Briana Johnson, LPC, LAC (she/her)

 

My personal story

I’m curious about the world and interested in almost any topic. I tend to panic when asked what my hobbies are and say that I knit, which, while true, does not always make me a hit at parties. I spend most of my free time chasing my small children with my partner. Otherwise, you’ll catch me scrambling to finish the latest book for my murder mystery book club, doing yoga, or watching trashy dating shows. It's called balance, okay?

I’ve wanted to be a therapist since I knew what that was, and my friends nicknamed me “the psychiatrist” on the playground as a kid. I love people—their stories, dreams, and quirks—and I’m not a big fan of small talk, so this work has been a good fit. I’m deeply grateful for the work I get to do and consider it a privilege that I talk to people about how to do life well every day.

I am a queer professional who’s faced imposter syndrome, burnout, and started my own business to create a sustainable life where I can thrive. I’m on my own journey of learning to rest and pursue the things I most value in life. I want to walk alongside others in creating lives we love that feel sustainable.

My Professional Story

The heart of my clinical work has always been queer and trans-affirming therapy. I discovered I was queer myself in graduate school, and my clinical journey began over a decade ago during my internship at the Gender Identity Center of Colorado in Denver, where I worked with transgender adults.

That experience shaped the foundation of my career and led me to work across almost every level of care — from outpatient counseling to intensive residential treatment — with a focus on LGBTQ therapy in Denver.

Along the way, I took a position in a substance use treatment facility. What started as “just a job” became a passion. I came to see that we often turn to substances to meet very real human needs — but the relief they provide rarely lasts. My time in this work deepened my understanding of substance use therapy and how healing requires compassion, not shame.

Over the years, I noticed that many of my clients’ struggles were rooted in unresolved trauma. To better serve them, I pursued advanced training in experiential and evidence-based methods that create lasting change. I am now trained in:

  • EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)

  • Sensorimotor Psychotherapy for Trauma Themes

  • Parts work (IFS-informed therapy)

Today, much of my work focuses on helping adults heal from trauma and strengthen their relationships. Because relationships are so central to human thriving, therapy often means learning to communicate with confidence, set boundaries, and feel safe advocating for your needs.

My identities:

When we do therapy we both bring different identities into the work. Some of these are more visible, some less so. Among other things, I am white, straight-passing, queer, and able-bodied. Some of those things we might share, and I expect some we won’t. My goal is to make it a safe enough place that we can talk about these when we need to.

I want to understand how your identities show up in your life and the systems you’re a part of. These have a significant impact on mental (and physical) health and we honestly can’t address your mental health well without addressing these!

How I Work

In case you’re looking for a specific approach, you should know I’ve had training in:

  • EMDR allows us to use the body and mind's natural systems to reprocess traumatic memories and take the charge out of them. This helps you feel better in your body, less affected by trauma symptoms, and be better able to move forward in your life. It is the closest I come to magic in my office!

  • SP allows us to access past trauma through the body. As we allow body sensations or movements to come to completion, we let trauma resolve instead of staying stuck within us. I often use SP in conjunction with EMDR.

  • DBT is based in mindfulness and provides many hands-on skills to cope with emergencies, managing emotions day-to-day, and having better relationships. I often focus on the relationship skills to help clients cultivate richer relationships and manage conflict.

  • CBT helps us to identify automatic thoughts that are not helping us feel better or act in ways we like. By noticing and gently challenging our thoughts, we can shift the ways we feel and ultimately act.

  • ACT helps us to create a different relationship to our difficult emotions and live a life in line with our values. We can acknowledge feelings like anxiety are present without letting them stop us from doing things that matter to us.

  • MI can help you get clarity on what you want in life and how and when to move forward. I use MI when addressing big decisions clients are making or in helping address substance use. MI assumes you are the expert in your life and helps you get where YOU want to go.

  • IFS helps us get to know different “parts” of ourselves that may cause us to act in ways we don’t always like due to past experiences or wounds and allows us to offering healing to these parts and help them play less extreme roles in our lives.

    While official IFS trainings through the IFS Institute are difficult to be accepted into, I have completed several IFS trainings with Dr. Kendhal Hart who is an IFS trainer, and therefore how I practice is considered “IFS-informed.”

If you have questions about how I incorporate various treatment modalities into my therapy (and for what diagnoses or problems), let’s set up a consultation! I’m happy to answer your specific questions!

My credentials:

  • Colorado Licensed Professional Counselor

  • Colorado Licensed Addiction Counselor

  • Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

  • Bachelor of Science in Psychology and French

  • EMDR Trained (via the Maiberger Institute)

  • Sensorimotor Psychotherapy-Level I Trauma Themes (via the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Instititute)

  • IFS-Informed (via Dr. Kendhal Hart)

  • Best Laugh—High School Senior Superlative

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