Mark Whitney

Mark Whitney

LPC, ACS

Note: Mark sees clients online throughout Colorado.

I work with individuals and couples who find themselves caught in painful and frustrating patterns. Together, we figure out what’s driving those patterns and how to break them. My work is trauma-informed and draws on parts work and the Enneagram, with EMDR and the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) when they fit. With couples, I draw on Gottman Method training and attachment-informed approaches.

Many of my clients can already name the problem. They feel the exhaustion, the resentment, or the distance. What they can’t see yet is what keeps driving it.

I Specialize In

My Approach

I work best with people who are curious about themselves and want room to go below the surface. Much of the work involves noticing the protective patterns you built to get through hard things, understanding why they made sense, and learning to step back from them so you can respond from a steadier place.

As a certified Enneagram teacher, I use the Enneagram alongside parts work to understand what drives your automatic responses. When the roots go deeper, EMDR can help resolve old experiences and the beliefs that formed around them, and SSP can help a nervous system stuck on high alert or in shutdown settle. With couples, we look at how each partner’s reactions set off the other’s when stress is high, and you learn to catch those moments earlier.

You Might Be Here Because…

If you’re coming on your own:

• You’re the one everyone counts on, and you’re quietly resentful about it.
• Your mind won’t slow down, and you replay conversations long after they’re over.
• You say yes before you’ve checked whether you want to.
• You’re in a season of change and the old ways of coping aren’t working.
• You’ve left your faith, or you’re halfway out, and you don’t know who you are without it.

If you’re coming as a couple:

• You keep having the same fight, and neither of you knows how to get out of it.
• One of you pushes to talk while the other shuts down, and you both end up feeling alone.
• Since the kids arrived, you feel more like coworkers than partners.

What It’s Like to Work With Me

Clients often tell me our sessions feel safe and free of judgment, and that therapy with me feels like talking with a real person instead of being analyzed. They also say they appreciate that I’m direct and honest, and that I’m a real partner in the work, someone who leads and engages instead of only listening.

Sessions are conversational and focused on what’s happening in your life now. They work best when you come in ready to engage, with something on your mind: a conflict from the week, a pattern you noticed, a question you’ve been sitting with. From there, I ask questions, reflect what I’m seeing, and point out patterns that are hard to see from the inside. For couples, that might mean slowing down an argument from the week and practicing a different way through it.

The work goes deep, but I bring a relaxed presence and a good sense of humor, so it stays human.

A Little About Me

I was born and raised in Colorado and still love calling it home. I earned my master’s degree in Community Counseling, and I’m also an Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS) who supervises counselors working toward licensure. When I’m not in session, I’m usually on a trail, a snowboard, or a road bike.

Methods & Training

• Trauma-Informed Therapy
• Parts Work
• Certified Enneagram Teacher
• EMDR Trained
• Certified Safe and Sound Protocol Provider
• Gottman Method (Level 1)
• Attachment-Informed Couples Therapy
• Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS)

Areas of Focus

• Anxiety & Overthinking
• People Pleasing
• Faith Deconstruction & Religious Trauma
• Couples Therapy
• Gottman Method
• Enneagram-Based Therapy
• EMDR Therapy
• Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP)
• Trauma-Informed Care
• Life Transitions
• Therapy for Men
• Clinical Supervision
• Online Therapy in Colorado