Finding Your Best Fit Therapist in Denver
By: Jordan Kurtz, Denver Therapist and Trauma Specialist
Some say that finding the right therapist is like dating: there can be a process of trial and error before you know you’ve found “the one”. There are elements of truth to this: therapy is a relationship, and emotional intimacy is involved.
However, time, energy, and finances are precious and limited resources. In an ideal world, we would not have to devote these resources to multiple therapists to feel understood and confident in healing to come.
As therapists, it’s not uncommon to hear from our clients, This was my last shot, or It took a lot to even land here. You should not feel weathered or disillusioned about therapy before it even begins.
In hopes of instilling more confidence and ease, we’ve created a guide for therapist seekers: who, what and how to find the best fit therapist for you.
Guide to Finding a Denver Therapist
The Internet is a blessing and a curse with its infinite number of options. Search, “therapist in Denver”, and you are met with 24,500,000 results- yikes. The key is to narrow the field, and one of the easiest ways to do that is to search directly on Psychology Today, Good Therapy, or Therapy Den. These websites link you directly with therapist profiles and contact information, and screen out therapy adjacent searches that Google sometimes includes, like seminars, life coaches, psychology programs, or support groups.
These websites have prefixed filters that help you narrow the field even further, including searching by city, zip code, telehealth versus in-person, age group, and presenting concern (i.e. depression, trauma). Moreover, utilizing these websites comes at no cost to you, and the number of therapists you contact is not restricted. A general Google search remains a viable option, but is most supportive when specific criteria is included- read more in the “What” section to learn about how to align your search with your needs.
What to consider when you’re looking for a therapist
There are dozens of variables to consider when choosing a counselor. The factors we include are commonly featured on counselor profiles on the websites listed above, and are not ranked in order of significance.
License:
While there is merit in many forms of growth-supporting relationships (i.e. yoga teacher-student, professor-student, coach-athlete), we strongly encourage seeking a therapist that is professionally licensed. This ensures they have obtained a Master’s Degree or Doctoral Degree in a psychological field and are trained to approach your concerns from an ethical and empirically supported stance. License types you will see in Colorado include:
LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor)
LPCC (Licensed Professional Counselor Candidate- a therapist who has completed their Master’s Program and will be fully licensed as a Licensed Professional Counselor once they have accrued a fixed number of hours underneath a licensed supervisor)
LSW or LCSW (Licensed Social Worker or Licensed Clinical Social Worker)
LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist)
LAC (Licensed Addictions Counselor)
Modality:
The “style” or type of therapy a professional performs. On Psychology Today alone, you will see 60+ modalities as filter options. Debriefing all the modalities is beyond the scope of this post, so allow us to introduce what modalities CZTG offers and why we believe these modalities are the most supportive for all types of clients.
AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Psychodynamic Therapy): AEDP focuses on how our relationships with our early caregivers shape how we relate to people in our lives as teens and adults. It believes the therapeutic relationship is a model for a secure relationship, and by creating and experiencing a safe relationship with our therapist, we are able to identify, feel, and fulfill emotions and needs that have been denied by others in session. AEDP melts shame about how we cope with trauma by understanding these behaviors as protections, and helps us learn how to attune to our body and emotions safely to develop new, connection-focused protections.
Parts Work Therapy: Parts Work (or IFS/Internal Family Systems) therapists believe that human beings are composed of many different “parts” that have different functions. Parts that were developed during trauma or as a result of trauma serve a protective purpose, but often prevent us from experiencing the full range of human emotion. Parts work helps us differentiate between our different parts, normalize and lend compassion to their role, develop more acceptance for existing parts, and create new parts that are not ruled by trauma beliefs or emotions.
EMDR Therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy): EMDR recognizes trauma impacts us on a conscious and unconscious level, rooting within our nervous system and thus creating a feeling of being stuck in the past while we are in the present. With the use of bilateral stimulation (back and forth eye movement or taps on opposing sides of the body), “stuck” trauma can be reprocessed safely, instilling more constructive views of self, world, and others as well as equanimity within your body and emotions.
Specialities:
What hurt or stuck point is bringing you into therapy? Is it substance abuse? Childhood trauma? Sexual abuse? Depression? While most therapists are equipped to address many concerns- especially because they so often overlap- it may feel best for you to search for a therapist whose niche training or interest is your presenting concern.
At CZTG, we characterize ourselves as “trauma therapists”, because we believe that trauma of all kinds (physical, mental, emotional, and relational) and of all degrees is the root of presenting concerns like depression and anxiety. All of the therapists at CZTG hold advanced training and certification in trauma therapy modalities. True trauma therapists are also knowledgeable about trauma’s impact upon the nervous system and therefore, how it affects not only our minds and emotions but our bodies as well. Consideration for trauma’s impact on the body is why CZTG therapists also identify as somatic therapists- those who assess for trauma’s effect on bodily wellbeing and involve the body in the healing process.
Identities:
Gender
Sexual Orientation
Spirituality
Race/Ethnicity
Age
Ability Status
Insurance Based or private pay:
The financial layout of a therapy practice is important to consider. Note: it is more common than not for private practice therapists to not accept insurance in the Denver-Metro area. If this is an immediate deterrent due to your financial situation, not to worry: there are hundreds of therapists who offer insurance reimbursement or sliding scale options that are just as well-trained and potentially compatible for you as private pay practitioners.
Benefits of Private Pay Therapy in Denver
Private practice therapists and groups traditionally have smaller caseloads and more comprehensive emotional and educational support than therapists involved in insurance based practices. This means your private practice therapist is likely less mentally depleted and therefore better able to devote themselves wholly to your needs.
Private pay therapists are also able to provide whatever type, frequency, and duration of therapy the two of you decide best fits your needs without the constraints of insurance companies. Whatever financial path your therapist offers, also explore their expectations about weekly, biweekly, or monthly sessions, and if they can offer superbills for you to submit to your insurer for partial or total reimbursement.
Make sure you feel connected with the therapist you choose
The last- and arguably most important- component to finding a counselor is the feel of the therapeutic relationship. Research studies about positive therapeutic outcomes cite that up to 30-40% of growth is accounted for by the relationship itself: a powerful reminder that being beside a person we feel connected with is healing in of itself.
The ultimate therapist-person fit is different for each person on Earth, as the intersection between two individuals’ beliefs, ways of being, worldviews and identities is more like a unique chemical reaction than a recipe that can be replicated. How should one feel in the right therapeutic relationship?
This answer is also multifaceted, but elements that we believe must be present for growth to happen include:
Safety (on a bodily level as well as emotional level)
Lack of judgement
Consistency and non-abandonment
Trust (or the felt possibility of trust that can be earned over time)
Therapist willingness to take accountability
Therapist’s flexibility in response to your needs
___________
This last blank represents your answer to the question:
This therapist must understand ______ or ________ about me/the world for me to feel willing to be vulnerable.
Your relationship with your therapist will look different on day 1 than the final day of therapy, and that’s a good thing! As healing begins, as does unlearning and learning, and shedding and growing- this means your comfort level and emotional responsiveness with yourself and your therapist will evolve too. That being said, it can be difficult to grasp the full scope of your therapist-self fit right off the bat. However, our intuition is powerful.
On a consultation call or first session, you will be able to form an impression of your therapist just as you would with a stranger in the outside world. If this impression “feels right”, has “good energy”, or the “vibes are there”, this is likely indicative of a positive long term fit with your therapist.
Resources for Therapy in Denver and General Wellbeing
CZ Therapy Group is a landing space for anyone, at any time. If you are interested in connecting with our therapists to begin sessions or to learn more about the therapy process as a whole, the first step is scheduling a free consultation call. Within this 15-20 minutes, you will be able to share with our team your hopes for counseling and ask questions in return.
We also recognize that your needs, identities, and resources may lead you elsewhere. To empower all therapy seekers and their loved ones, we have created a list of mental health supports external to CZTG, including options that accept Medicaid and sliding scale within the Denver area.
Our Go-To Resource for General Mental Health and Wellbeing
Human life is complex, and therefore our needs are not just emotionally-based, but legal, economic and physiological. We recognize therapy is just one realm to fulfill needs, and that certain resources are beyond the scope of what a therapist can offer. We therefore want to begin our list of resources with a spotlight upon Women’s Directory: an example of a resource bank that addresses the whole range of human needs. Women’s Directory is a Denver non-profit that helps women and their families connect to referrals and other services in multiple realms, including:
Abortion
Contraceptives
Domestic Violence and Emergency Shelters
Eating Disorders
Food and Meal Assistance
Homelessness
Legal Services
Immigration and Refugee Services
Most importantly, Women’s Directory is designed to make women of all identities, orientations, races, genders, and income statuses feel included as well as empowered. Women’s Directory is highly accessible and user friendly, allowing viewers to see alphabetically organized areas of support on one page. After clicking on an area of support, viewers are redirected to a separate web page with links to service centers and providers across the Denver-metro area. These centers and providers are displayed on a map to help viewers connect with resources closest to them.
Below, we include individual therapy practitioners and therapy group practices for those on Medicaid, those in need of sliding scale services, BIPOC & LGBTQIA resources, and psychiatrist referrals.
Explore More Options for Denver Therapists and Mental Health Support
Therapists that Accept Medicaid
Denver Affordable Counseling (insurance & sliding scale also)
Aurora Mental Health and Recovery (insurance & sliding scale also)
Denver Family Institute (and sliding scale)
Sliding Scale Therapy
Note: Some resources have limited sliding scale slots, others are abundant. Explore each resource specifically to understand availability of slots and application process.
Queer & BIPOC Specific Therapists
Psychiatry
CZTG believes healing occurs within and through connection. If a psychiatrist is part of your support team, it is important they too honor a person centered approach: treating you as a complex person versus a diagnosis.
Accepting Insurance:
Dr. Agnes Tyl at Colorado Psych Care
Private Pay:
Dr. Lubna Grewal at Denver Psychiatric Clinic
Get Started with Therapy in Denver, CO.
If you’re ready to seek support, reach out to connect with a CZTG therapist today to begin a non-shaming path to insight, growth, and reconnection. Follow these three steps to get started:
Reach out to schedule a free 20-minute consult call.
Connect with a Denver therapist at CZTG for your first session.
Begin your path towards healing and growth.
Meet The Writer: Jordan Kurtz, Trauma Therapist in Denver, CO.
Jordan Kurtz (she/her) is a Denver trauma therapist, couples counselor, and staff writer at CZTG. Jordan focuses on therapy for trauma, grief, adolescence, and relationships. Her approach is authentic, warm, and affirming, which she interweaves throughout her use of advanced evidence-based modalities, including EMDR therapy in Denver, CO, Emotion Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT), and somatic therapy. She provides EMDR and general trauma therapy in Denver, CO and virtually throughout the state of Colorado. If you’d like to work with Jordan, feel free to reach out to schedule a consultation call.