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.