Leah Fishbein, LMFT

The therapeutic relationship is a crucial vehicle for change. Effective therapy requires clients to feel at ease with their therapist.  To foster that environment, I aim to be personable and professional. I reject the stance of a detached expert and step into curiosity to be an active, collaborative partner in our work. I aim to lead with compassion and humility, honoring clients as experts on their own lives. I also invite and embrace feedback around what is and isn't working in the therapeutic process.

What my clients are saying:

  • “To help you, your therapist should know you. Your desires, your wishes, your motivations, your loves and your losses.  This takes a keen insight and a genuine desire to understand. Leah brings both along with education, intelligence and humor to her sessions.  This allows her to help guide you as you both go on a therapeutic journey towards improved mental health. She has helped me to navigate my journey to better health and happiness with a diversity of techniques, compassion, empathy, humor and toughness where appropriate. If you are looking for someone to take the mental health journey with you, I highly recommend Leah.”

  • "My life is filled with the 'sandwich generation' stresses that come with aging parents, a stressful job, and a neurodiverse child. In Leah, I’ve found a trusted, pragmatic, and expansive dialogue — one that’s not only helped me manage that stress, but also opened me up to grow as a person."

  • "Having worked with other therapists, I've found Leah and her application of IFS to be profoundly useful in helping me integrate the various parts or aspects of myself into a whole. In doing so, I show up more consistently as a complete version of myself and not just part that reacts one way or the other in a given situation. I am grateful for the work I have done under Leah's guidance and I look forward to further growth & understanding."

  • "Multiple times, Leah has intuited what I should try as we worked together to defeat my crippling anxiety, to improve my troubled relationship, and to understand and accept all my different parts. She has been right far more often than not. She is reliable, organized, grounded in theory, pragmatic, funny, patient, and easy to talk to. I’ll be in her debt forever, and she has my highest possible recommendation."

  • "Leah is empathetic, insightful, and incredibly smart. She listens intently, has a keen memory for details, asks great questions, makes thoughtful observations, and connects issues. I trust her and feel safe being open and vulnerable in our conversations. Leah brings a depth of experience and knowledge to my issues and has helped me gain deep insights into myself and others."

  • “I've been really impressed with Leah's insights and observations. She's highlighted blindspots and strengths in a way that's been compassionate and astute. Her feedback and insights have completely changed the way I show up in relationships and the way people respond to me.”

  • "I've worked with Leah for ~4 years and continue to gain insights into who and how I am. My work with Leah helps me live more authentically and comfortably in all aspects of my life. She is very good at creating a comfortable, easy-going environment and balancing that with a strong clinical focus and motivation, which challenges me and helps me gain insights into who I am today. I wasn't family with Internal Family Systems (IFS) and only learned of it outside my work with Leah. Upon reading about IFS, it became clear that Leah is a solid practitioner of this approach."

  • "Leah has coached me through tough situations and given me tools to navigate tricky waters resulting in improved relationships. She has guided me through a process of discovery and reflection which has enabled me to approach life, family and friends in a more positive and constructive way. Leah is a great talent and a huge help to me. I recommend her wholeheartedly and without reservation."

  • "I have had the privilege of working with Leah for the past six years, and my experience has truly been life changing. Throughout this time, she has consistently shown deep empathy, kindness, and an unwavering commitment to my well-being and personal growth. What sets Leah apart is her ability to create a safe, nonjudgmental space where I feel truly heard and understood. Her presence is calming, and her support has been instrumental in helping me navigate both everyday challenges and more complex emotional work."

  • "In all our time working together, I’ve found Leah to be not only a highly skilled clinician but also a genuinely kind and compassionate person. I trust her judgment completely and am incredibly grateful for the impact she’s had on my life. I wholeheartedly recommend Leah to anyone seeking a therapist who is grounded, wise, and deeply committed to their clients’ healing and growth."

  • “Working with Leah was an absolute pleasure. She quickly and easily understood where I was coming from and where I wanted to go. The knowledge and inspiration she shared with me helped me reassess my thinking around building connections and leaning into my vulnerability while doing so. If you have the chance to work with her, I highly recommend it.”

My therapeutic philosophy:

Ultimately, you are the expert on your life. I work passionately alongside you to help uncover what is blocking you from accessing your own innate wisdom. Therapy is a place to widen the lens of understanding of both the problems you face and the potential solutions for them. 

I am an integrative and systemic therapist who believes in treating the whole person. I work to understand one's problems in the larger context of their life. This means exploring how larger forces — culture, biology, the socio-political realm, and family of origin — influence one's experience and adapt our work accordingly. I hold an appreciation for how your inner world affects your outer world and vice versa, for they are nested interconnected systems where understanding one helps us better understand the other. 

Most people seek therapy for issues relating to anxiety, depression, or relational conflict. These presenting problems tend to be symptoms of larger issues. SunPath offers a space to go beyond treating symptoms and address problems at their root so holistic healing can occur. 

Therapeutic approaches need to reflect the diversity of human experience. Trained in a number of evidence-based models of therapy, I tailor treatment to intervene in a way that is best suited for my clients' needs and personalities. Sessions can range from practical problem solving to body-based meditations.

My promise to you 

All research shows that your relationship with your therapist is the biggest predictor of therapeutic success. The most important factor in determining if we are a good therapeutic "fit" is whether you feel comfortable with and understood by me. If after a few sessions, you feel I am not the right "fit," for whatever reason, I will help you find someone who is. Therapy can be hard enough, your therapist doesn't need to make it any harder!

Credentials

  • Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Illinois

  • Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University

  • Program Assistant for the Internal Family Systems (IFS) Institute

  • Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy for The Family Institute at Northwestern University

  • Bachelor of Arts from The University of Wisconsin - Madison

  • Clinical Fellow of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy

  • Approved Supervisor Candidate of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy


Therapy Modalities

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS)

  • Intimacy for the Inside Out (IFIO)

  • Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)

  • Integrative Systemic Therapy (IST)

  • Mindfulness

  • Attachment-Based Therapy

  • Family systems theory

  • Trauma-Informed treatment


Clinical and Research Experience

Prior to founding SunPath Psychotherapy, I spent six years training then working as a staff clinician at The Family Institute at Northwestern University, one of the nation's leading relationship-based behavioral health organizations. Before becoming a therapist, I spent a decade in Marketing. 

  • Individual supervisor and Adjunct Professor at The Family Institute at Northwestern University's Marriage and Family Therapy master's program

  • Staff Therapist, Couples Service Line, The Family Institute at Northwestern University

  • Post-Graduate Clinical Fellowship in Couples Therapy at The Family Institute at Northwestern University

  • Teaching Assistant, Building Loving and Lasting Relationships: Marriage 101, Northwestern University

  • Research Assistant, Dr. Alexandra Solomon's Relational Self-Awareness Lab, Northwestern University 

  • Clinical training at the Bette D. Harris Child and Family Clinic at The Family Institute at Northwestern University


Advanced Trainings

Driven by curiosity, I am committed to continuously refining my craft and ensuring my practice evolves to include evidence-based best practices.

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level One and Two Training

  • Intimacy From the Inside Out (IFIO) Basic Training

  • Externship in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) 

  • Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) Immersion Course 

  • Post-Graduate Clinical Fellowship in Couples Therapy at The Family Institute at Northwestern University

  • Seeking Educational Equity & Diversity (SEED) Training

  • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Certificate Course

  • Additional advance trainings in Discernment Counseling, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and attachment-based psychotherapy

Book a free 30-minute consultation