About Rory
Bio
I am a licensed social worker (LSW) and Certified Addiction Technician (CAT) in the state of Colorado. I graduated with my BSW from Southern Connecticut State University and got my MSW from the University of Denver. I graduated in 2023 from the Colorado School of Family Therapy to become a licensed addiction counselor (LAC).
Born with cerebral palsy and in recovery, I hope to help clients live their most authentic life they see for themselves. I specialize in chronic illness, people in the LGBTQ community, and those struggling with addiction. I am supervised by Chaya Abrams, LPC, LAC, counselor educator at CU, and Josie Ampaw, LCSW, MFTC, MA. I am a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and regularly attend addiction webinars through NAADAC.
I have four years of professional experience working with people with disabilities and in the LGBTQ community including an internship at an LGBTQ center. I have also volunteered at a transitional employment program helping people with physical challenges and neurodivergence develop the skills necessary to pursue employment after they have graduated. I have also co-facilitated a psychoeducation group for people with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). I am a current volunteer at the National Crisis Textline and have experience in suicide assessment and de-escalation. I also work as an independent contractor with the Griffith Centers for Children helping children and families ages 3+ with facilitating healthy family dynamics and improving clients’ social functioning and emotional regulation skills.
In my free time, I go for strolls down the Boulder Creek Path, do puzzles, and hang out with my cat, Sonia.
More information about my personal journey is detailed in my CanvasRebel article:
My Approach
I use a very individualized approach to psychotherapy based on the work of Carl Rogers and Albert Ellis. This includes a hybrid of a person-centered model with some sprinkling in of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
My style of working is informed by research on trauma and how the body responds to traumatic events. I work with clients on identifying triggers and how those triggers show up in daily life. My clients are the expert of their own experience and I want to give them the ability to define for themselves what will work for them.
In practice, our session would function more like a conversation with me reflecting back what I am hearing you say and then asking follow up questions so I better understand your experience. Sometimes, I might propose a different perspective or view that might make your experience easier to digest.
Meet Sonia
Sonia is my co-worker and hangs out with me all the time. I find her to be comforting to clients, even in video conferences. Occasionally she might come across the screen or ask for food. She is very extroverted and enjoys being in enclosed environments.