John Pajarillaga
LPC (MS#-0637), NCC, CADC
John has a background in community mental health. He started working with disadvantaged and vulnerable communities at a community mental health agency in Chicago. He found the work both challenging and fulfilling and went on to pursue a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Regent University. After years of working in social service and community mental health agencies, John now works in private practice and provides individual and couples therapy at Doxa Counseling.
John is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, and a Nationally Certified Counselor. He has experience working with individuals and couples in several areas: depression, anxiety, addiction & recovery, trauma, relationship/dating issues, social skills, identity issues, marriage difficulties, parenting, and personal growth.
His approach to therapy is shaped by his earlier work in community mental health where he developed a passion for helping people find hope and healing through all of life’s ups and downs. He believes in meeting clients where they are and seeing them as multifaceted and whole individuals rather than a label or diagnosis. He takes a trauma informed, strengths based approach and thinks about how clients are influenced by relationships and their environments.
Interventions he uses include cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamic therapy, motivational interviewing, emotion focused therapy, narrative therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy.
- Drug, Alcohol and Sex Addiction
- EMDR
- Couple and Marriage Counseling
- Emotional Dysregulation, Anger and Depression
- Grief, Loss and Trauma
- Interpersonal Conflict
- Identity, Race and Culture
- Parenting and Co-Parenting
Individuals
Those seeking to address interpersonal conflicts at work, in their families, and their intimate relationships; anxiety; depression; trauma; issues around identity, race, and/or culture; adjusting to life transitions; challenges around dating and/or relationships; working through grief and loss; issues around parenting and co-parenting.
Couples
Those seeking to improve communication and conflict resolution skills; engage in pre-marital counseling; develop ways of creating a better relationship; address issues around sex; provide support to a partner with issues around mental illness and/or addiction.
Recovery Support>
Life is hard. For those in recovery, maintaining sobriety makes life feel even harder. I provide individual therapy to clients who have made the decision to get clean and are actively trying to maintain their sobriety. I work with them on improving their coping skills, processing and working through the issues that lead them to fall back on their addiction, and helping them to build a healthier lifestyle.
Support for Loved Ones
Addiction hurts more than just the person actively caught in it. It damages the bonds between parents and their children, between spouses, and between families. I provide individual therapy and support to people who are affected by the addiction of a loved one. I provide emotional support as they navigate how to live life in the midst of their loved one’s struggles. I help them learn how to balance showing love to their loved one while maintaining healthy boundaries for themselves. If you are the spouse, child, family or friend of someone who is caught in active addiction, I can help you.
- Drug, Alcohol and Sex Addiction
- EMDR
- Couple and Marriage Counseling
- Emotional Dysregulation, Anger and Depression
- Grief, Loss and Trauma
- Interpersonal Conflict
- Identity, Race and Culture
- Parenting and Co-Parenting
Individuals
Those seeking to address interpersonal conflicts at work, in their families, and their intimate relationships; anxiety; depression; trauma; issues around identity, race, and/or culture; adjusting to life transitions; challenges around dating and/or relationships; working through grief and loss; issues around parenting and co-parenting.
Couples
Those seeking to improve communication and conflict resolution skills; engage in pre-marital counseling; develop ways of creating a better relationship; address issues around sex; provide support to a partner with issues around mental illness and/or addiction.
Recovery Support>
Life is hard. For those in recovery, maintaining sobriety makes life feel even harder. I provide individual therapy to clients who have made the decision to get clean and are actively trying to maintain their sobriety. I work with them on improving their coping skills, processing and working through the issues that lead them to fall back on their addiction, and helping them to build a healthier lifestyle.
Support for Loved Ones
Addiction hurts more than just the person actively caught in it. It damages the bonds between parents and their children, between spouses, and between families. I provide individual therapy and support to people who are affected by the addiction of a loved one. I provide emotional support as they navigate how to live life in the midst of their loved one’s struggles. I help them learn how to balance showing love to their loved one while maintaining healthy boundaries for themselves. If you are the spouse, child, family or friend of someone who is caught in active addiction, I can help you.
When he is not working, John enjoys cooking new recipes in his kitchen, playing video games with his kids, taking long drives through the countryside, reading a good book, and trying to convince his wife to get a dog.
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