Therapists in Boulder, CO

With 19 years of experience, my areas of interest include depression, anxiety, self-image, healing from trauma and abuse, divorce recovery, overcoming shame, life transitional issues, matters of loneliness, and empowering others to pursue their dreams and career aspirations. I earned my B.A. in Political Science at Montclair State University in New Jersey in 1994 and gained my Masters in Counseling at Denver Seminary in 2002. I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado (#4201) and Arizona (#22661). My counseling approach usually incorporates cognitive-behavioral techniques, Rogerian theories ("person-centered" counseling), and family systems methods. I am passionate about helping my clients feel understood in their time of suffering — with their feelings validated, their life story honored, and their weaknesses, mistakes, failures, longings, etc., accepted without a hint of judgment. While I think I have much to offer my clients, I am not a "know it all" therapist. I want to learn from those who have turned their pain and suffering into something beautiful. As a resident of Westcliffe, Colorado and Green Valley, Arizona, I enjoy hiking, cycling, and exploring the beautiful landscapes of the American West. I have biked across the USA three times, the latest trip in 2017, and have authored a memoir about my first trip, titled "Under a Triumphant Sky: A Bike Across America Story." I regularly make public presentations about my travel experiences and encourage others to live boldly and to pursue their dreams.

My name is Kay Adkins and I am a Professional Licensed Counselor (LPC). I started my education at College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Missouri where I received my Bachelor of Science in Philosophy/Religion and Psychology. I went on to complete my Master's in Science in Counseling from Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri. I am trained primarily in Person-Centered Therapy, a client centered approach that allows the client to lead the session. I have over seven years of experience providing individual, group, and family therapy using Person-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), components of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), rational perspective, and Solution Focused therapy. I am also finishing up a certificate course in Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). I have experience working in a variety of settings including office and in-home private practice, residential care for adolescents, 7 Day Follow-up, and intensive outpatient within a medical facility. I have worked with a diverse population including children, adults, geriatrics, foster care, low socioeconomic levels, and supporting others with varying disabilities. I have experience working with a wide range of disorders and concerns, including depression, anxiety, life adjustment, daily stress management, childhood trauma, Gay-Lesbian, and self-esteem related concerns. I trust in my clients and believe that that they can make effective decisions regarding their personal counseling goals and treatment. And I believe that it is up to the client to determine his or her own personal progress and growth according to what is best for the individual. I believe each one of us has the ability to make choices and face challenges, but at times we need a word of encouragement or even a strong nudge to get started. Sometimes we just need one other person to validate, hear, and believe in us. I hope that together we will be able to find the healing, support, and growth you are searching for through counseling.

Welcome, I am glad you are here. My approach to therapy is relational, curious and empathic. I hope to support you with whatever challenges you may be struggling with. Together we can explore ways to help you better manage the difficulties of living a human life. I have worked in healthcare for over 25 years both as a nurse and a licensed professional counselor. I received my Masters in Counseling from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2004. I have experience working in a variety of mental and physical healthcare settings. I understand the complexities related to managing both mental and physical health. I believe healing takes place in the mind, body and soul. Please note I do not provide crisis counseling and not always available to return messages in a timely manner. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency please call 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or your local emergency room or mental health crisis center. "The Summer Day" Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean— the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down— who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? —Mary Oliver I look forward to providing you an open and welcoming space where you can be your authentic self. Sarah, (She, Her and Hers)

Hello, my name is Barbara and welcome. If you are experiencing tension, stress, depression, anxiety, self-image issues, co-dependency issues, other effects of trauma, or trouble in your relationship or relationships, or feeling rejection, abandoned, disappointed, hopeless, shame, breach of trust and many other feelings, or you are looking for perspective, a good listener, and/or a nonjudgmental, approachable atmosphere to share your pain and gain some insight into your story, you are not alone. Over the years we accumulate various life experiences, acquire patterns and behaviors, and then develop certain ways of looking at ourselves and others. Most issues that people bring to me are an exploration and healing of relationship trauma or disruption of connection with a significant other or people in their lives. I like to think of myself as a therapist who disassembles people’s narratives, experiences, and emotions and then help them put them back together in a way that feels better in order to improve lives and find hope during difficult times. You have taken a huge step towards finding tools to deal with the issues that you are struggling with. I know that beginning therapy can sometimes be hard, but it is often an act of courage, hope, self-care, and self-determination. If this is your first-time seeking therapy, or even if it is not, you might be nervous, or you might have some apprehension. I just want to assure you that this is normal. MY PHILOSOPHY: I believe that therapy should be a safe, comfortable place where you should feel heard, validated, and accepted as you are so that you can be honest about what is troubling you. It should be a place where you feel understood and feel comfortable to work out unwanted feelings and behaviors. I also believe that therapy should address physical, spiritual, psychological, and relational aspects. Because of this, my treatment plan for each client is unique and is designed specifically for each individual needs. I am committed to providing services that help reduce the stressful symptoms that led to you seeking out therapy, whether these challenges are recent challenges or longstanding challenges, whether you are looking to improve your relationships with your significant other or others, whether you are searching for strategies to improve your mood and manage depression, or increase your self-worth, or increase positive coping skills for anxiety, or identify triggers and replacement behaviors, or even strategies to cope with difficult emotions or understanding and processing traumatic experiences. My goal is not to get you to who you were before the issues started, but to integrate the lessons learned and expand your ability to experience a deeper connection with yourself, partners and other. WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY ABOUT ME: I am a great listener, very insightful, genuine, welcoming, honest, compassionate, empathetic, and approachable. I have a nurturing and gentle approach in helping you set your goals and achieve them. I have spent a lot of time learning about issues that bring people to therapy. I use practical tools that are helpful in resolving conflict, improving communication, and finding solutions. I partner with you to create trusting relationships through honest interactions. Most of all we have fun! There are difficult parts of therapy, but we laugh too. WHY I LOVE WORKING AS A THERAPIST: I understand how debilitating some of the life experiences can be and how they can keep us from living life to the fullest. I put a lot of dedication into learning different practice models so that I can help you feel less alone, help you heal and celebrate finding strength and knowledge to become a survivor, help you gain perspective about life’s stressors and disappointments, take control of your life, overcome poor self-image, establish a healthy feeling of hope and faith, help you learn to see your family or relationships as a team and not a burden, help you become less resentful and be yourself again. I consider it a blessing and honor to walk with you through these trying times. I am very relatable, and clients feel understood when they work with me and so can talk freely. EXPERIENCE: I have been a social worker for 20 years in various settings. This has ranged from working in mental health settings, to family sessions, child welfare, school setting, working with individuals struggling to start or keep relationships, people adjusting to parenthood, people coping with infidelity, same-sex couples, depression, anxiety, self-esteem issues, life transitions, trauma, or substance abuse. My experience has taught me that we all experience things in our lives that may impact our lives in different ways and bring us to a crossroad where we get stagnant because we are not sure which direction to take. With a little help and assistance from people who are genuine, empathetic, and accepting we begin to experience a deeper connection with ourselves, our partners, and others. We all have inner strengths that help us through life, and I believe that many people can grow and build on those strengths through encouragement and empowerment. My goal is to work collaboratively with you to identify strengths, patterns, coping skills, discover practical solutions and tools to help you make positive changes in your life. MY COUNSELING STYLE: My counseling style is very client-centered, interactive, empathetic, warm, strength based and holistic. I focus on building a safe, non-judgmental environment utilizing a multi-dimensional approach that not only explores your thoughts, your emotions, and behaviors as they relate to different situations in your life, but also explores solutions with the goal of enhancing your ability to achieve stability and growth. The direction we take is determined by your individual needs but there are different theoretical approaches that I draw from. I incorporate evidence-based techniques such as emotionally Focused Therapy, Strength-based therapy, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Problem Solving therapy, Cognitive Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Behavioral Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy as well as Narrative Therapy. EDUCATION: University of Denver: Master’s degree in social work. Certificates: Family engagement, Family sensitivity, positive behavior supports, strengthening resiliency, system values, trauma informed practice, cultural competency, grief and loss counseling. I have over 20 years of experience helping adults, families, youth and couples dealing with anxiety, relationship issues, intimacy-related issues, parenting issues, family issues, grief, loss, addiction, adjustment issues, abuse, anger-management, trauma, career difficulties, as well as self-esteem issues. LICENSE INFORMATION: I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Colorado: CSW# 09926714 I look forward to working with you.

Hello. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Colorado with over 20 years of experience as a social worker. I've worked with people of all ages on issues of communication, anger management, self confidence, decision making, and contentedness. My approach is engaging, straight forward, and practical. I seek to use humor when appropriate and have as good a time as possible with the subject matter and process. I approach practice from the solution focused and cognitive behavioral therapy models. On a personal note, I have lived in Colorado for nearly 20 years and love to get outside in the sunshine. I still consider the plains of Kansas, where I grew up and visit often, my home. Aside from work I spend lots of time at youth sporting events, having conversations about current events with friends and family, tending my house and working to find time for exercise and reading. Seeking someone to talk to about feeling better and making changes is a courageous step. I look forward to working with you to uncover, or dust off, your skills and abilities in shaping your actions to best advance your life goals.

Life is hard and challenging and at times can feel like its too much to deal with. I work on developing a non judgmental relationship with my clients to build trust and understanding so that we can talk about some difficult topics, as we work on trying to make sense of things and learn how to maneuver this difficult path of life. We all make mistakes and struggle on a daily basis, you don't have to suffer in silence. Hello, my name is Val Gurule-Duran I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Certified Addictions Counselor III (CACIII) who is Certified in EMDR, NADA Acudetox, and Integrative Energy Therapist (IET) in Colorado. I strive to be an exemplary therapist and I am sought out by individuals who are seeking to heal and recover from addictions, trauma, depression, and grief. I am uniquely intuitive when working with clients, as I incorporate a variety of treatment modalities, which allows my clients to gain personal strategies and techniques to help them to accomplish their life changes and transformations. I offer session on Monday, Tues and Wed between 10am and 5pm, typical session last anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes and prefer to do either phone sessions or video sessions. Please check my schedule and see if there is a time that works for us to meet. If there is not a time that is available you can message me and let me know what days and times work for you. I typically respond to messages with in 24 hours unless it the weekend. I look forward to meeting you and helping you work on reaching your therapy goals.

I’ve practiced counseling in various settings for over 23 years, and I’ve had significant success with my clients. I strive to create an environment of trust, safety, and total acceptance, and I use an approach that does not seek to judge, heal, or even change. The goal is to bring my clients to a more realistic view of themselves, others, and the world based on rational, objective evaluations. I believe that as humans our beliefs, feelings, and actions are influenced by three separate perspectives. The illness or pathology perspective looks at things as healthy or unhealthy, well or ill. Within the moral or religious perspective, we view and even judge ourselves, others, and the world as good or bad, righteous or sinful. These two perspectives can lead individuals into thinking they are abnormal, mentally defective, immoral, or sinful and can result in feelings of shame, guilt, doubt, helplessness, and despair. And who wants that?? If, however, we understand that all of our behaviors are attempts to survive psychologically—in much the same ways that we try to survive physically—and if we are able to objectively rather than judgmentally evaluate these behaviors, we can bypass those unwanted emotional byproducts of the illness and moral perspectives and begin the real work of understanding and accepting ourselves using more realistic criteria. Think of psychological survival not in terms of life or death, but in terms of success, fulfillment, and integrity—defined by you alone. As we attempt to survive psychologically, we utilize all parts of our psyche, and some parts may not be pretty or pleasant. However, these might be the very parts of us we need to emerge from the shadows, “to pop up and rescue us from ourselves”. One of my favorite quotes states it quite eloquently: “Every one of us has a thousand different kinds of little people inside of us. And some of them want to get out and be wild, and some want to be sad, or happy, or inventive, or even just go dancing! That’s why we all have so many different urges at different times. And all those different little people inside of us…we must never be afraid to take them with us wherever we go. I mean, who knows when we might need one of them to pop up and rescue us from ourselves! The great secret is not the variety of life, it’s the variety of us.” ~Lwaxana Troi (portrayed by Majel Barrett in Star Trek: TNG)

I am licensed in Colorado and Texas with 25 years of professional work experience. I have experience in helping clients with stress and anxiety, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, divorce related issues and depression. We all need a helping hand at times and insight on how to improve our situation. Our strengths and hopefulness can be buried in trauma and pain from the past or current issues. Taking the first step to seeking a more fulfilling and happier life takes courage. I am here to support you in that process while teaching you healthy skills and coping strategies.

I am licensed in Colorado with 10 years of professional work experience. I have experience in helping clients with stress, anxiety, coping with addictions, trauma, abuse, motivation, self esteem, & confidence. I also have experience working with depression. I work with my clients to create an open and safe environment where thoughts and feelings can be shared without fear of judgment. It takes courage to seek out a more fulfilling and happier life and to take the first steps towards a change. I am here to support & empower you in that journey.

I am licensed in Colorado with 16 years of professional work experience. I have experience in helping clients with stress, anxiety, relationship issues, motivation, self esteem, confidence, & depression. I also have experience working with coping with life changes. I believe that you are the expert of your story and that you have many strengths that will assist you in overcoming things that challenge you. It takes courage to seek out a more fulfilling and happier life and to take the first steps towards a change. I am here to support & empower you in that journey.