Daniel Kanter, LSW

I work with people dealing with anxiety, depression, divorce, trauma, and ADHD. Sometimes it’s overthinking or the pressure to always achieve more. Sometimes it’s a pattern you keep repeating without meaning to. Sometimes it’s just the effort it takes to do something that should be easy, like sitting through a class or finishing a task you care about. I also work with couples, young adults, and college students who are figuring out who they are as they start a new stage of life.

A lot of who we are gets shaped by things we didn’t choose, like what we heard about ourselves growing up, or the roles we got stuck playing in our families. My work with you is about understanding that together, so you can start moving toward the person you actually want to be. There’s nothing I find more meaningful than watching that shift happen, the moment someone stops carrying a version of themselves they never chose and starts stepping into one that’s really theirs. Along the way, you’ll likely notice smaller changes too, like making decisions more easily, or feeling less stuck on conversations that used to replay in your head. You’ll probably find it easier to say what you actually mean to the people around you.

Even if you’re not sure how to put something into words, I’ll probably still pick up on what’s going on, and I’ll let you take the lead on when and how we get there.

I also have a particular interest in supporting boys and men working through questions of identity, including what it means to be a boy or a man, or a teen who’d rather say “I’m fine” than talk about what’s actually going on. Years of coaching and working with kids at a summer youth camp showed me how much it matters to have someone in your corner while you figure out who you are, and I have never stopped wanting to be that person for people. I try to approach all I do with kindness and use my training to back it up.

When I’m not in the office, I’m probably on my bike along the lake or out on a hike. I’m part of a small music club with friends where we work through a list of albums one at a time and argue about how to rate them. Fun fact: I love Americano coffee, the larger the better, and pistachios.

If any of this sounds like where you are right now, I’d love to talk with you and see if we’re a good fit.

Qualification and Experience

• Masters of Social Work- Loyola University
• Licensed Social Worker in Illinois, #150-129502
• Anxiety Therapist and Trauma Therapist
• Couples Therapy
• Psychodynamic Therapist
• Therapy for Teen Boys
• Men’s Therapist