About Carolyn Duhn, LPC

Hi! My name is Carolyn Duhn. I’m a licensed professional counselor and founder of Embodied Counseling. I chose this practice name because most people seek me out because they are tired of the war within- between their thoughts/beliefs and their emotions/behaviors/body (ie. “I love my partner and want to treat them well, but why am I so irritable/unkind to them?” or “I know I am worthy of love but why don’t I feel that way/keep settling for crappy partners?”) Your emotional/behavioral self hasn’t caught up with your logical/reasonable one and this is my sweet-spot. I help people embody the change they are looking for through holistic therapy techniques.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe every individual was made to live joyful, meaningful, relationally-connected lives and to be treated with dignity, respect, compassion, and kindness. Unfortunately, for some, our upbringing has presented obstacles in optimal development resulting in oppressive self-talk, a negative outlook on the future, unhealthy relational patterns, felt disconnection from God, a dysregulated nervous system (mood swings, anxiety, depression), or even a low/inaccurate-self image. For others, later-life experiences like loss, life changes, perceived failures and traumas can present other similar barriers to living completely alive and connected to ourselves; physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and relationally. I believe that healing and restoration is possible, and though the path might be difficult and full of hard work, it is worth it! I empower individuals to embody their best selves by drawing on their personal strengths, faith and resources as a source of fuel to the work of letting go of past upsetting experiences. My approach is integrative, and I utilize techniques that integrate mind, body and spirit in addition to traditional counseling methodology to work through the past in order to find the joy, calm and connection for which you were made.

Clinical Background & TRAINING

I have my Master of Arts (M.A.) in Community Counseling from Denver Seminary and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Spanish. I have over ten years of clinical experience working with people of diverse ages, faiths and backgrounds in a variety of settings ranging from public mental health centers to private practice.

While I started out like most counselors doing traditional talk therapy (initially trained in ACT, CBT), I wasn’t satisfied with outcomes I was seeing in my clients and the relatively long periods of time it took to see the changes they hoped for (if found). I searched the latest neuroscience resources I could find to learn more about the brain and how to create deep, lasting change efficiently which led me to getting trained in EMDR. This was a revolutionary tool to add to my practice and I started seeing a new kind of change in a relatively shorter period of time with lasting results in the body, mind and spirit (many people have spiritual experiences spontaneously in this approach as well as others I utilize). However, some clients didn’t benefit from EMDR due to their unique histories or brain-bodies and so I wanted something more gentle that might help these individuals which brought me to getting trained in Brainspotting (some compare this to an EMDR 2.0, gentler and quicker for some individuals). These two approaches have helped so many individuals in my practice, unfortunately again, these approaches did not help all individuals.

With this in mind as well as wanting to be able to give my clients more holistic tools/resources to find emotional and bodily regulation on their own when they aren’t able to see me, I sought training in EFT Tapping. EFT Tapping delivered in many ways, but again, it still felt there was something missing for some clients. I then happened upon Internal Family Systems (IFS) in one of my supervision groups and became intrigued as I learned more. This evidence-based approach has provided a unique framework to understand the intricacies of the mind, body and spirit in a holistic way that honors and supports each person’s unique capacity to heal, grow and thrive. It has blown me and my clients out of the water on how gentle, effective, client-empowering it is at addressing the issue at hand by removing the barriers that so many approaches can’t begin to touch. My current approach is centered in IFS and integrates the other techniques as appropriate. I believe each of these trainings have informed my therapy practice in an important way, giving me a depth of knowledge, a unique internal framework and diverse skills in my toolkit to help aid the healing of the beautifully unique individuals I work with in a holistic way.

How my story helps me as a therapist

Struggling with depression, anxiety, grief and other mental health symptoms is something that most people will be faced with in their lifetime, and I’m no stranger to them myself. I mention my struggles here briefly and one or two ways they give me a more dynamic perspective with individuals I support. I need to stress the emphasis I put in maintaining my own personal wellness that I achieve through ongoing attention to self-care and personal counseling so that I can be thriving and at my best with my clients.

Having struggled with depression in the past, I know that it can be scary to lose hope, confidence, motivation and drive when you’ve always been a positive, self-assured, confident, and hopeful individual. Having experienced trauma and symptoms of PTSD, I know what it is like to have painful feelings and overwhelming anxiety interrupt your daily functioning and create distance in intimate relationships. Having lost more than 5 loved ones in only a year’s time, I know how debilitating loss can feel, the rollercoaster of emotions that follow and the existential questions these can bring up. Having had several loved ones battle cancer, I “get” the constant unsettled feelings that can arise with the uncertainty of treatment, how it can dramatically shift family dynamics and rock one’s own sense of identity in surprising ways. I know how hard it is to make changes that lead to lasting wellness and this has informed my counseling approach as I’ve passionately searched for techniques that create lasting change. I know everyone’s experience is unique so I won’t assume mine is the same as yours. More than anything, I hope you feel heartened to know I’ve been through my share of struggles and come out on the brighter side, and there is hope for you too.

On the lighter side

I love to laugh and bring a smile to those around me. Being 6’1” tall, people often wonder about my sports background, so I’ll answer the first question on everyone’s mind: yes, I played volleyball in college (ah those were the days). Nowadays, I spend my free time reading, skiing, hiking and spending time with friends and loved ones. I am inherently very curious and love learning about new things, traveling and enjoying different cultures.