Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan Pertzborn.
Hi Morgan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Before I begin, I feel it’s important to include a variety of trigger warnings around mention of sexual and emotional trauma, disordered eating, abusive relationships, self-harm and SI.
My mom was told early on that I was a “weird baby” who “didn’t know how to cry.” When I was hungry or upset, I would make little noises that others found to be cute. I was “quirky” since my birth. At the age of 4, I began to be sexually abused by a family friend, which was kept a secret until I was almost 17. This was just the start of my long list of traumas. By fifth grade, I was experiencing suicidal ideation that led to self-harm and disordered eating beginning in middle school. I was bullied for being “fat” and “ugly,” among a long list of other one-liners and more extensive, harmful comments both in person and online. In high school, I met someone who, as a teen, I was so sure was going to be the love of my life. Turns out, this was just another bully. In college, I found myself locked in the bathroom more days than not, participating in self-harm and screaming and crying as my partner would pound on the door, throwing out insults and threats as I tried to crawl as deep as I could into my body and away from my life. I was majoring in Art and was constantly told by my partner that my degree was pointless. I missed class, started drinking in the mornings, and would sleep more than I was awake. One day, I had enough. I left my partner and I took a semester break from school, knowing I would return to continue towards my path to healing. I came back to school, dropped my Art major, and picked up classes in psychology and political justice. Eventually, that led to graduating from college with three majors and a minor and the well-known question, “What’s next for you? What will you do with your Psychology degree?” My response was always, “I don’t know, but I know I definitely don’t want to be a therapist.” 5 years later, with new Autism and ADHD diagnoses, I was holding a new diploma for a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Funny how life works, huh?
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Clearly, life has knocked me down more than I would say it’s lifted me up, particularly in my earlier life. At 16, I got in a fight with my parents and was met with the statement, “I can’t believe you would lie to us like this.” In my teen angst, and in the biggest mental breakdown of my life, I wrote a letter to my mom and dad naming all of the traumas I’d held onto without my parents knowing since I was 4 years old. I was immediately sent to a therapist who, on the second session, told me after a game of Yahtzee that my life choices were leading me to fail in life and that if I wanted to be successful, I needed to be a completely different person. I never went back and I swore off all therapists forever, or so I thought, stating that therapists only existed to make people feel worse. During my Master’s program at Naropa University, I went through two more therapists who were poor fits and I told two of my professors and one of my best friends in the program that I didn’t think being a therapist was really for me. These three supporters pushed me through school, naming how I could be the clinician for others that I never had for myself. That’s such a huge part of my work now, really. I love being honest with my clients about my life struggles and my bad therapy experiences – so many people have such similar human experiences and a lot of us just need someone to be like, “Yeah, I get it. That’s messed up, but where do YOU want things to go from here, right now?” A lot of people need to be invited and accepted into their own lives. It’s sad and frustrating and all of the other feelings, but when people leave feeling empowered and embodied and real, magic happens and you can see it glow all around them.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I specialize in working with PTSD and Autism through pretty much all stages of life. I work with kids as young as 2 years old, teens, adults, families, and parents. A lot of my work centers around using art and expressive means to work through pain. Though I use an eclectic approach with my clients, so much of our work together centers around narrative reframing, personal relating, and self-expression. I love using play therapy with kids and teens, but I always get excited when a client is interested in painting or using other mediums as a form of self-expression and self-care. Art was a major key to my own personal healing, so I know how much it can help people work through a variety of mental health concerns as well as beliefs around perfectionism and designated roles, among other things. I graduated with my counseling degree in Spring 2024, but I’ve already built credibility around my modalities and knowledge and it feels really great to be acknowledged in that way.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Art (and therapy) is for everyone, and I believe that people who disagree just haven’t found the right fit. There are so many different materials and methods for creating – it’s in our nature to be a little playful and messy and to self-express in a variety of ways, people just need to go for it. Enjoy the process – it’s easy to get caught up in wanting the final outcome to look like some sort of masterpiece, but life isn’t perfect, and meaningful art doesn’t need to be either.
Pricing:
- Variety of Insurance Accepted, Medicaid Accepted
- Private Pay $125 Individual Sessions
- Private Pay $180 Family Sessions
- Sliding Scale Available through Open Path
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.newcounselingcolorado.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newcounseling/#
- Other: https://psychologytoday.com/profile/1300878
