Faq
What are your office hours?
My office hours are by appointment and my full day intensives are usually from 8 to 3 or 9 to 4. If you are booking a full day with me we can make it work with your schedule weekends or weekdays. Text me @ 9706977995
How long is a typical session?
1. I am offering a free 15 minute consultation call to discuss EMDR and your question for the process.
2. For a Full- Day intensive we will do an 7 hour day with 10 to 15 minute bio/brain breaks every 90 minutes and 60 minute lunch break in the middle.
What do I do to get started?
Fill out the contact footer on this website with your name, email address, and phone # and I will send you a link to my online portal where you will fill out your intake paperwork.
I do all of my paperwork online, so you just log in with your link, and electronically read, fill out, and sign the paperwork. It really is pretty simple.
What is the hourly fee?
I have stopped doing hourly sessions when doing trauma work. We do full or half day intensives. I bill $1200 for a full day intensive or $600 for a half day.
How do I pay?
Cash, check, apple pay, HSA, FSA or credit card. I will work with you around payment plans if that supports you.
How do I make an appointment?
Click on the CONTACT tab in the upper right hand corner of this website. Fill out the footer with your name, email address, phone number, and a brief message about what type of services you are looking for. I will reply by sending you a link to read, sign, and fill out my initial intake paperwork. After that is complete we will put you on the schedule.
Can I cancel an appointment? What is your cancellation policy?
Of course. Please notify me 48 hours ahead of time, so that I can sleep in, go to the gym, get a snack, or fill your spot with another client.
Who is your perfect client?
Rhett and Link from good mythical morning. That would be amazing…
Meaning Centered Coaching: People who are aware of self limiting beliefs and also aware that they have big dreams and visions and they are feeling stuck- I am a champion for the underdog story and am excited to be a catalyst with you as you choose into going after your dreams!
Meaning Centered EMDR: People seeking help with resolving symptoms of PTSD using EMDR.
What age range do you work with?
Age 5 and older.
Do you work with men?
Yes. I specialize in working with “men’s issues.”
Women? Yes, many of my clients are women.
Couples? Yes, I enjoy working with couples and look forward to developing a plan that works for you both.
Adolescents? Yes, I have a special heart for working with children. I’ve been involved with summer camps for youth leadership and coaching youth into personal responsibility and ownership for their lives! I have been involved with elementary education sense 2005. Most recently, I worked as a school counselor serving over 750 elementary students, and I have a lot of resources and insight into the world of adolescent counseling.
Are you LGBTQIA friendly?
Yes, I am. I’ve had several clients from various orientations who needed help resolving relationship issues or healing from traumatic stress. I am honored to work with you.
Do you work with people from diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, and religions?
Yes I do. I love working with people who are different than me. I get bored with myself…
As a professional counselor, and a curious person, I’m excited to get to know about you.
What can I expect in the first session?
The 90 minutes of your full day intensive is the intro session. We’ll meet each other and go over any questions you may have and I will explain the process and access for resources to support you intensive. We’ll work together to develop a treatment plan for your intensive process mapping out your history and the targets we will focus on resolving. We may work through a chart of your family history and identify patterns and areas for further work. We’ll then identify the method of EMDR that will work best for you, so that we can reconcile with your past heal in the present and move towards a life worth living.
What is counseling like with you?
Here are some quotes from clients and colleagues who’ve experienced working with me. I am required to not share personally identifiable information about any of my clients and so while they all volunteered to openly share their names I will choose to protect their confidentiality.
“Mac is a person who I would feel safe talking to about all of my life issues.”
“Mac has incredibly sharp clinical skills as a professional counselor.”
“Mac is a man of integrity who is constantly working with us to find sources of disturbance and solutions for moving forward in our relationship.”
“It was nice to work with Mac as I feel truly heard.”
“Mr. Fish is my favorite teacher because he helps me with my emotions and with real life!”
“Mac saved my life, and helped me find reasons to live for.”
“Doing EMDR with Mac was a uniquely beautiful journey. I feel like I am able to live my life instead of watching it just go by.”
How long will I be in counseling?
My goal, with every client, is to work myself out of a job… In as few as 3 full day intensives, you can experience dynamic shifts in your perception of yourself and your somatic experience of trauma. The average length of treatment for my clients has been 3 to 5 full-day intensives.
Does anyone cry in front of you?
I like this question. Short answer is yep.
Sometimes when people are feeling safe with me, they will cry. This is a sacred moment that I am honored to share with you, if, and when, it happens.
Do I have to tell you everything?
Nope. The counseling process is all about you.
You get to choose what you tell me, and whatever you share with me is what we work with. No more and no less.
Who benefits from counseling?
People who take the first step towards healing. Humans have a natural capacity to heal each other from speaking and being heard by a valued listener.
Counseling provides an opportunity for anyone to experience healing this way.
Is there anyone you won’t see?
I really like this question! The only person I will not see is the person who chooses not to show up. The person who chooses to work with me needs to be able to communicate with me. I am monolingual unfortunately so that restricts my ability to help only english speaking people. I also am not qualified to work with 0-3 year olds.
What can a counselor do?
As a counselor, I can do all sorts of things that normal humans do: snowboard, swim, bike, run, play with dogs, read and write poetry, sing and play guitar, listen and even teach music, and eat ice cream.
My super powers are that I can join you in your journey and provide insight and a listening ear. In some cases, I can help instigate and motivate you towards healing in your nervous system if you’re suffering from emotional trauma. More about that in the next question!
What is EMDR?
EMDR is an acronym for Eye, Movement, Desensitization, and Reprocessing. Basically it helps people get unstuck. It is a very powerful evidence-based method of counseling towards recovery from addictions, PTSD, anxiety and depression, and various other trauma related issues. Learn more about EMDR.
Do you offer video or phone sessions?
Yes, I do in some instances where meeting live is just not possible. If online, it is through my video software that provides a reasonably secure virtual environment for confidentiality. It is important to acknowledge that NO virtual platform is impervious to hacking in this modern age of technology and confidentiality is not guaranteed as a result.
What kind of groups do you have in your practice?
I do have training and a ton of experience in running groups, and have an interest in providing nervous system resource groups, abuse recovery groups, bonding and boundary groups, and communication groups. My groups require at least 4 participants. At times I will have a co-facilitator.
What else can I try to help myself?
Healthy food intake, reasonable exercise, and sleep/rest. As we work together, we’ll consider various activities for you to try.
How do I know if you are the right counselor for me?
I highly recommend that you read more about me on this website, and commit to meeting with me for an intake session. If by the end of this initial session you feel like we are not a good match let me know. I will honor your needs and provide you with value regardless of your choice.
Are you a Christian counselor?
Yes, I am. For those of you who are not interested in Christianity or Christian counseling, please understand that I have no agenda here. My heart is to build relationships and provide healing regardless of your worldview.
I work with all people, and I only talk about faith on your terms. This process is about you, not me.
Is our work confidential? (For Couples)
As far as our work goes, I am legally bound to keep your information confidential, unless you are demonstrating a lethal danger to yourself or others or report abuse of others as I am a mandated reporter and have to follow the laws in that regard.
Do couples fight in front of you?
It can get heated, sometimes. But it’s a safe place to be heard and validated without resorting to old patterns that just make it worse. We will talk, in length, about what this means as we work towards resolution.
Do you take sides?
Often people are afraid to go to counseling, because they “know” that the counselor will just take sides. Inevitably, the outcome for this couple is negative.
My role in couples counseling is not so simple as taking one side or the other. Sometimes there are years of painful stuff to work through. It requires us to look at things from every possible side and figure out what is really missing. I am on the side of healing and I will join with you as we join through the truth.
What do you enjoy about being a counselor?
I love seeing people make connections and discoveries about themselves. Watching a person’s lights turn on and discover hope is very meaningful to me.
Have you been in counseling or life coaching for yourself?
Yes! I have been and continue to seek out life coaching, and counseling help. I believe in what I do, and I’m choosing to get help for myself.
What is your educational background?
Colorado Christian University: 2014-2016
Master of Arts in CounselingPhoenix Seminary: 2009, 2013
Masters of Divinity (incomplete- 15 credits completed)South African Theological Seminary: 2010
Associates degree in missiologyUniversity of Utah: 2006-2008
Bachelor of Music Education
Professional Educators License, secondary, Music endorsement- k-12Australian National University, Canberra Australia: 2004
Graduate Diploma of Music PerformanceUniversity of Northern Colorado, Greeley: 1998-2003
Bachelor of Music Performance
Montezuma Cortez High School: 1994-1998
What is the best way to get in touch with you?
Fill out the footer thing on this website. You can text me at (970) 697-7995 or email me at mac.fish@healfromtrauma.com. I am pretty busy and it may take me a second to get back to you if you call or email but I am pretty good at responding within 24 hours.
Do you prescribe medications?
No, I don’t.
Do you take notes?
Yes I do, but not while we’re working together. My notes are generalized and pertain to helping me better serve you as a client.
Do I have to lie on a couch?
LOL! If you want to lie down on the couch, you can.
I haven’t had any adults do that, yet. Most of my kiddos like to build forts out of my couch cushions and then lay down for a nap after we read a story and talk about stuff. To be honest I wish more people would do this.
If you want to take a nap, trust me – there are days that I would pay sweet money to take an hour-long nap at a counselors office! Pillow forts are cool and Naps are the best…
Am I allowed to ask personal questions?
Sure. I do self disclose and am a real person. You will notice that I’m going to answer you naturally, and redirect the focus to you, because you’re paying me for counseling, not the other way around.
I hope that you will ask me some questions to get to know me a little better.
What apps make your life better?
Kindle, sleep hypnosis, Spotify, 3D brain, wild at heart, streaks, tapping solutions
Cats or Dogs?
Fish!! lol I really enjoy keeping fish. I miss my cat Coco and I had a fluffy dog named Sven who was a goof ball of snuggles and love. I suppose that means both and…