Our staff

Our small team provides thoughtful, evidence-informed therapy for individuals and couples. We’re growing intentionally so care stays personal, capable, and compassionate.

Meet the people behind

In Pursuit Counseling

Carly Nevarez

Life hands us chapters we didn’t write and sometimes we get stuck rereading the same page. I help people lean into the hard stuff so those pages can be rewritten with more clarity, connection, and room to breathe.

How I work and what you can expect:

I use Narrative Therapy and attachment-based approaches because I believe our stories and relationships shape what we think is possible. I don’t follow a one-size-fits-all script. Instead I listen for the patterns that have been quietly running your life and help you experiment with different, more helpful ways of relating to yourself and the people you care about.

Any lasting change begins and ends with people. Meaningful change isn't born from techniques or tools alone. It grows from the human care, touch, and understanding we bring. This belief guides everything I do. After almost a decade in community mental health and private practice I learned that the quickest fix rarely lasts. The work that matters is thoughtful, slow enough to be honest, and practical enough to use outside the therapy hour.

In sessions you’ll find a steady presence and clear, useful steps. We slow down to notice what’s been missed, practice small experiments that shift patterns, and check what’s actually working for you. I aim to create a space that feels safe and where faith, values, and the messiness of life can all be part of the conversation.

In time, small habits turn into steady change, and often the first signs arrive after a few sessions. If you’re looking for careful, compassionate work that honors your story and helps you make real shifts, I’d be glad to meet you and see if we’re a good fit.

Training

Wheaton Graduate School - M.A. in Marriage & Family Therapy

Credentials

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)

AAMFT Approved LMFT Supervisor

Prepare/Enrich Pre-marital Certified Facilitator

Narrative Focused Trauma Care Certified: Level I & II

leads
the
practice
as
founder
and
offers
a
foundation
in
narrative
and
attachment-based
work.

Chase Manke

Sometimes the thing you need most isn’t a new idea but permission to feel what’s already there. I help you notice that feeling, stay with it, and find a clearer way forward.

How I work and what you can expect:

Therapy with me is affirming, explorative and engaging. I value being mindful of the body because feelings often arrive before words. Together, we’ll notice, name and make room for the parts of you that feel stuck, but are eager to heal, grow and expand.

Over the past few years, I’ve met with a wide range of people. Teenagers, Gen Z and millennial adults and couples, and families with adult children. I have a soft spot for teenagers finding their voice and learning to advocate for themselves, young adults wrestling with existential questions about faith and identity, and individuals and couples who feel disconnected and overwhelmed by the weight of modern life.

The goal isn’t just to change your relationship with your emotions, it’s to connect more genuinely with others and to live with more ease and meaning. Movement matters! I’ll help you explore your relationships, emotions, and connection with your body in order to help you slowly build toward a life that you feel proud of and that energizes you. You have a unique life to live and my hope is that working together will help you more mindfully take ownership of your life. Progress isn’t always tidy or fast, but when you begin to move differently in small, consistent ways, there is an overflow of meaningful change.

If you come for help with overwhelm, unpleasant relationship patterns, questions around faith and identity, or the quiet weight of being alone, expect steadiness, curiosity and real engagement. My hope is that you leave our sessions feeling grounded, refreshed, and more like you—proud that you have done something both courageous and kind for yourself.

Training

Wheaton Graduate School - M.A. in Marriage & Family Therapy

Credentials

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)

Prepare/Enrich Pre-marital Certified Facilitator

Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) – trained clinician

Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) - Level I trained

complements
this
with
somatic
curiosity
and
experiential
depth,
and
together
their
perspectives
broaden
the
ways
clients
experience
being
seen
and
supported
in
change.

Carly Nevarez

Carly is the steady thread at the center of In Pursuit Counseling. Someone who notices the small, telling details and makes space for them to matter. With nearly a decade in community mental health and private practice, she blends Narrative Therapy and attachment-focused work to help people rewrite the parts of their story that keep them stuck.

Her approach feels like a deep breath in the middle of the noise: calm, careful, and quietly hopeful. She’s here to do the hard work with you and to celebrate the change that follows.

LMFT
Narrative
Story-centered
Trauma

Carly Nevarez

Life hands us chapters we didn’t write and sometimes we get stuck rereading the same page. I help people lean into the hard stuff so those pages can be rewritten with more clarity, connection, and room to breathe.

How I work and what you can expect:

I use Narrative Therapy and attachment-based approaches because I believe our stories and relationships shape what we think is possible. I don’t follow a one-size-fits-all script. Instead I listen for the patterns that have been quietly running your life and help you experiment with different, more helpful ways of relating to yourself and the people you care about.

Any lasting change begins and ends with people. Meaningful change isn't born from techniques or tools alone. It grows from the human care, touch, and understanding we bring. This belief guides everything I do. After almost a decade in community mental health and private practice I learned that the quickest fix rarely lasts. The work that matters is thoughtful, slow enough to be honest, and practical enough to use outside the therapy hour.

In sessions you’ll find a steady presence and clear, useful steps. We slow down to notice what’s been missed, practice small experiments that shift patterns, and check what’s actually working for you. I aim to create a space that feels safe and where faith, values, and the messiness of life can all be part of the conversation.

In time, small habits turn into steady change, and often the first signs arrive after a few sessions. If you’re looking for careful, compassionate work that honors your story and helps you make real shifts, I’d be glad to meet you and see if we’re a good fit.

Training

Wheaton Graduate School - M.A. in Marriage & Family Therapy

Credentials

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)

AAMFT Approved LMFT Supervisor

Prepare/Enrich Pre-marital Certified Facilitator

Narrative Focused Trauma Care Certified: Level I & II

Chase Manke

Chase brings a curious and compassionate presence to the room—someone who notices the subtle, overlooked places where feeling lives. He shows up open, engaged and ready to learn from you, trusting that you already have a deep knowing about your own life.

Together, you’ll build mutual trust and make space to notice, explore and tend to what truly matters—turning small discoveries into steadier and more meaningful ways of living.

LMFT
Experiental
Body-focused
Young adults

Chase Manke

Sometimes the thing you need most isn’t a new idea but permission to feel what’s already there. I help you notice that feeling, stay with it, and find a clearer way forward.

How I work and what you can expect:

Therapy with me is affirming, explorative and engaging. I value being mindful of the body because feelings often arrive before words. Together, we’ll notice, name and make room for the parts of you that feel stuck, but are eager to heal, grow and expand.

Over the past few years, I’ve met with a wide range of people. Teenagers, Gen Z and millennial adults and couples, and families with adult children. I have a soft spot for teenagers finding their voice and learning to advocate for themselves, young adults wrestling with existential questions about faith and identity, and individuals and couples who feel disconnected and overwhelmed by the weight of modern life.

The goal isn’t just to change your relationship with your emotions, it’s to connect more genuinely with others and to live with more ease and meaning. Movement matters! I’ll help you explore your relationships, emotions, and connection with your body in order to help you slowly build toward a life that you feel proud of and that energizes you. You have a unique life to live and my hope is that working together will help you more mindfully take ownership of your life. Progress isn’t always tidy or fast, but when you begin to move differently in small, consistent ways, there is an overflow of meaningful change.

If you come for help with overwhelm, unpleasant relationship patterns, questions around faith and identity, or the quiet weight of being alone, expect steadiness, curiosity and real engagement. My hope is that you leave our sessions feeling grounded, refreshed, and more like you—proud that you have done something both courageous and kind for yourself.

Training

Wheaton Graduate School - M.A. in Marriage & Family Therapy

Credentials

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)

Prepare/Enrich Pre-marital Certified Facilitator

Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) – trained clinician

Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) - Level I trained

You’re in the middle of it,
and that’s okay.

Like a deep breath in the middle of chaos, it brings a little, room to breathe and begin again.

Presence
Small steps
Momentum
Courage
Change
Messy
Heard
Something new
Enough
Presence
Small steps
Momentum
Courage
Change
Messy
Heard
Something new
Enough

Some kind words from clients

We came to Carly thinking we needed big fixes. Turns out it was the little things that mattered, the way we listened, the questions we did not know how to ask. A few months in and we actually talk differently. Not perfect, but better. Thank you.

Client, Chicago

Yes, working with Chase felt… a bit different, but in a good way. Such a good way. He would ask me where I felt something in my body and that one question opened up so much?? I learned small things I can do when I’m overwhelmed and I don’t feel as alone. Feeling quite grateful here.

Client, Chicago

I was nervous about therapy over video but it ended up feeling nice and easy. I still have my rough days, but I’ve got some ways now and I know someone sees me. I think that matters.

Client, Chicago
TOWARDS SOMETHING NEW
We’re here to offer the support you need, but also to help you find a way forward you didn't know was there. Every chapter you’ve lived leads you towards something new—a fresh perspective, a renewed sense of self, and a path that feels right for you.

We are

In Pursuit Counseling
rewriting narratives
partners in clarity
story weavers
story-driven healers
listeners
In Pursuit Counseling
rewriting narratives
partners in clarity
story weavers
story-driven healers
listeners
In Pursuit Counseling
rewriting narratives
partners in clarity
story weavers
story-driven healers
listeners
In Pursuit Counseling
rewriting narratives
partners in clarity
story weavers
story-driven healers
listeners