Integrated Behavioral Health

Integrated Behavioral Health Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Integrated Behavioral Health, Psychologist, 1120 Delaware Street. Suite 110, Denver, CO.

At Integrated Behavioral Health we provide evidence-based, collaborative care so patients and families can move closer to living a life in line with their values. Integrated Behavioral Health provides psychological therapy services, specializing in helping children and families overcome and cope with chronic medical conditions in the Denver, CO area.

06/09/2026

“If I say the wrong thing, am I going to destroy our relationship forever?” 💔

When it comes to navigating big conversations around gender, sexuality, and identity with our youth, this is the exact catastrophic thought that keeps so many well-intentioned parents stuck in a state of frozen anxiety. We assume perfection is the only option, so we avoid the conversation altogether.

But as Dr. Marissa Nunes Moreno from Children’s Hospital Colorado points out, jumping to the absolute worst-case scenario is rarely reality.
More likely? We put our foot in our mouth. We use the wrong word. We stumble.

And clinically speaking, that is actually an incredible opportunity. In therapy, we call this rupture and repair.

1. Trust is not built by being a perfect parent who never makes a mistake.
2. Trust is built when you mess up, take accountability, correct for it, and keep showing up anyway.
3. Give yourself permission to be a human being who is learning alongside your child.

The goal isn’t a flawless script—it’s an open door. 🚪✨

Catch the full conversation for Pride Month on 6/9 on Kids These Days at the link in our bio! 🎙️

06/08/2026

Stop arguing with your child’s math.

It’s a Tuesday afternoon in July, you say no to an impromptu, last-minute sleepover, and suddenly you hear it:
“You ALWAYS say no to me!”
“I NEVER get to do anything fun!”
“Everyone else’s parents let them hang out whenever they want!”

Your immediate internal reaction?

Defensiveness. Your brain starts pulling up receipt after receipt of every time you drove them to practice, hosted a movie night, or said yes.

But here is the clinical reality check: When kids are overwhelmed or lonely, they speak in hyperbole.

They aren’t presenting a factual case to a judge; they are desperate to make you understand how big their current emotion feels. When you fight them with logic (“That’s not true, you just had a friend over yesterday!”), their brain registers it as a rejection. The argument stops being about the sleepover and starts being a battle over who is “right.”

How to de-escalate the hyperbole tonight:
✨ Step 1: Ignore the “Always” and “Never.” Pretend they didn’t even say those words.

✨ Step 2: Translate the emotion. Address the context under the scream.

✨ Step 3: Pivot to collaboration. Instead of defending yourself, try: “It sounds like you’re feeling really stuck at home and isolated from your friends today. It sucks to feel left out. Let’s look at the calendar and figure out a day this week to get your friends over here.”

You don’t have to change your answer to a “Yes” to keep a secure attachment. You just have to prove that you can hear their frustration without joining the storm. ⚓

💬 Comment “NEWS” to join our community and get the Connection Toolkit sent straight to your inbox instantly! 🎁✨

Pop culture tells us OCD is an organizing quirk. Clinical science knows it’s an invisible prison. 🧠🔒If you have a teenag...
06/07/2026

Pop culture tells us OCD is an organizing quirk. Clinical science knows it’s an invisible prison. 🧠🔒

If you have a teenager struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder, you already know that it rarely looks like a perfectly color-coded bedroom or neatly lined-up shoes.

In adolescents, OCD is incredibly clever—and highly agonizing. It frequently manifests as “Moral Perfectionism” or intense, intrusive thoughts about safety, harm, or social rejection. Because teens are terrified of looking “different,” their rituals are often entirely mental, hiding behind a constant need for verbal reassurance.

•”Are you sure you’re not mad at me?”
•”Did I say something wrong in that text?”
•”Are you certain the front door is locked?”

As loving parents, our biological blueprint is to soothe our children when they are scared. So we answer the question. We give the reassurance. We check the locks for them.

But here is the hard clinical truth: Reassurance is the fuel that keeps the OCD cycle running.

Our anxiety and OCD specialist, Dr. Kathleen Diaz, utilizes Evidence-Based CBT and ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) to help families break this exact loop. Giving reassurance acts as a temporary compulsion. It lowers your teen’s anxiety for five minutes, but it secretly confirms to their brain that the imaginary danger was real—and robs them of the chance to learn that their nervous system can survive an uncomfortable wave on its own.

How to shift your response tonight:
✨ 1. Separate the teen from the diagnosis: Give the anxiety a name (like “the bully” or “the radio station”).
✨ 2. Hold the boundary with empathy: When the repetitive loops start, say: “I hear how loud your anxiety is right now, and I know it wants me to answer that. But I love you too much to feed the OCD loop. Let’s sit together through this uncomfortable feeling instead.”

You don’t have to eliminate their discomfort to be their secure anchor. Sometimes, the most loving thing you can do is hold their hand while they ride out the storm. ⚓

💬 Comment “ANXIETY” to join our Anxiety Pivot Workbook. 🎁✨

06/05/2026

Did you know your twins actually have TWO distinct identities? 👥✨

It sounds complex, but as identical twin and clinical psychologist Dr. Margot Lewis explains, every multiple carries a dual sense of self:

1. Their individual identity (Who they are as an independent human being—like Jane).

2. Their twinship identity (Who they are as a unit—“the Smith twins”).

Both of these identities are deeply important! The trap well-intentioned parents fall into is over-indexing on the twin unit because it’s cute, comforting, and let’s face it, sometimes logistically easier.

The goal isn’t to break the beautiful twin bond. The goal is to carve out a slow and steady path toward separateness, giving your kids explicit permission to move in and out of that twinship whenever they need to.

Want to learn how to help your twins build their own unique identities? Listen to the full episode with Dr. Margot Lewis at the link in our bio! 🎙️

It happens every single year around late May. The school routine disappears, the kids are home 24/7, and suddenly, the u...
06/04/2026

It happens every single year around late May. The school routine disappears, the kids are home 24/7, and suddenly, the underlying friction between your parenting styles gets amplified through a megaphone.

Typically, one partner defaults to the Structure Parent—frantically trying to manage screen time limits, chores, and bedtime parameters so the house doesn’t descend into absolute chaos.

The other partner defaults to the Flex Parent—wanting to lean into the spontaneity of summer, let the rules slide, and keep things relaxed.

The result? One of you ends up feeling like a strict prison guard, while the other gets to be the fun weekend camp counselor.

Resentment builds, the kids learn exactly who to ask for a “yes,” and your relationship takes a massive hit.

Here is your clinical reality check: This isn’t a sign that your partner is doing it wrong. This is a classic Dialectic—a psychological truth where two opposing realities can coexist. Your kids actually need both of you. They need the emotional safety of predictability AND the psychological expansion of unstructured, boundary-free play.

To survive the summer months without building resentment, you don’t need to change your partner’s personality. You just need to agree on three non-negotiable anchors.

Sit down tonight and pick your three (e.g., no screens before breakfast, one daily chore completed before screen time, and devices charging in the kitchen by 9 PM). Outside of those three rules? Commit to letting the “Flex Parent” lead without micromanaging or correcting them.

You don’t need a unified front on 100% of the rules to maintain a secure attachment with your kids. Agree on the top 33%, and let the rest go.

💬 Are you the “Structure Parent” or the “Flex Parent” in your house? (No judgment here!) Let me know in the comments.

Comment “NEWS” to join our monthly newsletter community and get the Connection Toolkit sent straight to your inbox instantly! 🎁✨

06/03/2026

When our kids are stressed out—whether it’s about a bad grade, a social rift, or a performance—our natural instinct as parents is to swoop in and soothe them.

“Don’t worry, you’re smart, you’ll do great!” “It’s not a big deal, I promise you’ll be fine.”

But here is the clinical truth: reassurance is a short-term fix that creates a long-term problem.

In CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), we know that anxiety warps reality. It takes a small possibility (like failing a test) and turns it into an absolute certainty (like ruining their entire life). When you say “you’ll be fine,” their brain rejects it because their physical nervous system is actively screaming that they are not fine.

Instead of trying to talk them out of their feelings, your job is to help them evaluate their thoughts.

The 3-Step CBT Reality Check:
✨ The Worst Case: Let them voice the catastrophe. “Okay, if you fail the final, what happens next?”
✨ The Best Case: Force the brain to pivot to optimism. “What if you get a perfect score without even trying?”
✨ The Most Likely Case: Land on reality. “Since both of those are extremes, what is the most realistic outcome, and how can we prepare for it?”

This simple exercise strips the power away from the anxiety and restores it to your child. You transition from the parent who “doesn’t get it” to the Secure Base who can handle their biggest fears.

💬 Comment “NEWS” to join our community and get the Connection Toolkit sent straight to your inbox instantly! 🎁✨

06/02/2026

Separating your twins for one-on-one time can feel like you’re breaking a biological law. 💔

The crying, the protest, the immediate separation anxiety—it’s enough to make any exhausted parent throw their hands up and say, “Fine, just stay together.” But as identical twin and clinical psychologist Dr. Margot Lewis shares in this clip, we have to remember a vital truth: Separation is not severance. Every single developmental milestone—for twins and singletons alike—requires a brief period of dysregulation. When we step in to rescue them from that temporary discomfort, we accidentally step in the way of their growth.

Your twins deserve singular, shining moments that are completely undiluted by the presence of the other. Having the courage to endure the short-term protest is how you build their long-term independent self-esteem.

Listen to the full episode with Dr. Margot Lewis on Kids These Days at the link in our bio! 🎙️

06/01/2026

I have a confession: I am definitely the person who works late. I check emails on my phone in the evening. I review clinical notes. And while I genuinely try my hardest to be present at home, it hasn’t been uncommon for me to overhear a whisper from the other room: “She’s not listening... she’s still working.”

Ouch.

But a few weeks ago, a minor miracle happened: my phone died.

Instead of doing the usual sprint to go find a charger, I decided to use it as a mini-experiment. I stayed on the couch. And because my hands were empty, I ended up playing a ridiculous computer game with one of my stepsons. We laughed, we joked, and we had an absolute blast.

I liked the feeling so much that a few nights later, I decided to try it again on purpose. This time, my partner and stepson pulled out their guitars, and I proceeded to belt out Rihanna songs at the top of my lungs for hours.

The next day, my partner said to one of the other boys, “Man, you missed our concert last night!” To which he deadpanned: “No, I didn’t. I heard the whole thing from upstairs.” 😂🎤

Over the past few weeks, because that phone has been facedown, I’ve tossed the rugby ball, helped set up a new MacBook for college, and actually played with the pups. I can visually see and feel the difference in the temperature of my home.

Now, let’s be clinically realistic: I am absolutely not committing to a phone-free evening every single night. That’s just not real life for me right now, and setting impossible standards is the fastest track to burnout.

Instead, I am aiming for two phone-free nights a week.

Two nights out of seven is roughly 30%. It is the 33% Rule in action. You don’t have to be a tech-free, perfect superhero 100% of the time to build a secure attachment. You just have to be present enough to let the Rihanna concerts happen one-third of the time.

Drop the guilt. Put the phone in a drawer tonight. See what happens.

💬 What is your family’s version of a “Rihanna concert”? What do you guys do when the screens go away? Tell me in the comments!

Comment “NEWS” to join our community of imperfect, 33% parents and get the Connection Toolkit sent str

Why Day 1 of summer break is secretly the hardest. The final school bell rings, the backpacks are thrown in the closet, ...
05/29/2026

Why Day 1 of summer break is secretly the hardest.

The final school bell rings, the backpacks are thrown in the closet, and you think, “Finally. Tomorrow we do absolutely nothing. Pajamas all day.” Then Day 1 actually arrives, and by 9:30 AM, your kids are screaming, picking fights with each other, and complaining that they are bored.

If this happens in your house, you haven’t done anything wrong. Your kids’ brains are just experiencing a massive Dopamine Crash.

Think about the school environment: it is a highly structured, high-stimulation, high-dopamine machine. Between switching classes, seeing friends, meeting deadlines, and recess, their brains are firing on all cylinders for 9 months.

When that stops cold turkey on Day 1 of summer, their dopamine levels plummet. An under-stimulated brain feels incredibly uncomfortable and anxious. To fix that discomfort, a kid’s brain will naturally look for a fast, easy spike of dopamine—and nothing delivers a faster hit of dopamine than picking a fight with a sibling or pushing a parent’s boundaries.

Instead of a total “free-for-all,” what they actually need is a Soft Launch. 🚀

How to structure the first few days of summer break:
- Keep a Loose Morning Anchor: Try not to let sleep schedules shift by more than an hour right away. A predictable morning anchors the nervous system.

- The “Rule of 3” Daily Plan: Don’t leave the day wide open. Give them a visual list of 3 simple anchor points (e.g., 1. Park time, 2. Reading/Quiet time, 3. Movie night).

- Lower the Expectations: You do not need to be a summer cruise director. Lean into the 33% Rule. If you can find a rhythm and connect for just one-third of the day, you are winning the transition game.

Transitions are hard work for everyone. Give your kids—and your own nervous system—a few days to adjust to the new pace.

Comment “NEWS” to get the Connection Toolkit sent straight to your inbox! 🎁✨

05/29/2026

What happens when your “village” is 1,000 miles away? 🏠✈️

The modern reality of parenting is incredibly isolating. We move away for college, relocate for jobs, and build beautiful lives far from the hometowns and families we grew up with.

Then, a massive life transition hits—like pregnancy and postpartum—and we suddenly realize the “village” we were promised doesn’t exist locally.

In this clip from our latest bonus podcast episode, Tessa Metiva (founder of the ) shares the raw truth of her early motherhood experience: no family in the state, and her husband heading back to work just four days after she gave birth.

When you are recovering from birth and navigating a completely rewritten identity, staying home in isolation isn’t just lonely—it’s a risk factor for mental health struggles.

The reality check: We can’t always wait for a community to magically show up on our doorstep. Sometimes, we have to be the ones to build it from scratch. It takes immense vulnerability to put the phone down, walk out the front door, and actively seek out connection when you’re exhausted—but your mental health depends on it.

🎧 Want to hear the full bonus episode on overcoming isolation, navigating postpartum rage, and building your own village? Head to the link in my bio to listen now!

💬 Comment “NEWS” to join our weekly newsletter community and get the Connection Toolkit sent straight to your inbox! 🎁✨

Address

1120 Delaware Street. Suite 110
Denver, CO
80204

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 7pm
Tuesday 8am - 7pm
Wednesday 8am - 7pm
Thursday 8am - 7pm
Friday 8am - 7pm

Telephone

+17208560400

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