Accepting new clients for morning, daytime, afternoon, & evening appointments in Lake View practice (updated July 08, 2020)
David Ley is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the Lake View neighborhood in Chicago, IL who specializes in substance abuse, depression, anxiety, life transitions, relationships, and trauma. His practice is open to men and women of all ages and welcomes members of the LGBT community. He works with individuals couples and families.
David’s approach is rooted in Psychodynamic theory and helps people develop mindful awareness. Mindfulness is the mind’s process of observing the flow of thoughts, feelings and sensations as they pass through our awareness. By developing skillful observation of how our mind works we can reflect upon our actions and make conscious choices about how we want to define ourselves and interact with others. Through this approach, clients understand their symptoms and their motivation for wanting to get better and improve their lives. For those who need medication or more specialized or intensive levels of support, he maintains a list of active providers and will help with referrals.
David offers a safe space for clients to discover new coping strategies and new ways of thinking. He is there to support them on their journey towards feeling comfortable with themselves and with others. Outside of private practice, he works as a therapist at Erie Family Health Center where he helps primary care patients and their physicians address mental health and substance abuse issues and their impact on identified medical conditions. He has worked extensively with HIV and other chronic health illnesses. His office is conveniently located a few blocks east of Wrigley Field and is accessible via the Red line at Addison and buses 146 and 151.
Anxiety - Gaining an understanding and developing strategies to cope with excessive worry, nervousness and stress experienced alone or in social settings that sometimes result in sudden and intense feelings of panic (panic disorder)
Depression - Providing support and promoting healing of the experience of hopelessness, low motivation and energy, sadness, irritability, sleep disturbance, and loss of interest and pleasure in life
Life transitions - Helping to acknowledge and manage the stress related to difficult changes in life, such as moving to a new area, relationship and family transitions, changes in education or career, death of a loved one or the experience of a serious illness or accident
Substance abuse - Helping individuals identify and address the impact of drug and alcohol use on their physical and emotional health and how this influences and disrupts relationships with family, loved ones and employers
Relationships - Helping individuals and couples understand what they want from another and how to effectively request this by developing a conscious dialogue that avoids accusation and builds trust and security
Trauma - Identifying and understanding how threatening and frightening experiences from our past influence and affect our present experience with ourselves and with others
David can provide you with paperwork for your insurance company if you are seeking out-of-network reimbursement.
Remote video therapy sessions offered? Yes
3530 North Lake Shore Drive
9B
Chicago, IL 60657
Private Practice, 1989 - Present
Erie Family Health Center, 1988 - Present
Family Service of Philadelphia, 1984 - 1988
Center for Early Childhood Services, 1981 - 1984
Hahneman Mental Health Services, Philadelphia Prison System, 1979 - 1981
Bryn Mawr, MSW, 1979
Cornell University, BA, 1977
English
Spanish