems theory and structured frameworks to give couples a concrete path forward rather than just a space to vent.
I offer both in person sessions at our Ravenswood office and telehealth for anyone in Illinois. We accept BCBS PPO and Aetna PPO insurance.
Therapy for Men in Chicago
A lot of the men I work with did not grow up with permission to feel things, let alone talk about them. They learned early that strength meant handling it yourself, that asking for help was weakness, and that being fine was the only acceptable answer no matter what was actually going on. And for a while that worked. Until it did not.
Maybe you are here because your relationship is falling apart and you do not know how to talk about what you need. Maybe you have been numbing out with work, alcohol, screens, or isolation and you know it is not sustainable. Maybe you are angry more than you want to be, or you feel nothing at all when you think you should be feeling something. Maybe you just became a father and the weight of that is something you did not expect.
I am not going to ask you to sit on a couch and cry. I am not going to use buzzwords or make you feel like a project. What I will do is create a straightforward, no bullshit space where you can be honest about what is happening in your life without judgment. We will figure out what is not working, why it is not working, and what to do about it. That is it.
You have probably been telling yourself you should be able to figure this out on your own. Most of the men I see have been telling themselves that for years. The ones who actually walk through the door and do the work are the ones whose lives change. That is not a cliche. It is what I see happen every week.
What to Expect
The first session is about getting honest. I want to understand what is going on in your life, what brought you here now, and what you are hoping will be different. I will ask questions, but I will also give you room to say things you may have never said out loud before. There is no script. There is no judgment. There is just a conversation between two people, one of whom has been doing this for over 20 years and has heard just about everything.
If we are a good fit, we will build from there. If we are not, I will tell you that too, and I will help you find someone who is. The goal is not to keep you in therapy forever. The goal is to help you get to a place where you do not need me anymore.
Bergen Counseling Collective accepts BCBS PPO and Aetna PPO insurance. We also provide superbills for clients with out of network benefits. We offer both in person sessions at our Ravenswood office and telehealth throughout Illinois. If you have questions about cost or insurance, do not let that be the reason you do not reach out. We will help you figure it out.
Executive Coaching for High Performing Leaders
In addition to therapy, I offer executive coaching for leaders, founders, and senior professionals who are already successful but recognize that the next level of growth is internal rather than tactical.
Coaching is different from therapy. It is forward looking, performance focused, and structured around specific professional goals. I do not diagnose or treat clinical conditions in a coaching engagement, and coaching is not billed through insurance. What coaching does share with my clinical work is depth. Most coaches work on surface level accountability and goal setting. My 20+ years of clinical experience allow me to go underneath the behavior to the psychological pattern driving it.
I work with executives, business owners, directors, and high achieving professionals on challenges like:
- Leading through stress without reactivity
- Navigating difficult conversations with partners, boards, or teams
- Breaking through imposter dynamics and perfectionism
- Building relational intelligence as a leader
- Moving from survival mode to strategic clarity
Coaching is available virtually or in person in Chicago. Engagements range from a single 90 minute session to 3 and 6 month partnerships.