Emily Isaacs, MA, M.Ed, LPC, Counseling for Individuals and Couples
  • About Emily
    • Meet Emily
    • Professional Background
    • In the News
  • Specialties
    • Individual Therapy
    • Couples Therapy
    • For all who love the outdoors
  • Work With Me
    • Locations and Fees
  • Contact

Professional Background and Training

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I have almost twenty of clinical experience, in settings ranging from intensive wilderness therapy treatment programs, a walk-in crisis clinic, Boulder Community Hospital, retreats with female veterans, and private practice. 

I hold a Masters degree from Naropa University in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology, an approach that honors the importance of body, mind, heart, and spirit in the therapeutic process.  I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in both Colorado and Wyoming, and I am an adjunct instructor at Naropa University in the Wilderness Therapy Masters program.  I serve as the Mental Health Advisor for both NOLS, a non-profit global wilderness and leadership school, and Women's Wilderness, a non-profit that supports women, girls, and the LGBTQ2+ community in accessing their power through outdoor activities.


I have training in the following modalities: 
  • Mindfulness and Meditation
  • Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT, level 2)
  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
  • Gestalt Therapy
  • Motivational Interviewing
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion via the Avarna Group and OUT Boulder
  • Non-Violent Communication
Additionally, I draw strongly from Hakomi and parts work.

As an educator and outdoor professional, I have twenty years of experience guiding and instructing backpacking, climbing, and boating expeditions from one to twelve weeks in length.  For ten of these years, I was working year-round in the deserts and mountains of Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, California and Oregon, living, working, and teaching in conditions ranging from 70 degrees and sunny to a zero degree blizzard.  I absolutely love teaching outdoors and particularly love sharing my passion for baking back-country pizza, reading maps, and making fire from a bow-drill set.  I have worked extensively with teens and young adults navigating complex mental health issues.
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My leadership resume includes hiring and training guides for Open Sky Wilderness Therapy, serving as a lead instructor for Outward Bound and The National Outdoor Leadership School, and serving as the Executive Director for Women’s Wilderness for four years.  As the Executive Director, I rescued an iconic outdoor program when it was about to close doors, tripled the operation budget over the course of 4 years, and led a team of 7 office staff in launching transformational new programming, including the Queer Wilderness Project, Trailblazers: Outdoor Leadership for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and Summit Sisters, an annual 3-day retreat for over 120 participants.  Additionally, I am the founder of “Jumping Mouse, the Gathering of the Guides,” a wilderness therapy guide conference that ran for 9 years, and Women’s Climbing Circle, a women’s climbing series at Movement Climbing and Fitness in Boulder that has skyrocketed in popularity.  Community building is dear to my heart.

I hold a Masters in Education from the University of California at Santa Cruz and have classroom experience teaching in middle and high schools.

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720.738.3530
emily@emilyisaacscounseling.com
Offices in Boulder and Golden, CO
​Licensed in Colorado and Wyoming
Individuals, Couples, and Wilderness Experiences

  • About Emily
    • Meet Emily
    • Professional Background
    • In the News
  • Specialties
    • Individual Therapy
    • Couples Therapy
    • For all who love the outdoors
  • Work With Me
    • Locations and Fees
  • Contact