Calkins Therapy for Change

08/24/2026

AI is not a substitute for human therapy. Sadly, we're seeing tragedies like this.

https://www.calkinstherapy.com/blog/when-the-algorithm-listens

08/10/2026

I was so happy to be able to talk to Kathleen O'Neill about medical anxiety and add to this important article she wrote for Girls' Life magazine. The piece covers doctor anxiety from a teen perspective — and I was honored to be quoted as a therapist in the reporting.

https://www.girlslife.com

05/24/2026

Gov. Polis has indicated he will sign this, and I encourage him to do so ASAP.

https://www.calkinstherapy.com/blog/sign-hb-1322

05/01/2026

Thanks so much to Shay Castle and the Boulder Frequency podcast for helping me get the word out on the harmful effects of conversion therapy.

Extra shoutout to Representative Karen McCormick for her bill that imposes legal ramifications on those subjecting clients to this "therapy."

More below:

https://www.dailycamera.com/2026/04/29/colorado-conversion-therapy-bill-karen-mccormick/

https://www.calkinstherapy.com/blog/podcast-and-mccormick-bill

https://www.calkinstherapy.com/blog/conversion-therapy-colorado

Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Colorado with over 30 years of experience. Compassionate therapy for depression, anxiety, grief, trauma, and life transitions.

04/20/2026

April is National Stress Awareness Month

Ambient Dread Is Real. Here's What Your Nervous System Needs Right Now.

If you've been carrying a low-grade, persistent unease lately — not quite an anxiety attack, not quite okay — you're not imagining it. And you're not alone.

Read more here...

04/07/2026

I've been sitting with my feelings since the recent Supreme Court ruling on conversion therapy, and I think I owe it to this community to share them.

In an 8-1 decision, the Court struck down Colorado's ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth. A practice condemned by every major medical organization in this country—the AMA, the APA, the American Academy of Pediatrics and every credentialed body. A practice the United Nations has called torture. Research consistently links it to depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal ideation in minors. There is no credible scientific defense of it. None.

The Court dressed it up as a free speech issue. I understand the First Amendment. What I can't understand is how protecting the "right" to harm a child is called liberty.

And this ruling landed on March 31, the Transgender Day of Visibility. That timing wasn't just ironic. It was gutting.

To every LGBTQ+ young person in Colorado and beyond reading this: you are not broken. You are not a problem to be solved. You deserve care that sees you fully, affirms you completely, and helps you grow into the person you already are. That is what therapy is supposed to do.

My door is open. 💙

www.CalkinsTherapyforChange.com (http://www.CalkinsTherapyforChange.com)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Colorado with over 30 years of experience. Compassionate therapy for depression, anxiety, grief, trauma, and life transitions.

02/02/2026

Control Is Overrated

I had rotator cuff surgery last week, and I've been reminded for the last few days that surgery recovery is humbling. You can’t “power through” pain. You can’t optimize it. You can only listen.

That’s a mental health lesson a lot of high-functioning adults resist:

Control feels productive. Acceptance actually is.

Being kind to yourself when you’re uncomfortable isn’t indulgent—it’s regulation. The nervous system notices when you stop fighting it.

Hard truth: slowing down isn’t quitting. It’s recalibrating.