Casandra Rdzak, JD, LSW
Psychotherapist (she/her/ea)
SPECIALTIES
Anxiety | Depression | Stress | Work-Life Balance | Career Changes | Self-Esteem Issues | Life-Meaning & Purpose | Relationship Challenges | Life Transitions | Cultural Adjustment | Complex Trauma | Grief & Mourning
Languages
English | Romanian
about casandra
I believe that the choice to engage in therapy signals curiosity and openness to the process of discovering oneself. If you are here, it is likely because, for some reason, you feel stuck, dissatisfied, or unsure about where your life is going. My work generally includes people dealing with anxiety, depression, stress, work-life balance, life transitions, and self-esteem issues. I also help people facing relational challenges, loss and grief, trauma, or cultural adjustment.
In our work together, my goal is to help you become aware of the lens through which you see and understand yourself and the world, and how certain patterns and scripts may affect your current functioning and well-being. Based on life experiences and circumstances, we learned and created patterns, templates, and scripts about how the world works and how to think, feel, or be. However, solutions that were helpful once may no longer work, and may now be holding you back from living a fulfilling life. That’s where therapy can help.
Increased awareness and insight tend to bring freedom from the limits of the past and an increased ability to live a more meaningful, conscious, and authentic life. While change is never easy, I firmly believe that all of us possess the unique ability and determination to grow fuller in our lives. I aim to help my patients discover their own voice and achieve a greater sense of agency in managing their lives, leading to an increased sense of personal power and ability to manage their current and future circumstances and experiences.
I also believe that you are the expert of your life and I feel humbled and privileged to be your trusted and caring fellow traveler and companion in this journey. While each therapeutic experience is unique, our shared humanity and life struggles help create a welcoming, safe, authentic, and non-judgmental therapeutic space for our work together to unfold.
I care deeply about people and helping them lead more meaningful lives. This is the main reason I became a therapist after spending a decade working as a lawyer. While I no longer solve people’s legal problems, my skills and “inside” knowledge of what it’s like to work in a high-pressure environment are unique additions to my clinical training, interests, and practice. I also take great pride in my Romanian roots and encourage Romanian-speaking patients to reach out.
I accept Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) PPO plans. If you have a different plan, we will provide you what you will need to seek reimbursement from your insurance.
Education and Training
Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis: Fellowship in Psychoanalysis
Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) Externship for Couples Therapy
Loyola University Chicago: Masters of Social Work (MSW), Concentration in Mental Health
Chicago-Kent College of Law: Juris Doctor (JD), High Honors
Dimitrie Cantemir University (Romania): Law Degree
Professional affiliations
Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis