Seth Allison, MA, LCPC

p: 630-469-4699 x10 | e: seth@alcornandallison.com

Seth Allison, MA, LCPC is a licensed clinical professional counselor who received his master’s degree in clinical psychology (2001) from Wheaton College. He began his career with the DuPage County Health Department as a Clinician/Consultant, providing office and home-based family therapy to children and adolescents. Two years later, Seth entered into full-time private practice with Arbor Clinical Associates in Wheaton where he continued working with families, and began deepening his understanding of effective therapy with adults and couples. Seth co-founded Alcorn & Allison Clinical Associates, LLC in October of 2006 with his good friend and colleague Dr. Chad Alcorn, Psy.D. He resides in Glen Ellyn with his wife, Kelly, and their children, Willa and Wyatt. In his spare time, he enjoys wrestling with various existential quandaries like; how one makes a guitar sound as if it belongs in the Mississippi Delta, what it might actually feel like to dunk a basketball, and whether or not the book of Revelation makes any reference to the national league ball club in Chicago.

I think about the endeavor of being a therapist quite a bit. It can be an odd calling at times. On certain days, a therapist puts on the garments of a “secular priest”, stepping reverently into the sacred spaces that we keep hidden from the rest of the world. These are humbling days—powerful and impacting sorts of days—when being a therapist takes on a kind of existential significance. On these days, I get to wade into the deep water.

Then there are the days where a therapist attempts to channel Dr. Phil or Nanny 911 in hopes of jump-starting a desperate situation. On these days, a therapist must be the expert who draws on training, study, and experience in an effort to impart a certain kind of wisdom. These are the mental health consultant days—the days where my job is to attend as much to a problem as to a person. This is a different kind of sacredness. The reward of course, is in helping people—getting to watch families make efficient and lasting changes that impact the quality of their lives. This too is a privilege.

On both days, therapy is a unique kind of relationship. Its structure allows us to walk with another person, a guide if you will, toward a place of deeper understanding and integrated decision making. In the end, we are hopefully empowered to make more informed choices in matters both profound and practical. As a therapist, I am able to use different tools and wear different hats on different days. Indeed, this flexibility is a necessity. However, I do not believe that a single clinician can be all things to all people. So with that in mind, I want to take a shot at articulating what I do well as a therapist and the things that I feel passionate about: Read more on the Strengths and Values page