Addiction and recovery therapy, wherever you’re starting
Substance use usually starts as a solution. It numbs something, quiets something, or gets you through something. Therapy helps you understand the job it has been doing and build a life that doesn’t need it anymore. In person in Denver and online across Colorado.
No rock bottom required
You don’t need a diagnosis, a crisis, or a firm decision to quit before you start therapy. Wherever you are with it is a fine place to begin.
Some people come in already sober and want support staying that way. Some are cutting back. Some are still figuring out whether they want to change anything, and that is a reasonable thing to bring to a therapist. We work with alcohol and drug use, and with the anxiety, depression and trauma that so often travel with it.
For many people, the substance has been managing pain from things that happened to them. When that’s true, recovery means more than stopping. It means understanding what the substance was helping you survive, and finding other ways to carry it.
Every stage of recovery, including the messy ones
Recovery rarely moves in a straight line. These are some of the places people are when they first reach out, and what therapy tends to focus on there.
Wondering
You’re not sure it’s a problem. You’ve noticed you drink or use more than you planned, or you’ve started keeping count.
Looking honestly at what it does for you and what it costs, with no pressure to label it.
Deciding
Part of you wants to change and part of you doesn’t. Both of those make sense.
Sorting out what you actually want, and making a plan you believe in.
Early recovery
The first months, when everything feels raw and the old way of coping is gone.
Skills for cravings, sleep, strong feelings and the hours that used to be filled.
Staying steady
Years in, and dealing with what sobriety brought to the surface.
Trauma, grief and relationships, and a life that feels worth protecting.
After a slip
A relapse can bring a flood of shame and the urge to hide from everyone.
Getting back on track and learning from it, without starting from zero.
People move between these, sometimes in the same month. A slip doesn’t send you back to the beginning.
“There is magic in being truly seen, both by ourselves and in connection with others. When we trade judgment for curiosity, we can peel back the layers of ‘shoulds’ and inherited narratives and find out who’s underneath.”
Kelli Ruhl, LPC, NCC, LAC · Read her bio →
Person-centered, practical and trauma-informed
Our addiction work is led by Kelli Ruhl, a Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC) in Colorado as well as a trauma therapist. Her foundation is person-centered: you’re the expert on your life, and you set the goals.
No lectures, no labels
We work on the goals you choose, at a pace that makes sense. Moderation, sobriety and “I don’t know yet” are all starting points.
Skills from DBT, ACT and CBT
Practical tools for cravings, urges, strong emotions and the thoughts that pull you back.
Parts work
Getting curious about the part of you that reaches for the substance, and what it’s protecting. More on that in our IFS page.
Somatic work
Calming a nervous system that has relied on substances to settle, so your body has other ways to come down.
What therapy here is, and what it isn’t
Therapy with us is outpatient counseling, usually one 50-minute session a week. It works well on its own for many people, and alongside support groups like AA or SMART Recovery, medical care, or a treatment program for others. If you need detox, medication support or a higher level of care, we’ll help you think through options and can work alongside your other providers.
Kelli sees clients in person at our Denver office and online anywhere in Colorado. Online sessions can make it easier to keep showing up during a hard stretch. Sessions are $150. We’re out of network with insurance and provide superbills for possible reimbursement. If trauma, anxiety or depression is part of the picture, we can work on that at the same time.
If you’re in immediate danger, call 911. For a mental health or substance use crisis in Colorado, call or text 988, or call Colorado Crisis Services at 1-844-493-8255.
- ClinicianKelli Ruhl, LPC, LAC
- Fee$150 per session
- WhereDenver & online statewide
- FormatWeekly outpatient therapy
Questions people ask before starting
No. Some people come in already in recovery, some are cutting back, and some are still figuring out whether they want to change anything. We start where you are.
No. This is outpatient therapy, usually weekly sessions. It works well on its own for many people, and alongside programs, support groups or medical care for others. If you need a higher level of care, we’ll help you find it.
A Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC) is a Colorado credential for clinicians with specific training and supervised experience in treating substance use. Kelli Ruhl holds the LAC along with her LPC, so she can work with substance use and mental health together.
Yes. For many people the two are tangled up. Kelli is a trauma therapist as well as a Licensed Addiction Counselor, so we can look at both at the same time.
Yes. Kelli sees clients by secure video anywhere in Colorado, as well as in person at our Denver office. Many people find online sessions easier to keep up with during a busy or difficult season.
If you’re in immediate danger, call 911. For a mental health or substance use crisis in Colorado, call or text 988, or call Colorado Crisis Services at 1-844-493-8255.
Who to See for This
You don’t have to figure this out alone
A free 15-minute consultation is a private, low-pressure way to talk through where you are. No commitment and no judgment.
Schedule a Free Consultation