Get to Know Our Team: Dash Stewart

What Drew Me to This Work—and What Keeps Me Here

My interest in therapy began while I was in high school.  I had an excellent experience with a therapist who helped me to understand my own emotions and stressors during a difficult time in my life.  The next year, as a high school senior, I took a psychology course and really clicked with the material.  I loved learning about the biology of the brain, neurotransmitters, human development, and introductions to foundational approaches to therapy.  In college, this made majoring in Psychology an easy pathway.  Once I graduated, I experienced sincere doubts that I had any kind of life experience that I was ready, qualified, or capable of being anyone’s therapist at 22 years old.  For a few years, I entered the marketing profession until I felt ready and committed to begin the process of becoming a therapist.  Several years went by before I started graduate school, but my drive to do connected, human, face-to-face work stayed consistent.  Right after completing my Master’s in Counseling Psychology, my wife and I moved to the West Coast, where I spent 6 years working in a community mental health setting doing therapy and case management.  Family changes brought us back to Chicago in the fall of 2025, and I’m thrilled to provide therapy and counseling at Serengeti.

In college, I worked at the Museum of Science and Industry, doing tours and science demos.  The job provided a lot of opportunities to be asked very candid questions from kids and adults, usually about scientific topics like weather and human anatomy, or what it’s like to work on a submarine or in a coal mine.  Sometimes the questions would be absolute curveballs that only a kid with an active imagination would think of.  That job taught me that curiosity is a really powerful tool for understanding someone.  I like to leverage my own curiosity as well as the clients’ in therapy sessions.  If there is something we deeply want the answer to, having a curious guide who will help to lead and follow us to those answers is the best way to find that out.

How I Show Up in the Therapy Room

Compared to the average therapist, my style probably incorporates more humor and (sometimes clumsy) metaphors in a given session.  I tailor my approach to the client based on what they need in a specific session.  Sometimes the role I take on as a therapist is an empathetic companion, a guide or mentor, other times I am a mirror or a sounding board for experiences and emotions, and occasionally I can be direct when asked to be.  

I love the “aha” moment of personal discovery.  It can feel exhilarating and rewarding when a client puts together the pieces for themselves and gets a satisfying answer to a “why?” question they have been asking for a long time.  I love joining clients on their journey to understand their own behaviors, brains, and bodies (and by extension their lives) by uncovering patterns that have been playing out just under their awareness.  

A Few of My Favorite Things (and Places)

I prefer the mountains to the beach.  I grew up in Chicago, where we have wonderful beaches, but there’s a lot to be desired as far as elevation changes go.  I really enjoy hiking and backpacking during the warmer months, which becomes much more rewarding when you can see for miles from the top of a mountain.  I love to visit National Parks and spent my honeymoon in the Rocky Mountain National Park near Denver, where I once had a slightly scary run-in with a family of moose.  

My go-to answer when anyone asks about my favorite movie is Fargo.  It hits a sweet spot for me of dark humor, ambiguous character motivations, and has performances by some of my favorite actors.  I don’t know how many times I’ve seen Fargo in my life, but I think I notice something new or have a slightly different interpretation of it whenever I come back to watch it every few years. 

The Values That Guide My Work and Life

I try to live by the value of truth every day.  In order to connect with others, form consensus, come to a compromise, and be authentic with ourselves, we have to live within a shared reality based on what is true.  In my personal life and as a therapist, I strive to be honest about my thoughts, actions, and perspective.  Being truthful inside the therapeutic relationship is the only way to build trust and authenticity with a client.  I’ve worked with many clients whose personal truths were rejected or silenced by others in their lives, leading to distress and conflict.  Because of this, being able to be honest and truthful about past experiences, emotions, and thoughts is an essential part of feeling really accepted.  

Especially in the current climate, major political and economic events have made me feel worried and powerless.  Day-to-day struggles like parenting, making dinner on time, and taking care of my own physical health don’t go away either because of what is happening around the country or in other places in the world.  When I start to feel bogged down and challenged, I use a combination of mindfulness techniques and exercise to focus on the present moment and direct my attention to my body.  I don’t always feel hopeful about the present or future, but when I do, I almost always feel less overwhelmed, more capable, and clear-headed to be able to take some kind of next step.

Little Joys, Big Laughs, and Comfort Food

“Ambling Alp” by Yeasayer is a song that always puts me in a good mood.  It has an infectious drum line that sticks in my head and inspiring lyrics about sticking up for yourself and doing your best.  

The last thing I watched that made me laugh really hard was the most recent season of the TV show The Rehearsal.  It’s a very strange concept to make a faux-documentary comedy about trying to understand and prevent airplane crashes, but it completely works.  There are some really bizarre twists and turns that the creator Nathan Fielder takes over the course of the season, but it ultimately becomes this really grounded and affirming story.

My go-to comfort meal is Tilapia Piccata.  It sounds fancy, but it is a surprisingly easy and relatively affordable meal to make for a weeknight dinner.  I’m a sucker for any meal that is a dressed-up delivery method for lemon and butter, though.