We offer a variety of services for our clients. We currently provide individual, relational, group, and family therapy. We are happy to offer sessions in-person, virtually, or a little bit of both. We also offer gender affirming care, letter writing services, mutual aid, and several different community care closets.
Affirmative Care
Affirmative care means that we support you and/or your child in figuring out who they are, the things they like, and in navigating any life concerns. Affirmative care means that we honor your experiences and do not impose our own views on your life, identities, and experiences.
Click here to read more about affirmative care
One harmful myth and statement we often hear around the topic of affirmative care is that affirming someone will “turn someone gay or trans”. Research and experience show this is not true, and we would be happy to share more with you about this if you have thought this yourself.
We help all folx understand more about our work in the community. Affirmative care has been shown in numerous research studies to be the most helpful in supporting the lives and mental health of LGBTQIA youth. For example, affirmative care and access to a mental health professional who understands the lives of LGBTQIA+ youth has been shown to improve depression and anxiety, and reduce suicide attempts (The Trevor Project).
Letter Writing Services
We know that accessing gender affirming medical interventions can be very difficult and vulnerable. We want to help lessen this difficulty by working with you to tell your story and by keeping ourselves up-to-date on the WPATH standards for providing affirming care. We use an informed consent model for our letter writing, which acknowledges that you are the expert of your own experience. We recognize that you should not have to “prove” that you are trans by having a referral letter, but we want to help you navigate the existing system of medical gatekeeping.
Click here to read more about letter writing services
We believe in the accessibility of gender affirming medical interventions to transgender and gender non-conforming people. Because of this, we provide referral letters at whatever cost you can afford. For some folks, this may look like billing through insurance. For others, that may look like access to our sliding scale pricing or probono services. To demonstrate our commitment to accessible care, we have signed the Gender Affirming Letter Access Project pledge. Each of our providers is typically able to do consults for these referral letters twice monthly.
These letters are provided by all clinical staff at our agency, usually in conjunction with Dr. M Watson Saltis. Our staff have completed extensive training in working with trans and gender expansive folks, and also hold lived experience with these identities.
Have questions about the process or want to schedule a consultation? Contact us today!
Counseling for Kids
The Rainbow Circles is a space where we honor the experiences and identities of every child, and we seek to provide a safe space for the youngest members of the LGBTQIA+ community. We are here to provide support for parents and kids with expansive gender identities and sexual orientations. We strive to create a safe space for kids to find themselves in an ever moving world, recognizing the unique systems they come from and honoring all their internal and external knowings.
Click here to read more about counseling for kids
Kids can often struggle with managing their emotions and behaviors. Some might have anxiety, depression, or have had traumatic or terrible events happen in their lives. They might be navigating through divorce or separation, or lots of other struggles. Many children benefit greatly from Play Therapy, which helps them to process their world, and EMDR which can help individuals cope with difficult events and traumas. You can read more about Play Therapy and EMDR in the “Specialized Approaches” section below.
Supporting kiddos and families through their ups and downs is important to us, and we strive to provide support to parents as children are navigating these challenges as well. When your kid is going through a hard time, OF COURSE that brings up a lot for a caregiver. A parent or guardian’s experience is so deeply tied to their child’s experience. We’ve found that when a child’s guardians are open and willing to engage in this work as well, the individual kid and the family benefit greatly. We welcome parents and guardians at all levels of learning, experience and understanding, and would love to work with you as well to help support your child and your whole family.
Individual Therapy for Teens and Adults
We provide individual therapy that helps you get the most out of your sessions and helps you make real life change in a way that feels honoring and true for you. Our staff bring diverse approaches and years of lived and clinical experience into our work. From short-term solution-focused therapy, to creative play and art modalities, EMDR and more, no matter what is bringing you in or what you hope to take away, we will work together to create a therapeutic space that is supportive for you.
Relational Therapy
Here at The Rainbow Circles, we think systemically. We recognize the impact our relationships have on us, as well as our impact on others. We want to help you and/or your family (if safe to do so) find the best support. We recognize that some families we are born into and others we create. We also commonly work with clients in exploring their relationships. We are trained in various relationship dynamics and structures including providing supportive approaches with consensual non-monogamy and polyamorous relationships.
Specialized Approaches to Therapy
Our clinicians are trained in or have experience with a variety of therapeutic approaches. We want to make sure that we can provide well-matched support for you or your loved one. For those of you who are curious, or looking for a certain modality, here is a (non-exhaustive) list of specialty-therapeutic approaches that members of our team are trained in, or draw from in their work.
Click here to read about play therapy, wilderness therapy, and EMDR
Play therapy
Play is the natural language of children. Children learn about themselves and the world through play. They can learn how to be independent, make choices, follow rules, accept consequences for their behavior, manage emotions, control behaviors, and become more confident through play therapy. I specifically use Child-Centered Play Therapy which lets the child lead in a supportive and structured environment. Given this freedom, children start to explore and work through anything that is challenging in life: parents’ divorce or separation, out-of-home placement, fears, difficulty in school, anxiety, depression, exploring their identities, and trauma. Play therapy works best for children ages 3-12 years old. To learn more about play therapy, check out this link below to watch this powerful short video.
Wilderness therapy & Nature-based interventions
Wilderness therapy often refers to a subset of inpatient services provided to adolescents and young adults where the therapeutic setting is the remote wilderness for extended periods of time. Though we do not provide wilderness therapy trips, we know how impactful time outdoors or time with nature can be. The outdoors provide a space with fewer distractions, movement provides a connection between mind and body, and often the things we do outdoors leave us feeling empowered, grounded, and regulated.
We know that the outdoors can be a powerful tool for reflection, and sometimes taking ourselves out of the office and doing something challenging can create profound change within ourselves. Please, talk with your provider about walking sessions, moving sessions outdoors, or bringing some natural elements into the office if you feel this would enhance your therapy journey. We are also hoping that someday we can incorporate these ideas into our groups, and have adventures together.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Dr. M and Sam are two therapists who are trained to use EMDR with clients. EMDR is an evidenced-based trauma therapy approach to help clients work through traumatic events. EMDR works to lessen the impact of traumatic memories and symptoms. You can check out more about EMDR here.
Current & Future Group Offerings
We have new groups opening throughout the year. Please check out our newsletter or social media to find the most up to date information, or feel free to reach out directly to see what we have opening up!
Upcoming groups:
- Recovering from Religious Trauma
- NeuroQueer Adult Group
Payment for Services
Affordable care for all. Here at The Rainbow Circles, we never turn away someone based on inability to pay for services.
We have the following options for payments for services:
- We accept Medicaid: (Rocky Mountain Health Plans, NorthEast Health Partners/Beacon/Carelon, Colorado Access, CHP+, and Colorado Community Health Alliance, Health Colorado Inc.)
- All clinicians can take the following private insurances: Cigna and Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield.
- Some clinicians can take the following private insurances: United Healthcare, Poudre School District Health Plans, New Belgium Health Plans
- We all offer probono (free) services to clients who need them, with a priority for our clients of color
- Our full-payment self-pay rates operate on a scale from $75-150. Clients can choose to pay anywhere in this scale to be considered full-rate self-pay clients. Those that pay on the higher end help us in our socialist model to support clients who do not have the financial privilege to pay more. And for anyone on the lower end, know that your community has your back!
- We have sliding scale options (meaning we can work with you to find a rate that feels best for you) below the $75 mentioned above.
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