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Howard Kaplan
About
I am a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in both Illinois and California, and prior to that, I was licensed as a LCPC in IL and a LMFT in CA. I have 35 years of experience in the mental health field, having worked at all levels of care (from inpatient psychiatric through outpatient private practice) and with a broad array of (primarily adult) populations, including forensic patients in civil commitment as well outpatient treatment; clients struggling with adjustment, anxiety, and depressive disorders, PTSD or complex trauma; couples in crisis or experiencing chronic conflict, disconnection, and lack of trust; individuals struggling with schizophrenia spectrum disorders; artists, graduate students, and business professionals suffering from writer's block or other problems with creative, academic, or professional expression; and individuals with developmental/neurological disorders such as ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder navigating the unique challenges they experience.
My interest in working with individuals dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorder or more limited autistic symptoms or tendencies has a number of underpinnnings. For example, much of my career has focused on supporting and empowering individuals beset by deviations from societal norms and/or differences in ways of thinking, working, and relating to others, e.g, various forms of disability, socioeconomic hardship, or "otherness," based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Furthermore, I personally have struggled with varying degrees of social anxiety and eccentricity that, at times, have led me to feel disconnected or misunderstood, so I'm particularly empathic and sensitive to the experiences of others that display these and other non-normative traits.
My approach is empathic, probing, compassionate, and strengths-based. I believe that each client possesses unique strengths and abilities that can be harnessed to find individualized approaches to solving problems and achieving personal goals. I do my best to remain curious, open-minded, analytic (i.e., identifying problems, whether obvious or subtle, objective or subjective, along with systemic factors and individual behavioral factors underlying and maintaining these problems), and conscientious about finding resources and courses of action that can help resolve these problems or improve how clients respond to them.
