Brief Bio on Blake

I grew up as a “military brat” spending a large portion of my childhood years bouncing around the continent of Europe. Moving as often as my family did (9 times total), I became well versed in connecting with people as to avoid lonely weekends. This quality has stuck with me in my adulthood; as I continue to love the art of conversation, the presence of humor, and my desire to get to know every human being on a real level. Those who know me well describe me as being warm, insightful, and always able to make them laugh; all attributes that I believe make for an effective therapist. I guess a thank you is in order for my Dad's chosen profession!

I have a whole lot of interests, many of which can be related to New England, which I like to call my "home away from home" due to my family being from New Hampshire. I am passionate (some might say overly) about the Red Sox and Patriots. I always enjoy a nice round of golf which allows me a time to "decompress". My brother recently introduced me to fishing which has quickly become a hobby of mine where I find myself taking monthly trips to New Mexico in which I cast a line and enjoy banter with my brother and the entertainment of my nephew, niece and sister-in-law. I also make traveling a priority of mine as visiting my sister and her family in South Carolina regularly allows me to maintain the closeness I share with my family.   I moved to the beautiful State of Colorado in 1998 and have not been able to break away from all it's wonder and am now happy to call it home.

Education, Experience and Training

In 1993, I left Europe and returned back to the United States to attend college in which I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts degree in 1997. Immediately following the completion of my degree, I moved to Colorado and began my career as a mental health professional working with children and adolescents at a Residential Treatment Center in Westminster. During my tenure at this facility, I provided individual counseling, became certified in crisis management, assisted in family therapy and served as a unit supervisor for over a year. In 2000, I accepted a position as a counselor at the Children’s Hospital Colorado inpatient psychiatric unit where I specialized in working with children, adolescents, and their families. I remained in this position until July of 2011 at which time I stepped down in order to pursue my dream of having my own practice.

As a counselor for eleven years at this teaching hospital, I was provided supervision and training from some of the most revered mental health specialist in the field of psychology. I had the opportunity to work with and successfully treat a wide array of mental health conditions including: attachment, adjustment, anxiety, depression, eating, anger, trauma, grief and psychosis. Outside of treating an assortment of patients and their families, I was responsible for the clinical supervision of over 65 Mental Health Counselors from 2009-2011. Also, throughout my employment at The Children’s Hospital, I had the opportunity to attend over 50 different trainings/seminars on topics such as Collaborative Problem Solving, Aspergers Disorder, Anger Management, PTSD, Grief and Loss, Family Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Play Therapy, Cognitive Behavorial Therapy, and Sand Tray Therapy.

In 2008, while still working at Children’s, I completed my Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology at Regis University. My internship for this program was with the Aurora Mental Health Center (AUMHC) where I worked with children, adolescents, adults, and families. Throughout my 14 month commitment with AUMHC, I provided individual, family, couples and group therapy to clients ranging from the age of 6 to 50+. Examples of therapeutic topics discussed during a given session included: troubled relationships, parental-child conflict, spousal conflict, trauma, grief and loss, school/work anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, truancy and abuse to name a few. I am a certified EMDR therapist who specializes working with trauma. I am also certified in using the Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) approach which is a model of care used to help families work collectively to address identified problem areas. I am a practicing Licensed Professional Counselor and I am a registered member of several professional organizations.

Brief Bio on Lindsay

I had the pleasure of growing up in southern New Jersey on a large piece of farmland. My extended family lived a few houses down from me, so family has been a very important part of my life. I was adopted by my parents at 5 weeks old and feel blessed to have grown up in a very warm, loving, and caring household. “The farm” (we didn’t have any animals outside of our dog Rock-boy), was on the outskirts of town, so the real friendships that I had while I was younger was with my cousins.

I have two younger siblings who came 7 and 14 years apart and I also have a step sister who is 7 years older.  It would appear that my parents have a thing with the number “seven”. My relationship with my siblings has always been very close and I continue to foster it despite the 1800 miles that currently separate us. I have always been very protective over my brother and sister which promoted within myself a quality of nurturing that I find to be remarkably effective in my role as a therapist.  Both my parents cultivated an environment of compassion and understanding; for this I am forever grateful, as these qualities also play an instrumental role in my approach to counseling.  Family, friends, and clients have described me as being easy to talk to, kind, and engaging; all characteristics that I feel are essential in creating meaningful connections with others. 

Over the last five years I have gotten married and have had 2 beautiful children! These experiences have proven to be extraordinarily wonderful events but have required me to adjust to new responsibilities. I now have a greater appreciation of the demands of parenting and the obstacles that might arise from marriage. I have found these realizations has further contributed to my development as an effective therapist.  

Education, Experience, and Training

I received my undergraduate degree in Psychology at William Paterson University in New Jersey in 2006. Upon completing that degree, I made the decision to move out to Colorado to start my Master’s Program shortly after, in January 2007. While attending school, I worked full time at Laradon Hall - a school that specialized in working with developmentally disabled children who also had a co-occurring mental health diagnosis. It was here that I really got my “feet wet” in terms of working in the Mental Health field and solidified my decision in pursuing my degree. I have always loved working with kids but realized quickly that working with adults was more of my calling. To meet my programs requirement,  I chose to complete my internship at the Salvation Army.  My responsibilities while working at this agency was to provide therapeutic services to adults with substance abuse issues who also had another active Mental Health diagnosis. Through this experience, I was able to evolve and become a more effective therapist, acquiring knowledge and better understanding of the clients I served. I completed my Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in 2009 from Argosy University and then transitioned into the Community Mental Health arena where I was hired full time as an individual psychotherapist.  Starting at Community Reach Center and then obtaining a job at Jefferson Center for Mental Health, I saw clients for individual therapy, group therapy, and family/couples therapy. Through this experience, I was able to become skilled at working with a wide array of diagnoses and grew confident in my roll as a therapist. I also was responsible for completing diagnostic assessments and worked on call as a Crisis therapist in Emergency Rooms.

I got my license (LPC) in 2012, and have been working as a therapist for over 12 years now. I am also trained in various therapeutic styles, such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT), Motivational Interviewing, Narrative Therapy, and Person Centered Therapy.

I am currently a member of the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) - which studies the abuse of various religions/faiths.