Meet Alison Dearborn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alison Dearborn.

Hi Alison, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I had been a fine art painter for about 15 years when in 2008, a series of life events shook up my world, including my two children heading for college, a divorce, the economic downturn, closing of two businesses on Pearl Street, midlife changes, and putting our family home, which my former husband and I had built 19 years before, on the market. If that were not enough, I suffered a traumatic loss when my rock climbing partner lost his grip and fell. He died from head injuries four days later. A few days after the climbing accident, I went to see a Somatic Experiencing™ (SE) therapist at the urging of a dear friend because I felt that I was half in the world and half out. I had never experienced such a devastating loss. I didn’t know what SE was, but I was ready for any relief I could get from sleepless nights and the traumatic visions of the accident that were replaying in my head. SE helped me to come back into my body again. I was amazed at how this way of working with trauma healed the physiological injury I experienced. Being a professional fine artist was a dream of mine my whole life, but I couldn’t muster the desire to do it as I had been anymore after that fateful experience. It had lost its meaning for me. I found I wanted to focus on the process of making art rather than the product. I changed my medium from paint to beads and began making postcard-sized intuitive bead embroidery pieces just for myself. I would start with an issue or an intention. From there, I would choose the ingredients: the fabric, the colors, the beads according to what felt intuitively right.

By the time the artwork was complete, I had a new insight that helped me release or process through difficulty. I began teaching other women this technique of making process artwork, each telling their own story. Through my studio workshops, I realized how much I enjoyed teaching and diving deeper—seeing the light of awareness flicker on in others. After a solo retreat to New Mexico one weekend in 2017, I realized that I should go to graduate school and become a licensed professional counselor. It felt like a calling I couldn’t ignore. I wanted to work with people who had suffered trauma so, I also decided to study Somatic Experiencing at the same time.

I signed on to the Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Mental Health Counseling master’s program at Naropa and started training at the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute (SETI). I began working with private clients as I entered my advanced year in SE. It felt natural to me and the benefits of it were evident in my clients. Now, as I finish my last year of graduate school, I’m so happy to be working with women through the Colorado Women’s Center in Boulder, Longmont, And Broomfield. I signed on as a clinical intern until May of 2021. I see women of many walks of life who are going through transitions, feeling the weight of our global pandemic, or who want some support around managing life events. Even though I primarily work with women, I also believe in the importance of all genders finding their way to healing their past. We are all incredibly strong and resilient. I have two daughters of my own and a grandson and granddaughter now. I hope to do my part in our world to make life easier for future generations of people by being a healer for those in this one.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I wouldn’t say it has been a smooth path but more like an incredible journey with miraculous twists and turns. One of my struggles was trusting, where I felt drawn to go with my career. I had an identity built around being a fine artist. It felt difficult and scary to let go of that idea of myself. It was a process that took some time and, at moments, I felt like I had failed somehow because I didn’t remain a professional artist. Now I know that ultimately, art is in my blood, and I will always be an artist. I have just changed my professional medium yet again. That being said, I continue to make various kinds of art in my garden studio behind my house, including but not limited to braided rugs, printed papers, books, and lampwork glass beads. I have also developed interesting hobbies such as gardening and beekeeping, which has an element of the spiritual in it. It is meditative and evokes awe in me every time I watch them take their daily forays into the garden. I could watch them for hours. I’ve learned that the challenges I’ve faced always have a silver lining after a bit of time has passed. That’s a real Truth in my experience.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I currently work at the Colorado Women’s Center (in our Boulder, Longmont, and Broomfield offices) as a clinical intern. I think of psychotherapy as an art form in which I incorporate several modalities that draw out the client’s innate ability to heal. I like to be creative with my clients. I weave together Somatic Experiencing with Internal Family Systems, Gestalt, and attachment theory to help my clients make connections and discoveries within themselves. I also incorporate the use of the Enneagram for people who are interested in developing themselves psycho-spiritually. Primarily, I desire to cultivate safe and nurturing relationships with my clients, really getting to know them and discovering together what might best assist them in strengthening their resiliency and self-regulation. I’m continually amazed by the human capacity to heal I see in my clients in every session. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a witness to that healing and to watch my clients go on to thrive no matter what their past experiences have been.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I came to Boulder when I was 18 to attend the University of Colorado. I remember coming up over Davidson Mesa on Highway 36 (then a 2-lane highway) and seeing Boulder for the first time. I thought, “Yep, this is where I’m going to live.” I love the beauty here. I’m sad about the increase in traffic and the litter on the streets that I see now.

Contact Info:

• Address: Colorado Women’s Center 1500 28th St. Boulder 720-810-2355
• Email: adearborn@coloradowomenscenter.com
• Website: http://coloradowomenscenter.com

Image Credits
Jamie Kraus Photography Alison Dearborn