About Susannah
I received my Master's Degree in Expressive Arts Therapy with a Specialization in Mental Health Counseling from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA in 2003, and for the past 18 years, I have worked as a therapist in a variety of settings, including residential treatment, public schools, after-school programs, and in my own private practice. I am dually licensed in Colorado (LPC # 0012140) and Massachusetts (LMHC #7002) and am a professional member of the Colorado Counseling Association (CCA).
I use an experiential treatment approach that combines a variety of action-oriented and reflective techniques from the fields of Adventure Based Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy, EMDR, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, Nature Based Therapy, Person-Centered Therapy, and Somatic Psychotherapy. I serve as a witness and guide to you within each session, providing you with a dynamic array of methods for allowing you to heal your personal stories of distress and celebrate your personal stories of success and resiliency. As a Master's Level Expressive Arts Therapist, I am well-versed in the languages of music, visual art, creative writing, theater, and dance. This allows me to lead you confidently through actual creative activities and help you make connections between these “play” experiences and your daily life outside of the therapy session. In this way, I strive to empower you to safely explore what is troubling you at this time, especially if you are currently feeling unable or unwilling to speak about your particular difficulties.
I am also available for consultations, professional supervision, professional workshops, and therapy groups within educational and community program settings.
My clinical specialties are:
I have a particular interest and expertise in the following areas:
Expressive Arts Therapy: I am trained in a wide variety of artistic modalities that are often utilized in my therapeutic approach, including: vocal music, guitar, percussion, creative writing (including songwriting and spoken word), drawing, painting, sculpture, and improvisational theater.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Somatic Interventions for Healing Trauma: EMDR is a type of psychotherapy that enables people to heal from symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other emotional distress resulting from traumatic life experiences. Repeated studies show that by engaging in EMDR therapy, people can experience the benefits of psychological healing that might otherwise take years to make a difference. I am fully trained by EMDR Center of the Rockies to use EMDR in my practice, and also continue to engage in advanced education courses in this area. I am also trained in the use of other somatic (body/mind) psychotherapy based interventions for managing stress and healing trauma, such as those found in Somatic Experiencing, Hakomi, and Expressive Arts Therapy.
Outdoor Nature Based Therapy and Experiential, Action Oriented Therapy: I offer therapy sessions both in and outside of my office in Golden. Moving therapy outside of the office introduces increased opportunities for people to actively practice new skills and therapeutic techniques during a session with the therapist as witness and guide. This can include hikes and walks in outdoor settings such as open space trails and parks (including opportunities to engage in art, music, and creative writing activities in the outdoors).
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): Following the evidence-based research of Jon Kabat-Zinn and others at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, I utilize a mindfulness based approach in order to help all people practice and strengthen the ability to intentionally focus awareness on the present moment, non-judgmentally. In therapy sessions, this often involves engaging in guided present-moment sensory focus exercises and can include a processing of the experience that begins with non-verbal techniques such as visual art or music. Clients who engage in mindfulness based cognitive therapy techniques often report a significant decrease in symptoms of depression, anxiety, ADHD, and emotional trauma.
College and Career Counseling: From 2004-2013, I developed and directed a nationally recognized College and Career Access program called Project Launch at Raw Art Works in Lynn, MA. As the director of this program, I worked with over 300 students and their families to help them move successfully toward attainment of their post-high school goals. This experience has informed much of my work with individual clients in my private practice who seek support with navigating a more successful career path. My experience includes such methods as: helping youth and their families with the college search, college applications, financial aid/scholarship applications, the college essay, and resume writing. I often use a combination of expressive arts and assertiveness training techniques to help students ease their anxieties about applying to and attending college, especially those students who seek to build confidence with such tasks as speaking on the phone, interviewing, time management, and taking care of themselves as they prepare to move away from home. In addition to helping high school students and their families, I also have experience and interest in working with: First-year and transfer college students who are having difficulties adjusting to college living, college students who are having difficulties managing symptoms of depression, anxiety, or ADHD and are suffering both personally and academically as a result, and adults who are looking to change careers in order to discover more purpose and meaning within their chosen profession.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a skills-based, psychoeducational model designed to help clients learn and practice basic tools for managing self-harming or self-destructive behaviors, intrusive thoughts, intense or overwhelming feelings, and other painful experiences. Rooted in principles of mindfulness practice, existential philosophy, developmental psychology, and cognitive behavioral therapy, DBT skills training is particularly helpful to clients in the early stages of any kind of recovery process or for those who find themselves stuck in destructive patterns that are hard to break. As an individual therapist, I am trained in and often use a DBT-informed approach in combination with the other techniques listed here. When appropriate, I may also refer clients to a DBT skills group for more focused behavioral skills training outside of the individual therapy sessions.
I use an experiential treatment approach that combines a variety of action-oriented and reflective techniques from the fields of Adventure Based Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy, EMDR, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, Nature Based Therapy, Person-Centered Therapy, and Somatic Psychotherapy. I serve as a witness and guide to you within each session, providing you with a dynamic array of methods for allowing you to heal your personal stories of distress and celebrate your personal stories of success and resiliency. As a Master's Level Expressive Arts Therapist, I am well-versed in the languages of music, visual art, creative writing, theater, and dance. This allows me to lead you confidently through actual creative activities and help you make connections between these “play” experiences and your daily life outside of the therapy session. In this way, I strive to empower you to safely explore what is troubling you at this time, especially if you are currently feeling unable or unwilling to speak about your particular difficulties.
I am also available for consultations, professional supervision, professional workshops, and therapy groups within educational and community program settings.
My clinical specialties are:
- Trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Anxiety and Fears: Panic Attacks, Generalized Anxiety, Social Anxiety/Social Phobia
- Depression: Suicidal Ideation, Self-Harm, Self-Loathing
- Developmental Disabilities, including but not limited to: Autism Spectrum, Down Syndrome, Non Verbal Learning Disorder (NVLD)
I have a particular interest and expertise in the following areas:
Expressive Arts Therapy: I am trained in a wide variety of artistic modalities that are often utilized in my therapeutic approach, including: vocal music, guitar, percussion, creative writing (including songwriting and spoken word), drawing, painting, sculpture, and improvisational theater.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Somatic Interventions for Healing Trauma: EMDR is a type of psychotherapy that enables people to heal from symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other emotional distress resulting from traumatic life experiences. Repeated studies show that by engaging in EMDR therapy, people can experience the benefits of psychological healing that might otherwise take years to make a difference. I am fully trained by EMDR Center of the Rockies to use EMDR in my practice, and also continue to engage in advanced education courses in this area. I am also trained in the use of other somatic (body/mind) psychotherapy based interventions for managing stress and healing trauma, such as those found in Somatic Experiencing, Hakomi, and Expressive Arts Therapy.
Outdoor Nature Based Therapy and Experiential, Action Oriented Therapy: I offer therapy sessions both in and outside of my office in Golden. Moving therapy outside of the office introduces increased opportunities for people to actively practice new skills and therapeutic techniques during a session with the therapist as witness and guide. This can include hikes and walks in outdoor settings such as open space trails and parks (including opportunities to engage in art, music, and creative writing activities in the outdoors).
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): Following the evidence-based research of Jon Kabat-Zinn and others at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, I utilize a mindfulness based approach in order to help all people practice and strengthen the ability to intentionally focus awareness on the present moment, non-judgmentally. In therapy sessions, this often involves engaging in guided present-moment sensory focus exercises and can include a processing of the experience that begins with non-verbal techniques such as visual art or music. Clients who engage in mindfulness based cognitive therapy techniques often report a significant decrease in symptoms of depression, anxiety, ADHD, and emotional trauma.
College and Career Counseling: From 2004-2013, I developed and directed a nationally recognized College and Career Access program called Project Launch at Raw Art Works in Lynn, MA. As the director of this program, I worked with over 300 students and their families to help them move successfully toward attainment of their post-high school goals. This experience has informed much of my work with individual clients in my private practice who seek support with navigating a more successful career path. My experience includes such methods as: helping youth and their families with the college search, college applications, financial aid/scholarship applications, the college essay, and resume writing. I often use a combination of expressive arts and assertiveness training techniques to help students ease their anxieties about applying to and attending college, especially those students who seek to build confidence with such tasks as speaking on the phone, interviewing, time management, and taking care of themselves as they prepare to move away from home. In addition to helping high school students and their families, I also have experience and interest in working with: First-year and transfer college students who are having difficulties adjusting to college living, college students who are having difficulties managing symptoms of depression, anxiety, or ADHD and are suffering both personally and academically as a result, and adults who are looking to change careers in order to discover more purpose and meaning within their chosen profession.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a skills-based, psychoeducational model designed to help clients learn and practice basic tools for managing self-harming or self-destructive behaviors, intrusive thoughts, intense or overwhelming feelings, and other painful experiences. Rooted in principles of mindfulness practice, existential philosophy, developmental psychology, and cognitive behavioral therapy, DBT skills training is particularly helpful to clients in the early stages of any kind of recovery process or for those who find themselves stuck in destructive patterns that are hard to break. As an individual therapist, I am trained in and often use a DBT-informed approach in combination with the other techniques listed here. When appropriate, I may also refer clients to a DBT skills group for more focused behavioral skills training outside of the individual therapy sessions.
