Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
At Urban Wellness, we are committed to social justice and anti-racism. We are dedicated to providing services to individuals, couples, and families that are accessible, culturally relevant, and free of stigma.
Here at Urban Wellness, we celebrate and affirm all backgrounds and identities. We strive to provide a brave space where voices can be heard and liberated.
Insurances I Accept:
Ages I work with:
Languages I speak:
Hi! I’m Greg Potts, a therapist who works with adults at all stages from young adults through older adults. It is important that you know that I am a human being who has had my own struggles in life and who is a work in progress myself. I don’t ever assume that my experiences are the same as yours, but I do draw not only from my professional training but also from wisdom drawn from lived experiences, including overcoming internalized homophobia; dealing with unhealthy relationships and breakups; and identifying my professional path and finding a sense of purpose in life.
People who are navigating life transitions, whether it is something you’ve chosen or something that just happened to you. Maybe you’ve gotten married or divorced; lost a job or started one; lost a loved one or had a baby. Whatever it is, I want to help you tap into your own resilience and flexibility to adapt to a new chapter.
I have wisdom to offer, but, more importantly, I have faith in your wisdom and want to help you get in touch with it. No one in the world is a greater expert on your life than you are. For that reason, I see myself less as an expert bestowing the secrets of life on clients and more like a companion on your journey. I adapt my work to the needs and preferences of every client but I especially gravitate toward person centered, psychodynamic, humanistic, CBT, and mindfulness approaches.
A trusting relationship is foundation upon which my therapeutic work with clients is built. I strive to create a safe and nonjudgmental space in which you can take the risks that you need to take in terms of being honest with yourself and telling your story. You can’t heal the parts of yourself that are hurting without first looking at them directly and honestly. I will challenge you to reconsider longstanding assumptions about yourself and the world around you in order to make space for new possibilities.
I believe that healing and growth are possible. When we are ready for change and we receive the support and encouragement that we need, we can start to think new thoughts, feel new feelings, and live in new ways. But there is a catch: The changes that we need can sometimes be painful, scary or difficult and that’s why you can’t get there on your own. We all need support from caring people in our lives and sometimes that support needs to come from a therapist. For very understandable reasons, we often protect ourselves from upsetting memories and difficult realities in our lives in the form of minimizing and denial. But sometimes self-love demands that we visit those difficult places with courage in order to heal from them.
My intent is to create a space safe enough to allow you to bring all of who you are, including parts that others have taught you to feel ashamed of, including your sexual orientation, your race, your immigration status, your mental health challenges or your disabilities. Shame tells us that there is something wrong with you but I will challenge that belief. I challenge the harm of loneliness is by responding to your expressions of emotion with empathy. And I’ll also encourage you to invest in healthy relationships outside of therapy. As serious and sometimes painful a therapy can be, it is also important that we make space for joy and fun. I do like to laugh with you when it feels right. I promote both self-acceptance and also challenging yourself to work toward your personal goals. Likewise, I encourage you to cultivate a spirit of gratitude for the gifts in your life while also pushing you to exercise boundaries and create change for the things that you find unacceptable.
I’ve never had children but my home is full of life – a cat, a partner, and lots and lots of plants. When I am alone, I love crafting, reading, watching TV, listening to music, cooking vegan food and spending time on the Chicago lakefront, either on foot or on a bicycle. But I’m also involved in community activities, including social dancing and participation in a church. My home state is Oklahoma but I’ve live in Chicago for more than 20 years and love this city that I’ve chosen as my home.
Schedule your first appointment. For follow up appointments (existing clients), please contact your therapist at 773-774-4444.
Land Acknowledgment: Urban Wellness acknowledges that the lands on which our practice resides with locations in Chicago and Forest Park, Illinois, are on occupied land, and was originally inhabited by Peoria, Bodwéwadmi (Potawatomi), Myaamia, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, Hoocąk (Ho-Chunk), and Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo) peoples before their forced assimilation, labor, and removal from their ancestral lands. We recognize the Native peoples of these lands and invite all to consider supporting Indigenous communities and the fight for Indigenous racial justice.
