Life & Work with Jason Gruhl

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Gruhl.

Hi Jason, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Professionally, I graduated from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, where I grew up with a background in English and Psychology. After working in Minneapolis for a few years with adults with some significant mental illness, I realized I needed more skills and applied for a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology at Regis University in Denver. While attending there, I got a job in Denver Public Schools in a class for children with autism.

I had applied for a paraprofessional’s job, but there was a Special Education teacher shortage and when they saw my credentials and that I was enrolled in a Masters program, they offered me the teaching job for the class. I had no clue what I was doing, at first, but it turns out that that can be quite an asset insomuch as my staff and I were able to look newly and intuitively at how to help children with autism and developmental disabilities learn and move forward in the public school system.

In my seventh year of teaching, one of our students, Joshua, died at home… and this crushed us. He was nine years old. We thought to ourselves: “If a child only has nine years on this planet, they deserve better than what the public schools at that time were able to offer.” We had struggled for years to get the resources, environmental adaptations, curriculum approvals, etc. to do what was required to meet these unique learners where they needed to be met.

We decided to create our school for children with autism and developmental disabilities. We worked for the next two years, after school and on weekends, creating curriculum, philosophy, financials, etc. and in 2003, we quit our jobs, cashed in our retirements, and prayed that this idea would work. Today, The Joshua School has a Denver campus, a Boulder campus, and a preschool and has become a powerful resource in the community for special education services. I was with The Joshua School for ten years as its Executive Director.

But in 2011, I met my now ex-husband, and we began thinking of other places to live and lives to explore. In 2013, I left The Joshua School and moved to Todos Santos, Mexico, where I began writing, first on a tarot deck (The Fountain Tarot, painted by Jonathan Saiz, designed by Andi Todaro and written by me), and then on children’s books. We were there for a year and moved back to Denver. After The Fountain Tarot was published, I started a counseling practice up in Denver and continued writing children’s books.

The books are Buddhist-inspired asking questions like: “Why should I care about people across the globe, or animals on another continent, or the environment? [My book – Everything is Connected]; “How does my mind work and why are thoughts so confusing at times? [My book – Just a Thought], etc. My ninth and tenth books are coming out this month and next year: The Kid’s Tarot, by Gibbs-Smith Publishing (February 2024), and a children’s version of LovingKindness by Sharon Salzberg (Fall 2025).

I’m not retiring any time soon on my book royalties (yet), so my other love is psychotherapy. I have a private practice serving the Denver/Boulder area that I’ve had for many years now since returning from Mexico. I see clients from age 6 up to age 80, including many teenagers, young adults, and couples. I am also a certified KAP (Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy) Practitioner. It’s interesting because I think as we get older, at least for me, there is a confluence of who we are and what we do.

In other words, I feel like who I’ve become and how that has happened now greatly inform my work and how that helps other people, both in counseling and in my writing. Being a human being is very difficult, far more difficult than we could ever know when we are younger (maybe by design – haha). Both of my parents have passed away. I am divorced but newly in love. I have spent years untangling patterns, beliefs, and habits from childhood and young adulthood while doing my best to understand this crazy, made-up world we have created.

And through all of that, there is a real beauty in the difficulty, contentment, and reliability amid the chaos and lack of control. And I think this becomes the real gift of counseling and psychotherapy – finding some stability and some generosity and clarity in ourselves; finding a sense of home right where we are, regardless of the circumstances.

I also started teaching part-time at Naropa University a few years ago in their Masters in Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling Program: Therapy for Children and Adolescents, The Mindful Counselor, and Extending Mindfulness (meditation and self-reflection).

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?
The death of a student at his home, the deaths of both of my parents (one at 55 and one at 77), divorce, financial difficulties, existential depression, and anxiety. But each of these things has had what I have come to call a “cosmic consolation prize.” Loss and upheaval have been doorways to a deeper understanding of life itself, and consequently, a deeper understanding of what I am and how I fit into this world.

My approach to counseling blends a lot of things but draws much influence from Buddhism, Existentialism, and Humanism. I have a mantra that I say every day, “There is no problem. What is there to do in this moment?” And to me, these experiences in life have taught me that life is simply happening and I have a choice of how to be with each of the experiences.

I remember when my mother passed away, and there was simultaneously this great sense of loss, but also a “rip in the veil” where I could see life as it was, not as I needed it or wanted it to be. I had no energy to hold up any illusions and it was the first time in my life that I had this deep sense of peace and of being held by life itself. That kind of gift amid tragedy was eye-opening, and the kind of thing one can’t un-feel or un-know once it’s experienced.

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?
I love my counseling practice and find talking with people daily to be one of the richest gifts in my life. But I think my children’s books are a little unique. As an adult who is now able to reflect on my life and identify things that could have been helpful to know earlier, I mine my past neuroses, fears, and insecurities for topics haha. Again, as a Buddhist and as a human, I am constantly looking for what keeps us from feeling perfectly at home in our bodies, minds, and in this world.

So, my books introduce children to ideas and questions that I hope will help them get to know themselves and feel connected and safe in this world. Titles like: Everything is Connected, Just a Thought (About how our minds and thoughts work), Our Animal Neighbors, Everybody Knows What a Tree Is! (about the need for balance of both knowledge and wonder), Colorfully Courageous Clyfford Still (biography of Clyfford Still and the benefits of following your path), The Kids’ Tarot (answering life’s big questions) and others, attempt to get kids asking questions about who and what they are and to see that who they are is important and their experience is valid.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
If you, or someone you know, is struggling mentally or emotionally, is in a major life transition, or wants to explore expanded personal fulfillment, you can find me at www.gruhlcounseling.com or 720.360.7792.

Regarding writing, I love collaborating with illustrators and other authors. I love speaking at conferences, workshops, podcasts, etc. about anything from mental health to writing picture books, to children and how they navigate this current age, to meditation and wellness, etc. www.jasongruhl.com

Pricing:

• $175 for a 50″ Psychotherapy session
• $450 (2.5 hours) for Ketamine-assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gruhlcounseling.com, and www.jasongruhl.com
• Instagram: @jasongruhl, @jasongruhlcounseling, and @jasongruhlbooks
• Facebook: @Jason Gruhl

Image Credits:
Getty Images