“Maybe the best thing I’ve ever done was wait. I made an art form out of endurance.
And you were worth every single moment.”
Tyler Knott-Gregson
Meet Angela Powell, M.Ed., LPC, Certified Emotionally Focused Therapist
CONNECTION
Being able to connect with the people who matter most to us is a deep human desire that we all share, myself included. We each have an innate longing to be close to those who matter to us most. When healthy and balanced, our relationships can bring us a sense of belonging, fulfillment, and happiness.
Because of this intrinsic need, it’s completely normal to experience a tremendous sense of sadness and loneliness when we feel disconnected from others.
Society values those who are in control, stable, and level-headed. But when our relationships are out of balance, our whole being can rebel against that experience of insecure attachment – our emotions, physical body, thoughts, and perception of ourselves and others can seem chaotic and confusing.
Words That Describe My Counseling Style
ABOUT ME
I deeply care about my clients and am passionate about working with Emotionally Focused Therapy to help repair relationships and rebuild a more positive sense of self. I want to give you space to talk about your pain, joys, and relationship experiences so we can make sense of them together to bring about real and lasting change. I’m on your team, advocating for you, fighting for your relationship, experiencing what you feel, with you in therapy every step of the way.
We all desire to be seen and understood, to be believed in and not criticized; these are good longings, and they drive how we work in EFT. You will never hear me “call you out,” or ask you to “improve your behavior,” or ask, “why did you do that?” (And if I do, you are free to remind me of what I’ve written here!)
Instead, I’ll help you find the very good reasons you make the moves you make in your relationships. We cope through protection when we feel hurt or unheard, and our action tendencies are just paths we take to get our messages across. I’ll help you find a clearer and more vulnerable (i.e., connecting) way to be heard and to listen to the ones you love.
I appreciate when clients come in ready to share and learn, but if you’re hesitant or nervous about opening up, I’m here for that, too.
There’s no rush to get you to a place where you feel comfortable enough to talk about what’s going on in your inner world. It’s my honor to be present, right here, right now in whatever you are feeling, so you can come out of this stuck place to find real and lasting healing.
I hold so much respect and care for clients and am interested in hearing and understanding your extraordinary story. This includes your uniquely held identities, cultural background, and beliefs, and how they intersect and have shaped your lived experience of pain and discrimination.
As a straight, white, cisgender woman, I humbly desire to learn about and understand how your identities have molded you and your experiences in the world, and incorporate these important aspects of self into our work together.
If you are a person who practices faith, we can fold your beliefs into our work as well. Our time together will be shaped by who you are, what you bring, and what you need.
I want to hear your remarkable story and I’m excited to work together. Because what I believe about all my clients is that you are absolutely worth it.
MY ROLE
I’m a “Certified Emotionally Focused Therapist.” That means I hold the highest level and achievement of Emotionally Focused Therapy, with the next step being the supervision of other therapists.
I currently lead the Thrive team’s Peer Support group as a Peer Mentor. I am also an assistant at Core Skills training with George Faller and Elana Katz, NYCEFT (New York Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy). I am filled with gratitude as I reflect on the opportunities to walk beside other EFT counselors in this deep and important work.
AREAS OF SPECIALTY
- Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy
- Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy
- Attachment Injury Repair and Affair Reconciliation
- Discernment Counseling
- Stepparenting & Re-partnering Parents
- Personality Dynamics /Enneagram
- Spiritual/Faith-based Counseling (upon request)
OUR COUNSELING PROCESS
I believe in your abilities and intelligence, so I’m not here to “fix” you or your relationship. My role is to come alongside you to help make sense of your typical cycle or pattern of interaction which includes:
- Your Emotions: Sometimes, anger, frustration, irritation, and anxiety can cover up feelings of sadness or fear, or a longing to be heard and understood and seen for who we truly are. Dr. Sue Johnson, Founding Therapist and Researcher of Emotionally Focused Therapy states, “…emotion and emotional signals are the central organizing forces in intimate relationships, and that changes in emotional responses, such as increased love and tenderness, are hard to generate if we don’t work with emotion directly… Emotion takes us to the heart of the matter.”
- Your Body: Tuning to our physical sensations can give us a good sense of what we might be feeling. I’ll help you access and crack the code of how our physical bodies give us early clues as to when we feel unsure or unsafe.
- Your Thoughts: Thoughts include your view of yourself, your view of your partner, your view of others in the world, and your overall perspective on how relationships work.
- Your Attachment Style: This style was originally developed and taught to you by your family of origin, which may sound like a cliché, but it’s true. The blueprint of our intimate relationships comes from lessons learned before we had a choice of what kind of relationships we would be a part of, with our family as our greatest (or not so great) teacher.
We can use all of this information to enhance or rewrite how you do relationships now. You don’t have to be stuck repeating old patterns that aren’t working for you. You can reset old cycles and find safety, love, and a good relationship, even in your current relationship. It takes some work, but I will be there to guide us every step of the way.
Acting out of vulnerability and openness is not as easy as it may seem, even for us as counselors! And just a note, you are not inept, a failure, or bad at relationships. We all just need some time to slow down, untangle what’s going on, and figure out how to talk to one another a bit more vulnerably. That may sound scary, but we will take that process slowly so you feel safe enough in session to take the risk to open up.
TRAINING & EDUCATION
- Certified Emotionally Focused Therapist, (2023, ICEEFT)
- Assistant, Core Skills Advanced Training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (2023-Present, NYCEFT)
- Assistant, Core Skills Advanced Training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (2022, NYCEFT)
- Assistant, Externship in Emotionally Focused Therapy (2022, NYCEFT)
- Core Skills Advanced Training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (2022, NYCEFT)
- Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy, EFIT (2021, Vancouver Island EFT)
- Unbroken Bonds: EFT and Relationship Betrayals (2020, LAEFT)
- Externship in Emotionally Focused Therapy (2020, BCEFT)
- Colorado Professional Teaching Credential (2010-2022)
- Boston University, Master of Education in Community Counseling (2004)
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
- American Counseling Association (ACA)
- International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT)
- International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (IAMFC)
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
Couples:
- Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by Dr. Sue Johnson EdD
- Love Sense: The Revolutionary New Science of Romantic Relationships by Dr. Sue Johnson EdD
- The Attachment Theory Workbook: Powerful Tools to Promote Understanding, Increase Stability, and Build Lasting Relationships by Annie Chen LMFT
- Couples Therapy Workbook for Healing: Emotionally Focused Therapy Techniques to Restore Your Relationship by Lori Cluff Schade PhD LMFT
- An Emotionally Focused Workbook for Couples: The Two of Us by Veronica Kallos-Lilly and Jennifer Fitzgerald
- Courageous Love: A Couples Guide to Conquering Betrayal by Stefanie Carnes
Individuals:
- Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents by Lindsay C Gibson (as well as Recovering from Emotionally Immature Parents: Practical Tools to Establish Boundaries and Reclaim Your Emotional Autonomy, and Self-Care for Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: Honor Your Emotions, Nurture Your Self, and Live with Confidence)
- Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find and Keep Love by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller
- An Emotionally Focused Guide to Relationship Loss: Life After Love by Clare Rosoman (as well as An Emotionally Focused Workbook for Relationship Loss by Kathryn D Rheem and Clare Rosoman)
- The Complete Enneagram: 27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge by Beatrice Chestnut
- The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and the Others in Your Life by Helen Palmer
- Therapy Journal: A guided reflection space for therapy sessions
Stepparents & Re-partnering Parents:
- The Stepfamily Handbook: From Dating, to Getting Serious, to forming a “Blended Family” by Karen Bonnell & Patricia L. Papernow
- Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships: What Works and What Doesn’t by Patricia L. Papernow
- The Co-Parenting Handbook: Raising Well-Adjusted and Resilient Kids from Little Ones to Young Adults through Divorce or Separation by Karen Bonnell
AVAILABLE HOURS
Counseling appointments are currently available online Monday through Thursday, including morning and evening hours, and Saturday mornings.
LOCATION
I offer exclusively online video appointments.
How to Schedule a Counseling Appointment with Angela:
Fees for Counseling Sessions with Angela Powell, M.Ed., LPC: $270 for a 75-minute session, $180 for a 50-minute session.
For more information, please call 303-513-8975, X1, send us an inquiry here, or use our convenient, secure and simple online counseling scheduling system here: