Nicholas Lattanzio, Psy. D.

Children, Adolescents, Families, and Adults

Nicholas Lattanzio, Psy. D., often referred to by his clients as Dr. Nik, is a licensed clinical psychologist in the Western Chicago suburbs. Dr. Nik possesses a great deal of knowledge and training in a variety of theoretical and practical areas of psychology, having trained in inpatient psychiatric hospitals, private practice, community mental health, emergency rooms, and crisis work. Dr. Nik also is regarded as an expert in the practice and training of mindfulness and non-dual meditation. A generalist who “takes all comers,” Dr. Nik specializes in issues pertaining to spirituality, death & dying, and meaning/existential crises, as well as psychosis, trauma, anxiety/panic and personality disorders. Dr. Nik also has extensive experience working with severe mental illness in general, intrusive thoughts, depression, aggression/behavior, and substance use/impulse control disorders. Although his primary mode of treatment is individual (across the lifespan), Dr. Nik does involve families, and can provide couples and family therapy.

“I believe in human beings who have the courage to be human. The human condition is one that affects each of us in different ways, but common to each of us is the experience of suffering. Be it from traumas, current life circumstances, hating yourself, hating the world, feeling stuck, numb, afraid, suffering exists to some degree for everyone. The beautiful thing about suffering, though, is that it represents an opportunity for change. Suffering is resistance and struggling against the growing pains of change. It is willful, and it is intense. Why? Because without that suffering, whatever form it takes, we would likely not be driven to surrender to and accept the aspects of life that require our growth, let alone improve our lives and those of others. Yet each of us deserves the opportunity to learn to better understand and live with this profound and potentially transformational experience, and we all certainly deserve less suffering in our day-to-day lives. With my focus on establishing change through the therapist-client relationship, I am not here to tell you what to do. I work for you, and it is my strongest desire to help you explore, identify, and achieve a meaningful, purposeful life worth living, whatever that means for you.”

Since receiving his doctorates in clinical psychology in 2020 from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology, “Dr. Nik” has been heavily involved in correspondence with some of the most brilliant minds in psychology and related fields regarding the philosophical foundations for knowledge itself. Dr. Nik has also conducted and presented research and talks on numerous topics including psychosis, mindfulness and meditation, trauma-informed care, nonduality, metaphysics, and death and dying, among others. Most often an integration of existential/Gestalt theory, Integral theory, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Emotion-Focused techniques, Dr. Nik utilizes his wide breadth of clinical knowledge to provide each of his clients with the highest possible quality of care and is very transparent and flexible in his approach when working with clients.

Dr. Lattanzio’s Areas of Focus Include:

Psychosis, intrusive thoughts, dissociative disorders, trauma, personality disorders, spirituality, existential concerns, meaning/purpose, identity issues, LGBTQ+ issues, self-harm, anxiety/panic, mood disorders, impulse-control, substance use, body image issues, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anger issues, grief and loss, and emotional lability.