GAIL M. EDWARDS, MA, ATR-BC, LPC
Thank you for your interest in working with me. I am a Board Certified, Credentialed Art Therapist and a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Colorado. I also completed Post Graduate Training in Child, Adolescent and Family therapy at Walter Reed Army Military Center with their training program for Child Psychiatrists.
I was later assigned to the New Inpatient Program for HIV active duty and retired military. Moved by their powerful artwork and poetry, I made an award-winning video of their artwork set to music, If I Could Tell You. I was also published in The Arts in Psychotherapy, vol. 20, no. 4, pg. 325. I was latter affiliated with the Inpatient Adolescent Treatment Program, also at Walter Reed, eventually serving as the Clinical Director, where I conducted both verbal and art family therapy. I earned numerous awards both at Walter Reed and at the National Naval Medical Center. After retirement I volunteered with various programs serving immigrants to the Washington, DC area. I moved to Boulder, CO in 2014, where I’ve been doing Art Therapy with persons experiencing homelessness.
I don’t believe in a particular kind of therapy for all clients. I believe in doing a thorough assessment of each person and fine tuning the mode of therapy to each of their needs. I like to use art modalities to facilitate understanding, treatment, and for expressing painful feelings. In many cases, it can shorten treatment time. Many think they need art ability to do this, on the contrary, art ability can sometimes handicap art therapy treatment. I view therapy a as a partnership between us. Successful therapy requires your best effort to change thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. We will plan our work based on your list of things you want to change. During therapy you may remember unpleasant events and experience considerable discomfort, which may prompt you to think that your therapy isn’t working. But actually, the difficult moments can be turning points for you to experience deep change. I trust you will bring these strong feelings to our teletherapy sessions, so we can better understand and grow from this time.
The information you share with me, will be treated with great care. Our sessions and my records will be confidential. If I feel that you may harm yourself or another, I am obligated to report this. If I believe that a child or other dependents have been or will be abused or neglected, I am legally required to report this as well.
I usually schedule teletherapy sessions on a weekly or biweekly basis. As a member of Open Path Collective, my fees range between $30-$60. I am available at many different times of day. I often schedule more than an hour when we want to do Art Therapy. Please email me at gailmeds@verizon.net with any questions. You may also call me at 303-443-3529 where you can leave messages.
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GAIL M. EDWARDS, MA, ATR-BC, LPC