Take a deeper breath.
Engage.
Move forward.
Therapy is evolving. People are experiencing the benefits of blending the time-honored practices of mindfulness and the science of how your brain adapts to change. It is fascinating to watch people unfold into an awareness of how to make lasting changes. You regain control of your life and engage with motivation without “an edge”. Come learn how to balance your life with the mind/body approach.
Evolution of Therapy
- Somatic Experiencing
- Trauma Specialist
- Anxiety Disorders
- Depression
- Addiction
- Stress
- Relationship Issues
- Life Transitions
- Grief & Loss
- LGBT
Therapy is evolving to utilize the wisdom of the body/mind connection to effectively calm the anxious brain and help you engage more fully in life.
Mind/Body therapy combines age old traditions such as yoga, meditation and consciousness awareness with the practical application of neurological science. You will find freedom in the awareness of how to make lasting changes.
There is a common thread in people who experience anxiety and depressed moods. You fight against what you feel and you don’t trust what you do feel. Why do you not trust what you feel? Feelings can overwhelm or maybe people have told you your feelings were wrong. Have you noticed that when you get scared or hurt you stop feeling? This is your body’s way of protecting itself. If you are going to feel pain, numb is good. When you stop feeling, this signals to your body that you are in danger and adrenaline is automatically released. Anxiety floods over you and you experience the fight or flight response. Trouble arises when this flight or fight pattern won’t shut off. You may not be in danger, it just feels like you are or something bad is going to happen. If you stay anxious too long, you move into a depressed mood of feeling trapped in the fear response.
The break-through in therapy is understanding that patterns of anxiety and depression have a neurological pattern that your body has recorded. Old recordings can trigger a fear response. These reactions are automatic. You simply can’t just think differently because your body is reacting to cellular memory of past experiences. You can change neurological recordings by coming into what you feel, instead of moving away. This is a skill. When you move with what you feel, your body relaxes and your mind stops spinning. Mind/Body therapy is effective and gives you tools to breathe, engage and move forward in life.
TRAUMA
People who undergo trauma often have recurrent or intrusive memories, nightmares and intense distress after the incident, even if it is years later. People who have experienced a traumatic event often avoid feelings and situations associated with the event(s), which can interfere with their lives. A person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has an underlying sense of unworthiness and a general mistrust of the world, which leads to being hyper-vigilant or behaving recklessly. Problems with concentration occur, along with sleep disturbances. Sometimes people do not remember a specific traumatic issue but still present with the symptoms of trauma. A traumatic event can create dissociative reactions that block the memory, leaving only the symptoms.
I can assist in reducing these symptoms of trauma. I repeatedly watch people step back into life after being given the support and skills they need. People who suffer with complex and chronic PTSD can find relief.
RELATIONSHIPS
I have been trained in the Gottman Method for Couples, which is an approach to couple’s therapy that includes an assessment of the couple relationship and integrates research-based interventions based on the Sound Relationship House Theory.
The renowned Gottman method has been successful in helping couple’s find common ground and to build intimacy and trust, even if the trust has been broken.
ANXIETY & DEPRESSION
Anxiety is a natural response to feeling unsafe or threatened. You can worry about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. A build-up of worry can lead to panic attacks and avoidance of social situations, being left alone, inordinate worry about a variety of scenarios, and difficulty in just relaxing or slowing down the spinning mind. An anxious state can become a pattern of how you live.
Depression is the experience of being trapped with a sense of hopelessness to change what you are feeling or doing. Anxiety and depression are often linked. If the anxious state you live in won’t subside, then we can get trapped in those heavy feelings with lack of motivation, changes in eating and sleeping patterns, wanting to isolate and generally feeling bad about yourself.
The Mind/Body approach to treating anxiety and depression focuses on how to shift the pattern of living in a fearful state and not feeling able to move or make changes. A powerful ally in addressing anxiety and depression is being aware of what is going on in your body. You feel anxious, you feel down. Your body is registering that you are not safe and trapped.
People who have used somatic approaches to anxiety and depression can find relief by incorporating four fundamental aspects:
- You eat healthy and regular meals and get enough sleep
- You move: yoga, exercise, do sports, etc.
- You socialize. Your brain needs you to be seen and exchange with others
- You feel capable of free choice. You learn how to process feelings of past experiences and how to live in the now. This can include meditation instructions.
Counseling Services
WHAT TO EXPECT
You can expect to be heard and seen. You will learn to connect to the wisdom of your body and how to shift patterns of thoughts/behaviors that no longer serve you. You will explore Mindfulness and Somatic Processing. The focus is not on retelling your story, but stepping into a process that produces lasting results in an effective and efficient manner. I treat all people with equality, respecting gender preference, sexual orientation, race and religion.
Sessions are available in person and telehealth
The benefits of the Mind/Body approach:
- Reduced anxiety and depressed moods
- Trusting yourself to make the right choices
- Effective help for traumatic experiences
- Experiencing life with a sense of freedom and choice
I am an in-network provider for: Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, United Health Care.
I participate in Employee Assistance Programs such as: Anthem EAP, ComPsych, Espyr, Mines and Associates, and Mutual of Omaha.
I also do pro bono work through Larimer County Connections.
About Susan Guio
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Somatic Experiencing (SE) Practicioner and Reiki™ Master
MY PHILOSOPHY
My goal is to provide people with simple tools to make desired changes in their lives. I follow your body’s rhythm to help you move through your challenges with the proven methods of combining the science of the Mind/Body connection and mindfulness. This effective therapy puts you in the driver’s seat and allows you to make small adjustments that provide quick results even when “nothing seems to work.” People have found relief and growth from trauma, addictions, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship issues and support for change.
I have 25 years of experience in researching what accelerates people to feel in control of their lives. My approach is sophisticated in its simplicity. It is based upon the power of conscious awareness and the most effective therapeutic principles. It is a safe way to empower you to make mindful choices and changes. It brings awareness to how you are Being, rather than what you are Doing.
MY JOURNEY
When I started my own journey, I thought it would be much easier if other people would make the change, not me. I was scared; it was hard to admit I needed help, which felt like a personal failure. So, I played it cool. I sat down in the therapist’s office and rattled on like I had it together. Finally, the therapist looked at me and said, “You are so intense!” I thought it was a compliment. There have been many therapy sessions since that first appearance, both as a client and as a therapist and I’m grateful that treatment works.
Therapy that creates lasting and fulfilling change is an evolving science. I am happy today not because I told and retold my story, but because I engage with life differently. I see myself as capable and the world as friendly. I eat a balanced diet and get enough sleep. I exercise and socialize with friends and I take a deep breath. This was not always the case.
I’ve test driven numerous therapies over the years, both personally and professionally. The winner to date is the combination of being knowledgeable about how the body reacts to stress and the art of mindfulness. It is the marriage of body science and consciousness awareness that provides the basis for lasting change.
eBooks
Beyond Medication: Understanding Anxiety and Depression’s Unmet Needs
Looking Deeper at the Root Causes
The Master Series: Trauma Edition | Dr. Bessel van der Kolk
The Master Series: Trauma Edition | Peter Levine
Overcoming Challenging Moments in Our Relationships With Others
Reframing How We Thinking About Addiction
Recommended Books
The Body Keeps the Score. Brain, Mind, and Body In The Healing of Trauma
Trauma and Memory, Brain and Body in A Search for the Living Past
Rewire Your Anxious Brain, How to Use Neuroscience of fear to end Anxiety, Panic and Worry
The Biology of Belief, Unleashing the Power of Conscious Matter and Miracles
Hello, I Want to Die Please Fix Me. Depression In The First Person
Not Just Friends. Rebuilding Trust and Recovering Your Sanity After Infidelity
Life Without Ed. How One Woman Declared Independence from Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too
The Autistic Brain, Helping Different Kinds of Minds Succeed
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. A Practical Guide from the Country’s Foremost Relationship Expert
Breath, The New Science of a Lost Art