FAQs

You might be wondering if therapy is the right choice for your current situation. People seek therapy for a variety of reasons. Big life events that feel overwhelming or difficult to manage like break ups, big career changes, death or illness are reasons that people seek therapy. Other issues like more depression or anxiety, fears, triggers, sleeping more or less than usual, hopelessness, or any kind of experience that feels intrusive, mysterious or scary are also reasons people look for a therapist. There might be as many reasons to start therapy as there are people – everyone’s circumstances are unique. And actually there doesn't have to be anything really ‘wrong’ for you to want to have a therapist to lend a listening ear.

If you have a curiosity about therapy with me, you can contact me to learn more about me and therapy in general. I’d be happy to provide more info about how I work so you can make an informed choice. Please note I’m an LPC licensed in Colorado and so can work with people mainly living in Colorado.

If this is your first time – welcome! It’s a brave step to begin to learn about therapy. The first steps in therapy include doing some research on therapists in your area, and deciding who might be a good fit for you. If you'd like, you can schedule a free consult call with me to discuss what you want help with and how I can help you. After that, we can schedule an appointment and you fill out paperwork. Finally, we will meet and decide a few things – how often you’d like to do therapy, what your goals are, and how we’ll get there.

Every therapist has their particular way they like to work based on their training and what they believe is most helpful. My style is eclectic, which means I draw from a few different ways of working. Overall, my style is non-judgmental, meaning I work to understand my clients and have compassion for them in the difficult situations life can throw our way. At the same time, I will occasionally challenge my clients by holding up a mirror so we can look together at limiting beliefs and behaviors that are causing trouble or holding them back. I believe it’s this mix of kindness and honesty, also called ‘fierce compassion’ that can be core to enacting real change over time.

I use several different types of evidenced-based therapy, including DBT, Hakomi and Gestalt. Additionally, I have training in supporting people with addictions of all kinds, and I draw from motivational interviewing and non-violent communication. Elements of CBT, transpersonal and developmental psychology also play strong roles in the way I practice therapy. Each session I skillfully weave my experience and training with a more personal sense of what’s best for each of my clients, to meet them at their growth edge with compassion and effective support. More information on the ways I practice is included on the Services page.

It’s so normal to wish the hardest parts of our lives would just go away. Perhaps I have a magic wand in my office that I could wave to stop your suffering – sometimes I wish this for myself too! However, often painful things that happen to us have deeper roots into our pasts. They can come about from patterns of behavior, experiences and beliefs that have kept us small, limited and closed off to bigger possibilities. Learning about the origins of these patterns can be emotionally difficult work, however the benefits can be great. Often within the very patterns that hold us back are great strength, inner beauty and transformative wisdom. Finding your inner gifts is just one of the benefits that therapy can provide. So, in a way, even if therapy could ‘fix’ your problems, perhaps ‘fixing’ anything would be a disservice, and would rob you of a potentially life-changing journey towards knowing and loving yourself for exactly who you are.

If therapy isn’t about the therapist fixing my problems, then what is it about, and what benefits can I expect from therapy? Therapy is about so many things – maybe it’s about as many things as there are people. This makes it a bit hard to describe, but I’ll try here:

Therapy is about increasing awareness, learning to trust yourself, and healing past wounds. Therapy is about learning to rely on a compassionate professional for emotional support so that you can find more connection, closeness and health in other relationships. Therapy is about finally telling someone that horrible thing that makes you feel like a bad person – and being seen, cared about and accepted. Therapy is about learning how to feel safe in your body, and learning how to manage your emotions. Therapy is about creating effective, compassionate and boundaried relationships so that your connections to other people feel more satisfying and intentional. Therapy is about exploring your relationship to yourself, and developing the capacity for more kindness, grace and accountability so that you can move towards a new life you’ve only ever imagined.

I hold an LPC license, which means Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Colorado. An LPC allows me to practice psychotherapy in a variety of settings for mental health issues. I’ve completed a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental health counseling at Naropa University, plus two years posts graduate supervised while working as a therapist. There are a number of requirements in order to stay in good standing with my license including regular training. Other states sometimes have different designations for a similar licensure, such as LMHC (Licensed mental health counselor).

There are benefits and risks to seeking therapy – just like any kind of healing art, type of health care or medicine. Some risks include increased access to and intensity of emotions in the short term which can be unsettling and uncomfortable. Sometimes, at the start of therapy, as we begin to uncover dynamics, you might feel raw, vulnerable or issues might feel exacerbated. I see it as my role as therapist to help mitigate theses impacts in a number of ways, some of which include: going at a pace in therapy which suits your needs, and teaching a variety of emotional regulation techniques which can help you manage the new and sometimes unexpected things you might feel. I seek to be a good support for you along this journey, which is unique to every person. It’s my opinion that the risk of opening up and experiencing some emotional discomfort is worth the potential benefit of meaningful growth and positive change.

In brief – not at all. And, there are a few different ways to think about this. The experience of something feeling ‘wrong’ or off in life is common, and worth exploring and understanding further. In my view, the framework of right & wrong doesn’t encompass well what it means to be human, however many of us have this concept embedded in our belief systems. In terms of the idea that seeking therapy means ‘something is wrong with me,’ I believe the opposite to be true. I believe committing to therapy takes strength, persistence, and humility. Therapy asks we try out emotional vulnerability and take accountability for ourselves. Facets of different cultures present in our society want to label things that make us human – like having feelings, wanting to feel connected or express ourselves, as signs of weakness or doing something wrong. Finding the right support for you takes courage, and having a difficult time doesn’t mean something is wrong.

Therapy can be about many things – and what you work on is unique to you. It’s pretty normal to enter therapy with a few ideas about how you’d like to feel better, changes you’d like to make or places you want to improve. This can be a helpful staring point, a jumping off place to explore more. From there, perhaps we will begin to get curious about how an inner conflict came to be, or where you learned certain beliefs. We might identify parts of you which developed at younger times who have strong opinions that differ from what the ‘Adult’ or ‘wise self’ part of you believes. Throughout this process I help my clients to bring curiosity and compassion to every step. Maybe a behavior that feels frustrating now has roots in childhood where it actually helped us through tough situations. Getting to know these younger parts of ourselves who survived in any way they could – and bringing understanding and kindness to them – can often ease our current conflicts. When we can see the ways we might act out that no longer make sense with kindness, we begin to have more choices and see new possibilities. In this way, therapy is not just about ‘I need to stop doing that!’ it’s more about the process of getting to deeply know yourself.

I don’t bill to insurance, however I can provide a Superbill which you can submit to your insurance and perhaps be reimbursed for therapy. Please check with your insurance provider to confirm your benefits for mental health care. Below are my current private pay fees. I have a limited number of reduced-fee spots that are available for folks with significant financial need. If you are interested in the way I work, but my fee is prohibitive, I encourage you to reach out and we can discuss options.

Individual therapy is $175 for a 50min session.

Couples therapy is $180 for a 65min session, or $190 for a 75min session.

Therapy consultation is $60 for a 30min session (1-3 sessions for a specific issue)

Psychedelic psychotherapy pricing differs with the type of session. $175 for 50mins, $300 for 3hrs.

My fees are subject to change and increase annually to accommodate for inflation, the cost of living, education and training.

Possibly! Plenty of people who find therapy are doing so during a period of difficulty in their lives – dramatic change in some way, trauma, or things from the past have been building to a breaking point. If you’re feeling lost, confused or overwhelmed, therapy is one way that people get support to feel more organized internally, more emotionally regulated, and find effective ways to move through difficult periods. Therapy is also for less urgent or dramatic times, including extended periods of numbness, feeling morose or occasional anxiety. Having any interest in therapy is enough to reach out. If you would like to learn more about therapy and how I might help you, reach out using the contact form and we can set up a free consultation call.

If you are currently are in crisis, overwhelmed, out of control, you are thinking about hurting yourself, or are concerned that someone you know may be in danger of hurting themselves, please contact one of the below resources, some of which are staffed by certified professionals 24/7. For life threatening emergencies, please call 911.

• 988 US-wide crisis support

• MHP (Mental Health Partners) crisis line at 303-447-1665. Walk-in Crisis Services: 3180 Airport Road, Boulder, CO 80301

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255P). Text TALK to 38255.

• 24/7 Statewide Crisis Line: (844) 493-8255. Colorado Crisis Services

• Sexual Assault Hotline: 303-443-7300

With the rise of virtual or teletherapy during the Covid-19 crisis, this was a popular question. Does virtual therapy impact outcomes? The short answer is, it depends. Like any type of interaction you might have, there are pros and cons for being in-person or virtual. One important factor is how it feels for you individually – does meeting with someone virtually feel disconnected, flat or tiring? Or does meeting virtually feel almost the same, or like you might feel even more comfortable to share deeply with the distance in-between? Meeting virtually has made therapy available to folks in rural places, with busy schedules, or who aren’t able to travel for any reason to meet in person. Some people experience in-person as more comfortable or connecting, whereas others with busy schedules and family members to care for find that virtual is the only way therapy is accessible to them. In short, I see this as a matter of personal preference, and both virtual and in-person therapy can be effective. If you are unsure, think through the factors for you. I see clients both in-person and virtually so if possible, you can try both and see how they each feel.

Psychedelic assisted therapy (PAT) has been growing in popularity for a number of decades now, and we are seeing some exciting new changes in the field of therapy as a result. Medicine has been a part of health and well-being all over the world for millennia. Right now, psychedelic assisted therapies have varying legal statuses in the United states, Colorado, and as related to licensure. Currently, the types of therapy I offer in this realm are limited to Ketamine-assisted therapy and support in processing psychedelic experiences. If you are interested in these types of therapy and more, please complete the contact form.

I have adequate training in these types of therapy and perform this therapy within the scope of my LPC license. In no way does Evolving Wellness therapy endorse or support the unsupervised or illicit ingestion of substances.

The answers to these questions depends again on the individual. At the start of therapy I support my clients to get clear on what cadence of therapy works best. Typically I begin meeting with new clients weekly to build rapport and a good working relationship. After some time, maybe a few months, some clients choose to shift to every other week therapy, to continue practicing new skills in their lives with less support. People stay in therapy for varying amounts of time as well. For less serious issues therapy might be short term – like a few months, and for more complex or involved issues, perhaps a few years. Factors to consider include scheduling, cost, and priorities. Taking a break at some point in therapy and then coming back as needed is also pretty common. Overall, I engage in dialogue with my clients to discuss their needs around therapy and make a plan that works for both of us.

Great question! If you’re interested in learning more about working with me, or are ready to get started, click on the contact form and complete a short survey about your therapy needs. I’ll reach out shortly to schedule a free 20min phone consultation, during which we can get to know each other and you can tell me more about what’s going on. We’ll decide mutually if it feels like a good fit and if so, we can schedule a time to meet for a first session.

My life journey so far has taken me through many different industries and experiences. I became interested in psychology in high school when I had a fantastic teacher that stoked a deep curiosity in the human experience. I’ve had careers as a camp counselor, teacher, business analyst in finance, coordinator at a ski resort, respite care provider, research assistant, private tutor, academic coach, yoga teacher, and now as a therapist in a variety of settings with many different types of people. I’ve lived in 4 different countries, visited 27 countries, learned different languages and have found travel and immersing myself in other cultures to be a privilege that’s been enlightening, challenging and incredibly meaningful. Buddhism and teachers like Thich Nhat Hanh have had large impacts on my life, and I draw from Buddhist teachings occasionally in psychotherapy.

I’ve found that at this point in my life, I’m truly fascinated by people and human development. I love to hear stories, and I love helping people find the wisdom, presence, and love that’s been there all along. I’m inspired by the creative ways my clients have found to cope, survive, and feel good in impossible circumstances. There is a magic that happens when we can share honestly and be felt by one another that is unlike any other. My career as a therapist is deeply meaningful to me. I take care of myself well and don’t over schedule so that I can be fully available for my clients in session.