Welcome to the Gestalt Center for Growth and Training

I come to you with plenty of lived experience, shaped by a life across three continents, diverse cultures, and unexpected paths. These journeys—both chosen and unexpected—have deepened my understanding of resilience, connection, and the many ways of finding meaning, even in challenging times. As a teenager, I survived a severe traumatic brain injury and weeks in a coma, an experience that taught me the value of patience, presence, and, perhaps most importantly, a good sense of humor in the face of hardship.
As a Master’s student in Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling at Naropa University and a long-time practitioner of principled nonviolence, I bring warmth, steadiness, and lightheartedness into the therapy room. My approach blends mindfulness, Gestalt principles, experiential techniques, play therapy, and elements of nonviolence to create a collaborative space where clients feel supported, curious, and empowered. Grounded in my training and my diverse lived experiences, I am ready to work with people of most ages and backgrounds who are navigating life transitions, grief, difficult emotions, and those seeking to reconnect with who they truly are. Much of what I’ve written describes the counsellor I aspire to be, for you. Most of all, I look forward to meeting you and walking alongside you as you create a life that brings you alive.

I’m Jiayi, a graduate student in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a concentration in Nature-Based Counseling at Naropa University. Prior to entering this program, I completed training in Hakomi somatic psychotherapy.

For me, healing extends beyond conversation within a counseling room. My personal practice includes yoga, meditation, and classical guitar. Through repetition and the willingness to learn something new, I find a sense of steadiness and a deepened connection to the beauty of the world.

Over the past decade, I have worked extensively in wilderness, places often experienced as hostile to humans, yet peaceful and deeply supportive of other forms of life. Witnessing the same landscapes again and again, I came to appreciate how differently each person perceives and feels the same environment. In this way, being a therapist means accompanying each heart as they explore their own unique inner landscape.

I believe that each of us carries an innate inner guidance to navigate challenging terrain. Therapy, for me, is a collaborative process of listening, connecting for that guidance while gently exploring new and unfamiliar territories.

Hello, friend! I’m glad you’ve found this site. Regardless of what brought you here, I’m a firm believer that *everyone* could benefit from therapy just by the nature of being human in 2026. I’ve been walking with people on the path of radical self-change for over a decade as a professor in bachelor’s and master’s degrees that specialize in transformational educational experiences. It has been my experience, and it is my belief that disconnection is at the source of most of our struggles—disconnection from ourselves, from those we love, from nature, and from meaning and purpose.

I’ve recently decided to focus on what I love best about my experience in higher education: working with the basic goodness that is at the core of every person to help them figure out their unique gifts and how to navigate life’s challenges so that they can give what they have to offer to a world that desperately needs it! I focus on person-centered and trauma-aware therapy that is compassionate, strengths-based, culturally sensitive, and spiritually informed. Additionally, I love bringing in humor and aspects of the natural world to promote healing.

If my style resonates with where you’re at, I’d love to discuss the possibilities of us working together. Feel free to contact me in order to schedule a free 20-minute consultation. It’s been shown that the therapeutic relationship is what’s most important and so even if I don’t get the pleasure of working with you, it will still be an honor to do what I can to help you with the next step on your journey.

I’m Andrew, a graduate student in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Northwestern University and an intern at The Gestalt Center. I work with adults, teens, couples, and men navigating some of life’s harder chapters — anxiety, depression, trauma, divorce, and the kind of relationship stress that builds slowly until something gives.

My approach is psychodynamic and rooted in Gestalt — which means sessions feel more like an honest conversation than a clinical exercise. I believe the answers you’re looking for are already inside you, and that nothing about your life is accidental. My job is to help you find the patterns, sit with the hard things long enough to understand them, and make meaning out of what might otherwise feel like chaos.

I work to create a space where you feel genuinely heard — not managed. Whether your path here is long or short, I’ll be with you for it.

I use a person-centered approach in counseling combined with Gestalt and existential modality principles. I’m excited to connect as a human and will integrate concepts exploring the here-and-now, awareness, and finding meaning and happiness in life. I’m a Master’s student working through NYU’s remote Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness program. Although I primarily use mindfulness-based therapeutic techniques, I also integrate techniques from evidence-informed practices such as CBT, RCT, and positive psychotherapy.

I aim to make sessions warm and nonjudgmental, creating a safe space to have the often difficult and unpleasant conversations that come with psychotherapy. My clinical interests include depression, anxiety, trauma and PTSD, grief and loss, relational and couples’ counseling, and emotional regulation. I highly value cultural competency and stand for feminism and social justice, holding space for racial minorities, LGBTQ+ folk, people with any form of disability, and any other identities a client values.

I use a person-centered approach in counseling combined with Gestalt and existential modality principles. I’m excited to connect as a human and will integrate concepts exploring the here-and-now, awareness, and finding meaning and happiness in life. I’m a Master’s student working
through NYU’s remote Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness program. Although I primarily use mindfulness-based therapeutic techniques, I also integrate techniques from evidence-informed practices such as CBT, RCT, and positive psychotherapy.

I aim to make sessions warm and nonjudgmental, creating a safe space to have the often difficult and unpleasant conversations that come with psychotherapy. My clinical interests include depression, anxiety, trauma and PTSD, grief and loss, relational and couples’ counseling, and emotional regulation. I highly value cultural competency and stand for feminism and social justice, holding space for racial minorities, LGBTQ+ folk, people with any form of disability, and any other identities a client values.

Landon Newby (he/him) is a graduate student in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions and expects to graduate in August 2027. Before entering the counseling field, Landon spent more than 15 years working in international humanitarian aid, including extensive work in emergency and crisis-affected settings across more than 20 countries. These experiences shaped his interest in trauma, healing, and resilience.

Landon believes that people possess an innate capacity not only to heal from suffering, but to grow toward greater wholeness, meaning, and connection. His approach is grounded in presence, curiosity, compassion, and genuine human relationship. He is particularly interested in working alongside individuals and families navigating trauma, major life transitions, relationship challenges, and questions of identity, meaning, and purpose.

Landon brings a deeply cross-cultural perspective to his work and values meeting each person within the unique context of their life and experience.

Outside of counseling, Landon enjoys spending time with his family, meditation, travel, and being outdoors—particularly kitesurfing, freediving, and hiking.

Landon is under the supervision of Dan Baur, MA, LPC, LPCS, License No. LPC.0002542.

Landon Newby (he/him) is a graduate student in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions and expects to graduate in August 2027. Before entering the counseling field, Landon spent more than 15 years working in international humanitarian aid, including extensive work in emergency and crisis-affected settings across more than 20 countries. These experiences shaped his interest in trauma, healing, and resilience.

Landon believes that people possess an innate capacity not only to heal from suffering, but to grow toward greater wholeness, meaning, and connection. His approach is grounded in presence, curiosity, compassion, and genuine human relationship. He is particularly interested in working alongside individuals and families navigating trauma, major life transitions, relationship challenges, and questions of identity, meaning, and purpose.

Landon brings a deeply cross-cultural perspective to his work and values meeting each person within the unique context of their life and experience.

Outside of counseling, Landon enjoys spending time with his family, meditation, travel, and being outdoors—particularly kitesurfing, freediving, and hiking.

Landon is under the supervision of Dan Baur, MA, LPC, LPCS, License No. LPC.0002542.

Quaneisha Collins (she/her) is a graduate counselor intern pursuing her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health at Colorado Christian University, with expected graduation in May 2028.

Quaneisha began her academic journey at Colorado State University:  Pueblo in 2008, earning a Bachelor of Arts in History, graduating in  2012. Her background in history deeply informs her counseling practice she views each client’s life through a rich, context-driven lens,  recognizing how personal origin stories, cultural roots, and past lived  experiences shape present strengths and choices.

Building on this foundation, Quaneisha brings over ten years of  leadership in supportive services, crisis intervention, and community  advocacy across the Denver and Aurora areas. Her clinical approach  centers on providing culturally responsive, trauma-informed care for  individuals, couples, and families navigating complex life transitions,  stress, systemic barriers, and relational dynamics. Grounded in empathy  and systemic insight, she collaborates with clients to honor where they  have been while empowering them to author their next chapter.

Outside of the office, Quaneisha enjoys spending quality time with  family, hiking Colorado trails, engaging in local media projects, and  creating magical events to celebrate awkward moments.

Incorporating psychotherapeutic modalities including gestalt, IFS, and depth psychology along side eastern contemplative philosophies and practices. I aim to leave no stone unturned in our exploration of how we can truly optimize our experience. My goal is to assist others in navigating life’s most trying difficulties. Primarily depression, loneliness, anxiety, and relationship troubles. While also making space for the client to increase their capacity for joy, ease, and understanding.

Shelby Kindem is a pre-licensed mental health counselor with a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling and a specialization in Somatic Body-Psychotherapy. She offers an embodied, trauma-informed, and humanistic approach, grounded in authenticity and relational depth. Shelby works with children, adults, and couples, supporting each client in exploring their unique histories, values, and aspirations—physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

Shelby integrates Child-Centered Play Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, and Somatic Body-Psychotherapy. With children, she uses a playful, strengths-based approach to nurture confidence and self-trust. With adults and couples, Shelby draws on Gestalt and somatic methods to welcome the present moment, deepen self-awareness, and foster meaningful connection. Her work invites clients into a healing process through movement, creativity, and felt-sense exploration, within a space of safety, curiosity, and respect.

I have been working with individuals and groups seeking healing, transformation, and connection since 2016. I received a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Naropa University in 2025 where I studied Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology.

To me, this work is, above all, about relationship. Whether it’s a relationship with oneself, other people, work, activities, or nature, life is an ongoing relationship. So, how do we operate in relationship with harmony, joy, wisdom, and love? The answer to that question is the essence of what this counseling work is all about. In the process we will become more naturally who we are, face our fears, find humor and purpose in the mysteriousness of life, and discover how we most naturally give our gifts to the world.

I love working with couples, family members, individuals, and feel great purpose in working with men. I welcome young men and see them as being at a prime stage in life to learn about themselves and begin to cultivate a way of being that the world needs tremendously right now.

I wish you the absolute best on your journey and would be truly honored to join you along the way.

My passion is helping people struggling with difficult interpersonal relationships, interrupted careers, and symptoms like depression, anxiety, addiction, conflict, loneliness, and spiritual crises so that they can build the life they want.  If you have been struggling with longtime patterns of not getting what you need in life despite trying really hard, and maybe feeling confused, exhausted, hopeless, abandoned, or that life has no meaning, I’d like to help.

I believe everyone has an innate ability and inclination to heal, and that the process of therapy is a joint exploration of awareness that allows you to activate your own healing capacity. In this process you learn to discern and meet your own needs through creative adaptation to your circumstances, to discover and fulfill your dreams, and to give your life peace, purpose and meaning.

I come to counseling after a career in high tech as an engineer, manager and company founder. I have also studied and practice non-dual spiritual self-inquiry. My greatest joy is watching someone flower into their full and integrated self, and build a life they are delighted by. I enjoy working with and have experience helping people of all backgrounds, ages, genders, and sexual orientations, individually or in couples settings.

I also enjoy meditation, cooking Chinese food, baking sourdough bread, and walking the trails in the beautiful mountains of Colorado with my partner and my dog, Grace.

Feeling overwhelmed, stuck in repeating patterns, or facing constant self-criticism? You’re not alone. I work with individuals and couples navigating anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, high stress, and life transitions.

I offer a grounded, nonjudgmental space where we focus on what matters most to you—whether that’s improving relationships, easing emotional distress, or finding a greater sense of clarity and direction.

My approach is rooted in contemplative psychotherapy, a mind-body practice that supports nervous system regulation by bringing awareness to emotions and their physical expression. This work can help you develop insight, self-compassion, and more stability, even in the midst of uncertainty. I’m not here to “fix” you, but to help you reconnect with your own clarity, resilience, and inherent wisdom.

Before becoming a therapist, I spent nearly a decade as an international corporate attorney. I understand the demands of high-performance environments, as well as the deeper questions that can arise when success doesn’t feel like enough.

Whether you’re facing a specific challenge or a general sense that something isn’t quite right, we can explore it together at your pace.

I believe that one of the most healing experiences in life is to be deeply seen—not for who we should be, but for who we already are.

My intention is to create a space where you don’t have to perform, hide, or have everything figured out. Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or simply longing to understand yourself more deeply, I hope our work together can become a place where you feel genuinely welcomed, supported, and fully human.

I received my Master’s degree in Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling from Naropa University. My work is grounded in mindfulness-based transpersonal psychotherapy and informed by Gestalt therapy, somatic therapy, attachment theory, parts work, shadow work, contemplative psychology. I see therapy not simply as solving problems, but as an opportunity to cultivate deeper awareness, authenticity, and connection with yourself and others.

Having lived and studied across cultures, I understand the challenges of navigating identity, belonging, and major life transitions. I enjoy working with teenagers and adults experiencing anxiety, relationship challenges, self-discovery, cross-cultural adjustment, perfectionism, and questions about purpose and meaning.

Therapy is offered in both English and Mandarin Chinese.

Andrew O’Reilly (he/him) is a Licensed Professional Counselor Candidate (LPCC) offering mindfulness-based, trauma-informed therapy for individuals, children, and families. Grounded in Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology, Andrew brings warmth, presence, and curiosity to helping clients navigate anxiety, life transitions, self-esteem, family stress, and identity.

Andrew believes that each person has an innate capacity for wisdom and resilience—what he calls “brilliant sanity.” Through mindfulness, relational therapy, and play therapy, he helps clients reconnect with that inner strength and develop greater self-compassion.

Certified in Play Therapy, Andrew has a particular interest in working with children, families, highly sensitive individuals, athletes, veterans, and people from diverse cultural backgrounds. His approach is grounded, compassionate, and collaborative, creating a space where clients can feel truly seen while discovering their own path forward.

Andrew holds a Master’s degree in Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology from Naropa University and completed a two-year Mindfulness Teacher Training with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. Outside of therapy, he enjoys rock climbing, hiking, meditation, nature, and connecting with people from all walks of life.

Andrew offers therapy online throughout Colorado.

Andrew O’Reilly (he/him) is a Licensed Professional Counselor Candidate (LPCC) offering mindfulness-based, trauma-informed therapy for individuals, children, and families. Grounded in Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology, Andrew brings warmth, presence, and curiosity to helping clients navigate anxiety, life transitions, self-esteem, family stress, and identity.

Andrew believes that each person has an innate capacity for wisdom and resilience—what he calls “brilliant sanity.” Through mindfulness, relational therapy, and play therapy, he helps clients reconnect with that inner strength and develop greater self-compassion.

Certified in Play Therapy, Andrew has a particular interest in working with children, families, highly sensitive individuals, athletes, veterans, and people from diverse cultural backgrounds. His approach is grounded, compassionate, and collaborative, creating a space where clients can feel truly seen while discovering their own path forward.

Andrew holds a Master’s degree in Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology from Naropa University and completed a two-year Mindfulness Teacher Training with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. Outside of therapy, he enjoys rock climbing, hiking, meditation, nature, and connecting with people from all walks of life.

Andrew offers therapy online throughout Colorado.