Katie Markley, MA, LPC
Licensed Professional Counselor
Boulder CO
I enjoy working with people from a diversity of backgrounds and cultures, believing we are each other’s greatest teachers. Working with survivors of domestic violence has been a thread of my work since 2009.
I have a passion for supporting adults and young adults as I love working with people who are engaged in their process, willing to experiment and form deep insights. I have worked as field guide in wilderness therapy and have also served as a therapist in a young adult transitional living program for several years. My private practice has been the culmination of all my experience and in operation since 2012.
My work is an exploration in the fragility and resilience of the human experience. I can remember a few pivotal moments that have imbued in me a passion for being with what is real, raw, and calling.
For me, the road to becoming a therapist started as a carefree teenager. In fact, if someone would have told me beforehand that I was about to lose several members of my family at once, without notice, I would have said that it would destroy me, that I couldn’t handle it. I remember the clarity and potency I possessed after the shock of the news had worn off. I saw two paths forward…I could make something of the tragedy or I could be annihilated by it.
I can still recall feeling the bone crushing pain of grief and wishing for physical pain to overcome the immensity of the emotional suffering. But I knew I would survive because I had chosen it. Surviving, and eventually thriving, became my mantra. It was the religion I never had and the inspiration that led me to travel the world, challenge myself in every way possible, and eventually become a therapist.
I moved to the front range of Colorado and completed my masters in Transpersonal Art Therapy at Naropa University. While studying to be a therapist I asked myself, “What truly helps people?” I focused my training on trauma work, as I believe trauma is the source of much suffering and something everyone can relate to. With this lens I’ve trained in Somatic Psychology, EMDR, DBT, ACT and Addictions Work.
In 2016 I served as an assistant in the Bridging Soma & Soul training, a 9 month trauma training for therapists where theories in neuroscience and somatic psychotherapy are synthesized into practical techniques for supporting wholeness in others through nervous system integration and trauma healing.
Overall, I am captivated by the strength of the human spirit and the inherent wisdom of our bodies and minds. I assist others in knowing their basic goodness by practicing self-compassion, and developing skills for being with, honoring and moving through life’s challenges.