Hidden Gems: Meet Heidi Kalak of Heidi Kalak Counseling, LLC.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Heidi Kalak.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up as the fifth generation on my family’s Wyoming ranch. I have always known the stories of my relatives; their struggles, their successes, their dreams, through the journey of establishing their home on the land they homesteaded. I have always been so thankful to know where I come from, and the stories of those who came before me shaped my sense of self and identity. I have also always had a love of nature, animals, and the world of plants. I left Wyoming when I was 18 and drove across the country and went to college in Washington. I started managing an organic farm. It was here that I started to formulate my vision of how I wanted to help people someday. I believe that my fascination with stories, what makes a person who they are, the struggles, the doubt, the strengths, the determination, the human spirit, was what ultimately led me to pursue a masters degree in social work. I had been so lucky to have the opportunity to know my own voice, that I wanted to not only help others shape and tell their stories, I wanted to provide a voice to those whose voices are seldom heard or silenced. The most vulnerable people need to be heard, which is the heart of the practice of social work. I still had struggles of my own to face, however. I began my journey to become a social worker and gave birth to twin girls in the middle of my program. I also had a 3 and a half year old son at the time. I graduated with help from family and friends when I needed them the most. I finished my degree only to begin my first job at the onset of a divorce. I kept going. I developed myself as a therapist, I connected with my colleagues, and mentors, I gave everything to my work with clients and their healing journeys in therapy and I came home to my babies and gave them even more. I was determined as a single mother that I would give my children the best life I possibly could. During the day I was helping clients manage depression and anxiety and difficult relationships and in the evenings I was reading books, singing, bathing, and rocking my babies. Sometimes I would collapse with exhaustion at night. In the fall of 2019 I opened my own private practice. This provided me with more flexibility and balance to be a great therapist and a great mother. I had achieved my clinical license and was able to work with clients of all ages and all presenting issues. I know that my strong awareness of who I am and where I come from, coupled with my own personal struggles and loss have made it so I can relate to all of my clients to best serve them and their needs and goals for individual growth and healing. I am incredibly grateful that I am not only good at my role as a therapist, it is where my passion lies and how I am able to provide a anchoring life for my children.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been smooth. I have gone through divorce, had family members struggle with addiction and began my private practice at the onset of COVID

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) seeing clients in a private practice in Fort Collins. I work with ages 13 and up and also have experience with young children in play therapy. I specialize in mental health and wellness, relationship and couples counseling, life transitions, individual counseling, and adolescent and family therapy. I work to address anxiety, depression, self esteem, suicidal ideation, addiction, stress management, and trauma while employing a person in environment perspective.
I have a genuine, compassionate, and non-judgmental reflective listening, coupled with accessible and practical tools to change old patterns, manage difficult emotions, heal from grief, or navigate difficult relationships,

I am most proud of my ability to work with clients throughout their various phases of life. I have many clients who I have helped manage and regulate severe and acute mental health crises and then go on to do deeper, long-term therapeutic work to achieve the stability to have healthy, successful relationships, families, and careers. I am genuine and consistent and come with a personal background of knowledge, experience, and evolving education, to deliver the best mental health services possible. I am an authentic person and I believe that the therapeutic relationship in and of itself is very healing and powerful for people to enact lasting, sustainable change.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I consider myself a risk taker. For instance, I did not follow a traditional path or timeline for my career, but instead, chose to travel, take opportunities, and follow my own path. I took a year off after high school and worked and lived with friends before selling my car for a large van and driving across the country to go to undergrad school. I took my time and graduated after 5 years. Seven years later I changed my focus and went back to school for my masters in social work. My risks have been trusting myself and my path and my timeline in a world that often presents success as having a career and family in your 20’s. Risk is going against the grain and betting on yourself and trusting your own process.

Pricing:

• $175 per session

Contact Info:

• Website: https://heidikalakcounseling.com/
• Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/heidi-kalak-fort-collins-co/713139

Image Credits
Crystal Koons
Joyce Netishen