Mary Leighton, LPC

I am a former socio-cultural anthropologist with a masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from DePaul University. I specialize in providing therapy for academics and immigrants. ‘Academics’ includes contingent & adjunct faculty, post-docs, ABD doctoral students, tenured and tenure track professors, and administrative staff. I work with a wide range of adult clients facing loneliness, interpersonal challenges, and life transitions such as leaving religious groups or relationships.

Questioning something that defines your identity is frightening, whether it is a career, a relationship, your gender, or your religious faith. It’s normal to feel stuck or overwhelmed when we are confused or in pain. My role is to walk alongside you. As an existential therapist I believe no situation is completely hopeless. The options we face might be painful or have messy consequences: changes may temporarily cause things to get a lot worse before eventually becoming permanently better. But you don’t have to face this alone! As a therapist I provide clients with a supportive and non-judgmental space to explore all possible options, so they can rediscover their strengths and core values and make their own decisions. My personal style is sympathetic and straight-forward, and I bring a sense of humor, honesty, and compassion to my sessions.

As an anthropologist I studied scientific communities and higher education institutions in the U.S. and Latin America, and I realized that the ivory tower is too-often built on depression, anxiety, and untreated trauma. As a therapist, my goal is to take what I learnt from studying academics and use it to help individuals survive and flourish in what is often a lonely and unsupportive environment. This can involve addressing issues like burnout, anxiety, procrastination, bullying, imposter-syndrome, and fieldwork depression/trauma.

I bring my personal experience as both a late-in-life career changer and an immigrant to the U.S. to my work as a therapist, but I don't make it the center of my approach. My experience of making a life in a new country will not be the same as yours. All our immigrant stories are unique. When working with individuals from new countries, I strive to balance asking you for clarification with doing my own research. I take the same approach when working with clients with different gender, sexuality, or racial/ethnic identities to me. In therapy, your growth and needs are the focus, not mine.

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