My story

From a very young age, I was inclined to help people. I suppose it was something I was born with. Therefore, being a social worker came natural to me, but it wasn’t my first choice. I was always interested in stories, especially the stories of political and social inequality that I saw around me. I was an avid reader and during college I had aspirations to be a writer. It soon became evident to me, however, that in my short 20-year-old life that I didn’t have much to write about because I hadn’t experienced life yet. So I decided to travel. Over time, I continued to be compelled by people’s stories, and, being drawn to work with others, it made good sense to become a social worker.

In addition to stories, cameras were always in my life. From my first Brownie camera at age 8, I passionately documented the world around me. Those were the days when flashbulbs burned your fingers, but I loved the whole process of capturing moments. Visual stories came in photographs. I was drawn to people and places, spending years during the 1980’s looking through a lens as a street photographer.

After obtaining my Master’s degree in Social Work, I learned about Narrative Therapy – an approach to counseling that matched my beliefs both philosophically and ethically. In mental health, people always talk about “aha” moments – and this was one for me. Some basic ideas of narrative include the ideas that people are not their problems, that we live the stories we tell, that hidden stories exist and can be explored to lead to alternative possibilities – ideas that inspire hope and resilience. The philosophical and anthropological framework of Narrative strongly resonated for me…. and still does. With this belief system as the basis for my work I have maintained a long and thriving therapy practice.

Ann E. Kogen, MA, LCSW
1618 Orrington Ave. Suite 322
Evanston, Illinois 60201
phone 847.864.8834
fax 847.328.7791

annkogen@yahoo.com