Jeffrey Sumber

Jeffrey officiated our wedding and it was perfect. Our guests gave us a ton of compliments on the ceremony. Many of them went out of their way to let us know that they thought Jeffery did a great job.
We had to plan our wedding from outside the state, and Jeff worked with us via Skype to craft a ceremony that reflected our vision.
He was critical to our wedding’s success! They day of the wedding, he expertly handled the situation and helped us get the most out of our experience.

I originally approached Jeffrey because of relationship problems I was having. I wanted to go in for couples counseling, but my girlfriend wanted nothing to do with it but I went in myself anyway. I am so pleased that I did, and I have been speaking with Jeffrey off and on for several years now.
On the surface, what seemed like what I was going in for was help salvaging a tumultuous relationship, it soon became evident that I was really there for self-​improvement; all of us can benefit from this, nobody is perfect. Over time, as Jeffrey and I got to know each other better, he was able to help guide me in a more positive direction with myself.
Jeffrey is a placid and compassionate individual. He is very thoughtful with his words and his approach to therapy; you’ll never feel like you’re a patient on a shrinks couch. He’ll speak with you rather that at you in order to help you through whatever problems you may be having. It’s important not to be defensive and to be receptive to his counseling. He is always trying to help you.
Even today, since I have left Chicago, Jeffrey has always made himself available for whenever I felt like I needed to speak with someone. I appreciate how great our relationship has developed over the years and I am incredibly grateful for all his advice. It is important to find someone that you feel is right for you, but highly recommend going in for a consultation. you certainly will not regret it.

I attended several sessions with Jeffrey Sumber, and ended up spending most of the time with an associate of his who had cheaper rates.
Briefly, my two disappointments in my interactions with Mr. Sumber are:
–He advertised a sliding scale for lower income clients. When I inquired about this in our first meeting he said he doesn’t really offer a sliding scale anymore «because I don’t have to.» He subsequently paired me up with an associate with lower rates, which turned out well. I went to Mr. Sumber for several couples’ sessions and then when that relationship ended I continued individual sessions with his associate.
–I had a preliminary individual session with him where he asked if I loved my girlfriend (at the time). I hesitated in my answer and he said, «don’t worry, I won’t ask you that in front of her.» Subsequently in our first couples session he totally asked me that same question in front of her! I was shocked!

We had the honor of havingJeffrey officiate our June 18^th, 2011 wedding ceremony!!! We chose the package with three sessions and the rehearsal dinner. We liked meeting with Jeffrey so much that we ended up adding an additional session onto our package! Jeffrey is really down to earth and humorous and he makes the sessions really comfortable. After each session we walked away feeling like we had learned a lot about each other, marriage and communication in general. He was incredibly helpful in helping us personalize our ceremony. We haven’t been to very many weddings as we are the first of our friends getting married and Jeffrey really came through for us in showing us all of our different options and possibilities. In the end, our ceremony was PHENOMENAL. I cannot begin to emphasize how happy we were with the ceremony. Jeffrey was so comfortable. He made the ceremony very beautiful with little bits of humor thrown in here and there. He was able to improvise nicely when a plane flew overhead or when my husband’s ring wasn’t fitting onto his finger! He was extremely organized, dependable and good at what he does. I would recommend him to anyone looking for an amazing officiate.

We chose Jeffrey Sumber as our wedding officiate for our July 9^th wedding. We decided to go with package A which included three couples therapy/​ceremony development sessions and the ceremony itself. Since our wedding was small, we decided to forgo the rehearsal dinner and Jeffrey was accommodating to this. What I enjoyed about the sessions was the focus on communication and skills-​building; Jeffrey provided great tips that we’ll be able to utilize throughout out our lives together. Jeffrey did an excellent job of officiating our secular ceremony. He helped us to clarify what we wanted in our ceremony and incorporated those elements, ultimately coming up with a unique, personal experience for us and our guests. While he did reference his notes frequently during the event, this was a small tradeoff for having such a personalized and creative ceremony. We received many compliments from our guests.

Jeffrey Sumber is an incredibly insightful therapist who has guided me through some of the darkest and most challenging years of my life. His support was pivotal to allowing me to make some of the toughest choices I have ever had to make, that have also improved my life in the most significant ways. Thanks to Jeffrey’s help, I am now able to take care of myself with mindfulness, love, and compassion; I am more empowered and liberated to live the life I want; and I am able to engage in relationships in more safe and satisfying ways. Jeffrey’s transformative role in my life cannot be overstressed. I am a better, happier person thanks to him!

In follow up to the comment on my review… If one prides themselves on such «high ethical standards,» they would have opted not to post a response including false and defamatory claims about a former patient.
His comment only further confirms the statements which I’ve made regarding the way Jeffrey chooses to conduct himself.
The facts listed are very cut and dry, judge for yourself.

My husband went to see Jeff two years ago when he started having some professional problems that were getting in the way our of relationship. I was so happy knowing Jeff was able to help him work through these issues, since my husband was not what I would consider a «therapy-​type» of person. I saw the improvement in him immediately, and he continued to see Jeff every week for almost a year. By then, we had gotten engaged — a prospect that might not have happened without Jeff’s help — and we both decided to hire Jeff as the officiant for our wedding.
Which was when we discovered that in addition to being a phenomenal counselor, Jeff was also a wonderful wedding officiant! He helped us plan a ceremony that incorporated my Jewish heritage and my husband’s Catholicism, as well as walk us through some important pre-​marriage discussions. In all ways, Jeff was thoroughly professional and very well organized — a quality I am a great stickler about!
After the ceremony, which was amazing, my husband and I were happy that we decided to hire someone like Jeff who had helped us through so much. We couldn’t be happier with what Jeff did for us.
So if you’re looking for someone to help you through a tough stage in your life, or your looking for a top-​notch couples counselor, both my husband and I highly recommend Jeff.

My Husband and I hired Jeffrey to officiate our October 11, 2008 wedding. As neither of us attend church and have no relationships with a reverend we set out to find someone who would take the time to get to know us as a couple and bring an element of personality to the ceremony.
We are so delighted that we found Jeffery. While we were unable to partake in the 3 sessions of pre-​marital counseling we had a great first meeting (which is free!) with him and immediately felt that working together would be a great experience. We were given a ceremony builder workbook filed with questions meant to evoke deep thought in how we’ve gotten to this point in our relationship. It was so much fun to fill this out together and it brought us a new level of excitement in getting married.
By the day of the wedding I was so anxious to hear what Jeffrey had put together for us. It was so personal and touching, we felt as if he had known us for many many years, in-​fact many guests later asked how long we’d known him for. All were surprised to find out that we had only met him after we were engaged.
Between being very accessible in the months leading up to the wedding and the calming sense of control and organization at the rehearsal and on the day of the wedding, Jeffrey is a great individual to help lead you into this new chapter of your life. I would and will recommend him to anyone looking for an officiant.
Thank you Jeffrey!

Based on Dee’s review, my now-​husband and I set up an appointment with Jeffrey to see if he’d be the guy to hitch us. He was just perfect – he spent two sessions just getting to know us, and then tailor-​made the ceremony for us over two more sessions (with our input, of course). It was personal, special, funny, and everything we’d wanted.
Best yet, though, was that Jeffrey was a professional. He knew just how to put together the ceremony, had a lot of suggestions for us, and did a beautiful job (I’m still getting compliments). It was so much nicer than having a friend who’d gotten ordained online do it – although that way is very personal and is probably lovely, it was reassuring to know we had a pro in our corner who was just as involved with us as a friend would have been.
Highly recommended, and thanks Dee!

I met with Jeffrey for advice on my career and ended up gaining so much more from our meeting than I imagined. He is an extremely knowledgeable therapist with a broad background working with many different populations in a variety of settings. But what sets Jeffrey apart from many other therapists and counselors I have met is his genuine commitment to the basic and most important aspects of therapy – helping people THROUGH whatever issues/​problems they are facing. I am someone who works in the mental health field and let me tell you that Jeffrey is unique in his approach. He doesn’t expect you to sit on the couch for years and talk to the wall; he wants to work with you until you feel satisfied with your personal change.
In person, Jeffrey is engaged, willing to listen, and nonjudgemental. What’s more, he takes an active approach in helping a person develop a vision for attainable and sustainable change in their lives. And after all, isn’t that the point of therapy? If you’re apprehensive about talking to another person about what’s bothering you, then I highly recommend talking to Jeffrey. Trust me, it’s worth it.

So, the fiancé and I hired Jeffrey Sumber to be our officiant and part of the costs require three pre-​marital sessions. Since we wanted ours to be non-​religious/​secular, Jeffrey had asked us to come in so he could get to know us better and help us shape our ceremony to be befitting of us — what a great concept!
Our first intro session was FREE (yes, some things in life are free which is very very nice, especially if you’re paying for a wedding anyway) and then, he also gave us a 50% discount after four pre-​marital sessions with him — we’ve found his pre-​marital sessions are extremely helpful — it’s nice to have things laid out in a different manner. He’s helping us see past the present and really help us lay out the foundation for our ‘culture’ together and for our lives together as one. He’s also helping overcome little obstacles and something as silly as «why we fight over the center of the bed» — we’re very confident in his abilities and look forward to having a beautiful ceremony that is catered to our personalities and our relationship.
I highly recommend him as an officiant (if you’re going the non-​religious route) and a counselor. Plus his office is right next door to Hopleaf and La Donna — another bonus right there, too! I’ll probably add another addition to this review after the wedding ceremony.
EDIT: The above review was more so for our experience with Jeffrey as our officiant/​pre-​marital counselor but I’ve also worked with Jeffrey aside from that on some personal issues in addition to wedding preparation which includes my personal life, family, career, etc. He is very sincere and helpful in helping me reorganize myself and keep myself moving forward in a good way.