Colin Priest
Personal Background:
My entire career has been involved in mental health in one way or another. I began my Masters program at Drake University in 2018 and completed my education in 2021. Very quickly my interest focused on trauma-informed care and helping individuals overcome their past. Since then my approach has focused around trauma care, anxiety, attachment and relationships, and healing from the past, both in mind and in body.
My training in couples therapy focuses on the relationship dynamic as the “client”. I help couples improve communication with practical skills as well as help them to improve the quality of their relationship. I work with married couples, pre-marriage counseling, and romantic relationships in general. The training I’ve received in couples therapy is mainly derived from a Gottman Couples Therapy approach but I also incorporate relaxation and mindfulness, EMDR, positive psychology, as well as a trauma-informed perspective to relationships.
Values
Empathy & Understanding: When people are suffering, confused, hopeless or in pain, my goal is to understand that pain from your perspective and what those experiences meant to you. I may not have lived the same experiences, but I hope to understand how it impacted you. One message I convey early in therapy is “Let’s leave judgment outside the therapy office. You can pick it back up when you leave, but for here let’s get curious instead”.
Respect & Autonomy: I honor your values and personality, your freedom to choose how to live your life; I keep my personal beliefs outside the room. I believe each person has the power and responsibility to choose how they live their lives. My goal is to help empower you to choose a better life that makes sense to you.
Trustworthiness & Privacy: What you say in therapy is between you and me. I guard my client’s privacy about what we discuss in therapy.
Collaborative: Therapy is you and me working together to improve your life. I’m not the expert on your life, you are. I learn from you in this regard. I’m the expert on what may help improve your life. We work together to improve your life.
Empowerment: You have what it takes within you to change your life, to make it better. My work is to help you reclaim that power and confidence in yourself.
Hope: Your life can get better. It can grow into something worth living. It takes work, but it’s worth it.
Specialization & Credentials:
I am EMDR trained and have been using this with my clients since 2021. I find it is one of the fastest to work through difficult emotions, images, and memories.
Gottman Couples Therapy: I practice Gottman Couples Therapy, an evidence-based practice for teaching couples practical skills to improve their relationship satisfaction. I am currently pursuing Level 3 and I plan on becoming a Gottman Certified by the end of 2024.
I treat a variety of issues and symptoms including Anxiety disorders, OCD, mood disorders such as Bipolar, Depressive disorders, PTSD and CPTSD and other trauma-related disorders. I also treat married couples, pre-marital and engaged couples, committed partnerships and long-term romantic relationships. I do not currently see families or children under 18yo but I do intend to see them after I receive sufficient training. More on that to come at a later date.
- Masters in Counseling (Drake University, 2021)
- Licensed Mental Health Counselor (State of Iowa)
- Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (2021)
- Gottman Level 3 Trained (2024)
- EMDR trained (2022)
- Licensed Massage Therapist (2022) – *I do not offer massages to my current or past mental health clients or vice-versa