Joyce McHugh

I am a licensed clinical social worker in Colorado, and most of my work is with trauma. Before I became a therapist I spent nearly twenty years as a professional guardian, sitting with people and their families through some of the hardest situations a person can be in. That work put me alongside people living with the effects of abuse, neglect, loss and serious illness long before I met them in a therapy room. I work with adults carrying trauma from childhood, from relationships, or from the work they do. I also write and teach on difficult conversations, so I think a great deal about what makes it hard to speak.

I work with the body as well as the story. Trauma lives in the nervous system, so we move at a pace your system can tolerate rather than rushing toward the worst of it. My style is warm and direct. I will not sit quietly nodding for fifty minutes, and I will not tell you what to do either. Much of the work is noticing what you learned to do to stay safe, and working out together what is still needed now.

The first session is mostly me listening. I will ask what brought you here now, rather than in general, because the timing usually matters. You do not have to tell me your history in that first hour, or before you are ready. We will talk about what you want to be different, and I will tell you if I think someone else would be a better fit for you. Most people leave that hour feeling a little lighter, and that is a good place to begin.