Your Journey Counseling

10/21/2025

Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Manhattan community. The loss of any life is sad, but two young lives from the same town is unimaginable. May God rest their beautiful souls and be with their family, friends, classmates, teachers, and community. Hug your kids extra tight tonight.

05/02/2025

Looking forward to meeting members of the New Lenox community on Saturday, May 3 in the New Lenox Commons for their 5K for Mental Health and Wellness . Such a wonderful event the New Lenox District 122 PTO puts on to shine a light on mental health awareness. Stop by and say hi at our table!

The New Lenox 122 PTO would like to thank our generous sponsor, Your Journey Counseling, for their support and participation for our upcoming You Are 5K Run/ Walk for Mental Health and Wellness.

Your Journey Counseling wants to help you through your life's journey. Their counselors have years of experience helping clients navigate a variety of issues. They strive to meet their clients where they are in life and provide them with the skills and support that they need to reach their goals.

01/28/2025

There doesn't need to be "something wrong" for someone to seek out counseling. But if you are struggling, that's okay too.
Counseling has the potential to be a proactive approach to your mental health. It can also be reactive.
Counseling doesn't make you weak; it shows you care about you. It can make you stronger, more confident, and make life better.

If you or someone you know is looking for counseling services, please feel free to reach out. We have a couple weekly openings and are flexible. yjcounseling@gmail.com or 708/638-0027. We look forward to getting to work with you!

Send a message to learn more

01/14/2025

"We would never tell someone with a broken leg that they should stop wallowing and get it together. We don’t consider taking medication for an ear infection something to be ashamed of. We shouldn’t treat mental health conditions any differently.” – Michelle Obama

Send a message to learn more

11/13/2024

Parents - I beg of you, please stop letting your pre-teen, early teen, and underclassmen high school students have social media. Snap Chat, Instagram, TikTok, X...just stop. These kids are not using it for good. They're not posting pictures of family vacations and good news. Many are using it to be mean, spread hate, and make another child's life a living hell.

As a school counselor, I have to deal with students who are distraught by something a classmate put on social media about them. No joke, social media spats take up about 30 to 40% of my time at school It is interrupting their school day and their learning. There is zero good that comes from it. It is one more thing they're addicted to their phones for.

"But how will I talk to my friends??," they ask. Text messaging and phone calls work just fine.

Harassment, bullying, and picking on is no longer between the hours of 9 to 3 with the kid present. It is now 24 hours a day, whether the kid is in person or the next town over. Social media did that.

Children don't know how to resolve conflict anymore either. They air out their grievances on social media or push it down. This isn't healthy and it definitely isn't preparing them to be well adjusted adults when they step into the real world. There is no accountability for them, especially as little junior keyboard warriors.

It is causing our children a great deal of distress, but they feel they need to be on it because everyone else is, or as the kids call it...FOMO (fear of missing out). But if we band together like adults, we can slowly start to curb this. And teaching them how to be nice couldn't hurt either.

Stop worrying about if your kid likes you or not. You can be their friend when they're adults. But for now, them liking you isn't supposed to be a thing.

As a mental health professional, it is alarming to see how anxiety ridden and depressed our children have become. And it's not all social media, but it definitely is a driving force. Research has shown this repeatedly.

Seeing this in school every day is heartbreaking. It makes me sad for my students and my children. I hope to God that a social media incident or mean kid occurrence isn't the straw that breaks the camel's back and pushes a kid over the edge to do something drastic. Sadly, that is always on my mind.

I IMPLORE YOU TO STOP LETTING THESE KIDS USE SOCIAL MEDIA AND TEACH THEM HOW TO BE KIND PEOPLE!!! Our kids are NOT okay and if we don't do something about it soon, we're all going to be in trouble.

I love my kids and my students, but they need all of us right now.

Signed,

Me
School Counselor, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, and Parent

07/26/2024

Effective July 1, 2024, we are now paneled with Aetna Insurance. If you are looking for counseling services for you or a loved one, feel free to reach out. We are paneled with Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, and also take out of pocket payments.

May everyone enjoy the rest of their summer! Be safe and know you are loved.

07/26/2024

If you are looking for counseling services for a child, ages 10 and under, please consider my friend and school colleague, Kimber, at bWELL Counseling Services, Inc, located in Mokena. She does wonderful work with kids.

03/28/2024

Of all the athlete commercials and quotes...this one is one of my favorites.

It's okay to fail, because you learn something each time. When you fail, pick yourself up, and move on with that new lesson in mind.

Don't be afraid to try and fail.

03/18/2024

Embrace your uniqueness!

03/14/2024

"Don't prepare the path for your child. Instead, prepare your child for the path."

Having a child face some adversity is a good thing. It teaches them how to advocate for themselves and builds stronger character.