Dr. Michael Losoff

When people are asked what matters most in life, the wisest answers tend to come back to some version of the same two things: to love and to work. Relationships that feel real and sustaining. Effort that feels worthwhile. That's what I believe people are actually seeking when they come to therapy — and it's what I orient my work around.

I received my B.S. in Psychology from Loyola University of Chicago and my PhD in Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin. I then completed a two-year NIMH Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Research and Clinical Work in Adolescence, jointly sponsored by Northwestern University Medical School and The University of Chicago. Over the course of my career I served as Founding Director of the Center for Depth Psychotherapy at the C.G. Jung Center of Evantson, Program Director of the Child and Family Consultation Center at Community Counseling Centers of Chicago, and president of the Chicago Association for Psychoanalytic Psychology (2013-2014). I've authored and presented numerous papers on clinical process, with a particular focus on complex trauma and difficult psychiatric challenges.

My practice is grounded in a developmental psychodynamic relational model. I see the primary goal of therapy as healing and change at a deeper level — not symptom management alone, but something more durable. That kind of change is most likely to happen through a close, honest working relationship between client and therapist, which is why I put significant attention into building and maintaining the therapy alliance. I also have a solid grounding in Jungian Analytical psychology and would approach the therapy from that perspective for those interested in or curious about that way of working.

What psychotherapy looks like in practice depends on who I'm working with. I have wide range and depth of experience with late adolescents and young adults, and I often incorporate family work into treatment when it serves the client. For working and midlife adults, the focus tends to be on relationships, identity, and professional life. For those approaching or beyond retirement, the work often turns toward purpose and meaning — sometimes rediscovering both.

I work with individuals, couples, and families across the full lifespan — from children through older adults — with particular depth in complex trauma, mood disorders, anxiety, relationship issues, and major life transitions.