Daily Inspiration: Meet Brooke Jostad

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Jostad.

Brooke, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Specialty Counseling and Consulting was founded in 2010 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, by owner Bob Logan who aimed to develop a mental health agency that adopted the best of both the private practice and the community mental health sectors. In 2019, Specialty Counseling expanded to Colorado and we now have offices in Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, and Wellington. The mission of Specialty Counseling and Consulting is to provide excellent behavioral health services to diverse clients, utilizing a wraparound team of clinicians with evidence-based specialties. Throughout the years in the Colorado community, Specialty Counseling has expanded our services to include individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy, case management services, and wraparound services for individuals in all walks of life. We take all major insurances including Medicare and Medicaid, and we offer a comparatively low private pay rate as well. Recently, we introduced substance use programming, so now we can offer substance use assessments and treatment in Colorado! We are a dynamic team of diverse administrative staff and mental health providers, and we are here to serve the community in whatever way we can!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We have encountered some challenges along the way. Navigating changing insurance dynamics is always an adventure, as policies and regulations are constantly changing. We have also worked hard to accommodate the cultural differences within the different communities we serve while still remaining as uniform as possible as an agency. Another challenge we faced was modifying our services to be more accessible to people during the pandemic in 2020. While we had offered some virtual therapy before that point, we substantially expanded our virtual therapy options when the pandemic hit. We now offer both in person and virtual services.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
am the Colorado Clinical Director for Specialty Counseling. I started in 2019 as a therapist at this agency and my career has evolved from there. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker as well as a Licensed Addictions Counselor. I received my bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and my master’s degree from Colorado State University. I have experience in grant writing, fund raising, lobbying, marketing, and mental health treatment. I have worked with a variety of populations, including youth in diversion, children in residential care, and adults in outpatient and residential care. My primary specializations are in addictions, eating disorders, and anxiety, and my primary treatment approach is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Motivational Interviewing. I am grateful for the variety of settings I have worked in, as I feel each different setting has made me a more well-rounded professional. I am also extremely grateful to be among a team of such talented clinicians with a variety of backgrounds and specializations.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I am definitely a proponent of the idea that experiences may seem like they are “good” or “bad” on the surface, but we often don’t know how things will turn out until we have lived them. For instance, while the pandemic certainly brought a great deal of suffering, it also propelled Specialty Counseling to expand our services to virtual clients. So much of our growth as a business has been spurred by challenges and things that presented as “bad luck” on the surface.

Pricing:

• Our pricing is dependent on copay and insurance, so it is very iindividualized. We discuss prices for services with clients individually before intake.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://specialtycounseling.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SCC.FoCo/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/specialty-counseling-consulting