Hello!
I'm Claire Kagan, MA LSW (she/her), a Licensed Professional Social Worker. Going through a major life transition is enough to push anyone to their limits. When we engage in a therapeutic partnership, you're invited to a safe and judgment-free space that allows you to talk candidly about whatever you're going through, and all of the challenges that come with it. Together, we will build the necessary skills, community, and resilience to help you navigate your life with more calm, confidence, presence, power, and enjoyment.
Phone
Call or Text Me!
(303) 900-8225
My Approach to Therapy
My approach to therapy is rooted in reverence for the significance of what it means to embark on the journey of starting a family - whatever that looks like for you. Through our work together, you will build the skills and confidence to navigate this transition with self-compassion, trust, and alignment with your own values.
By establishing a compassionate, gentle, open therapeutic relationship in our sessions, we will tailor your care to your unique journey. You can come as you are, and I'll meet you there, so that we can move forward, side by side. Whether you're in the midst of preconception, infertility, loss, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, new parenthood, or another transitional moment in life, I will utilize evidence-based practices including somatic techniques, mindfulness, DBT skills, and more, to help you bring more spaciousness, ease, and fulfillment into this precious phase of your life.
The Concerns I Specialize in Treating
Preconception
If you're considering embarking on the journey of starting a family, step one is setting the stage for your own holistic wellbeing. This includes connecting with resources, community, and care that aligns with your needs and goals. I love helping my clients unlearn some of the patterns that no longer serve them, create healthier boundaries and communication styles within their partnerships and relationships, and establish a supportive self-care regime. All of this can promote a more peaceful and empowered transition into parenthood.
Infertility & Loss
If you're in the midst of a grieving process, it's important to have a safe space where you can allow your emotions to move. I help clients locate self-compassion and patience during and after the devastation that comes with loss. Eventually, this also includes processing the experience, releasing shame, and moving forward in a way that honors your past, while gently holding hope for the future.
Pregnancy
As a birth doula and childbirth educator, I am passionate about supporting women through their experiences of pregnancy and birth. I help clients explore their fears and hopes, plan for their wellbeing throughout the process, and prepare for the coming transitions. My clients are empowered with education, self-advocacy skills, and comprehensive resources, which create a supportive environment in this phase and the next.
Postpartum
In this incredibly sensitive life stage, having someone in your corner is paramount. I help my clients in their early days of parenthood by holding sacred space for everything that comes up: the good, the bad, the sleep-deprived, the milk-stained, and the ugly! Within this accepting and affirming environment, you're able to process and explore your experience without the expectation to justify, explain, or feel guilty. When new moms get to come as they are and feel however they feel, true healing can happen.
New Parenthood
Using my education in Early Childhood Development, as well as my experience working in Early Intervention, I love helping parents build skills and confidence while raising young people! I provide psychoeducation and connect parents with resources that can help ease the challenges that can come with having little ones.
My Story
I became a holistic, perinatal-focused mental health therapist because in my personal life, I have walked with many loved ones through the transitions that come along with infertility, loss, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. I have seen firsthand how important it is to have quality support that you can trust.
This led me to become a birth doula and childbirth educator, where I've had the honor and pleasure of supporting births in hospitals, birth centers, and homes, for a wide variety of clients with greatly differing personalities, needs, and life circumstances. The one thing that everyone has in common: the desire to feel safe, seen, heard, and held. This is always my goal for my clients, inside and outside of their birth portals.
Witnessing birth has instilled in me a great respect for what it means to embark on the journey of starting a family. Know that if you trust me with your care, I will treat that decision as the gift and honor that it is.
Education & Professional Training
Master of Social Work
New York University, 3.9 gpa
Bachelor of Social Work
Minor Psychology
The University of Alabama, 3.8 gpa
License to Practice
Licensed Professional Social Worker, Colorado (LSW #0009926044)
Additional Credentials & Training
Certified Birth Doula - DONA International
Certified Hypnodoula - Hypnobabies
Educator - Evidence Based Birth
Registered Yoga Teacher 500 - Yoga Alliance (Training by YogaWorks (200 hour) and Y7 Studio (300 hour)
Books I Recommend
Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts :: by Karen Kleiman, MSW, LCSW
This Isn't What I Expected :: by Karen Kleiman, MSW, LCSW and Valerie Davis Raskin, MD
The Birth Partner :: by Penny Simkin, PT
Pleasure Activism :: by Adrienne Marie Brown
Witches, Midwives, and Nurses :: by Barbara Ehrenrich and Deirdre English