Andre Amaro, MA, LPC, SPC

My name is Andre Amaro (he, him, his) and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor. I received my master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Lewis University. My experience includes working alongside children (ages 5+), adults, families and couples in a variety of settings; including schools, community agencies and private practice. In terms of clients and wellness challenges I work with, I enjoy most working with clients on anxiety / social anxiety, depression, trauma, anger management, identity, ADHD, autism, behavioral and emotional regulation challenges, and major life transitions. I also have a passion when it comes to working with at-risk youth, men’s mental health, and members of the Latino community.

Throughout my life, sports have helped me connect with others and learn many important skills in life like discipline, teamwork, building confidence/self-esteem, and have also taught me a lot of myself as a person. My goal in working with athletes is to be able to provide that support, guidance, and education to them as they work towards optimizing their potential, managing their performance anxiety, and learning more about themselves as both an athlete and as an individual.

My therapeutic style involves collaborating with my clients on their journey to contentment and fulfillment, while building deeper levels of emotional awareness in the relationship between their emotions and behaviors to provide the capability for change, growth and wellness. With children, I employ a variety of emotional expressive tools and behavioral modification strategies with involvement from parents. With individuals, I provide tools to help them learn more about themselves, rediscover who they are as an individual (identity), and helping them to develop the tools and confidence in themselves to address and navigate any difficulties that they may be going through in their lives. I thoroughly enjoy helping my clients develop an awareness of their presenting issues, identifying triggers to their negative symptoms, and develop coping strategies that they can use to feel more confident and in control of their lives.

I also help my clients improve on their ability to understand their emotions and address any negative behavioral and thought patterns through using various techniques and strategies from different theories which include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT), and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). My goal is to help you feel better about yourself and I will help you achieve this by addressing any barriers that may be getting your way.

My focus in therapy is creating and safe and comfortable environment for all my clients. I have experience working with people from many different cultures and backgrounds, and tremendously enjoy doing so. I am a huge baseball fan and my favorite team are the Chicago Cubs. During my free time, I love to engage in activities such as fitness, listening to music, watching movies, and video gaming. More than anything, I love spending time with my family, friends, and pets (I have 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 rabbits!).