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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; individuals struggling with schizophrenia spectrum or bipolar disorders; couples in crisis or experiencing chronic conflict, disconnection, and lack of trust; artists, graduate students, and business professionals suffering from writer's block or other problems with creative, academic, or professional expression; and individuals navigating (with greater or lesser degrees of success) developmental/neurological disorders such as ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
My interest in working with individuals dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorder or more limited autistic symptoms or tendencies has a number of underpinnings. 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, socio-economic hardship, or "otherness" based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity. From a personal standpoint, I myself 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 both systemic and individual behavioral factors underlying and maintaining these problems), and conscientious about finding resources and courses of action that can help work towards resolving clients' problems and improving how they understand and cope with them.
