Meet Brynne Goldberg of Peak Pursuits – Mental Health Care

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brynne Goldberg.

Hi Brynne, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
You could say my story began in my mid-twenties when I was living in Vail, Colorado, coaching up young females in Lindsey Vonn’s specialty program, Ski Girls Rock. But, I think my story really began to write itself in my youth.

I was born naturally athletic. (It’s taken me a lifetime to get comfortable with my stalky stature and muscular quads. Though I’ll never get comfortable with people asking me what professional sport I play 🤦‍♀️). Growing up, I loved sports. I enjoyed everything from bike riding and rollerblading to soccer, gymnastics, diving, horseback riding, and especially skiing. However, I wasn’t born with natural confidence, emotional resilience, or mental strength for competition. This lacking often overpowered my love and passion for sports. When the game or meet was over, I would tear myself apart, scrutinize every move I made, and ruminate over everything I didn’t do well enough. As an adolescent, I was completely unaware of why I would do this to myself. My parents even said they wouldn’t let me compete if I continued to be so hard on myself. Reflecting on those times now as an adult, I recognize that I struggled with severe anxiety. Although I am grateful for those experiences, as they have bestowed upon me the ability to explicitly and authentically connect with my clients, I often wonder where my talents could have taken me had I had the appropriate mental health care. (Hense why comments about my physique are so crushing.)

My love of sport, snow, and mountain life eventually led me to Vail, CO. I moved there after college to pursue a career in on-mountain special event production and marketing. This pursuit gave way to a long career in the ski industry as a certified alpine instructor and coach. However, after eight consecutive seasons, the accumulation of 25 + years’ worth of sport-related injuries began to take its toll, and managing chronic pain became a reality. I knew a career change was inevitable.

As an instructor, I found the relationships I established with students, athletes, coaches, and trainers to be the most special aspects of my job. I wasn’t aware of it at the time, but looking back, I think instructing had highlighted innate skills, undoubtedly the result of my own experiences during adolescence, that allowed me to connect something deep within myself with another person. And so, when it came time to retire from the ski industry, I realized I could parlay those skills into a career in the mental health field and combine my love of sport with my passion for helping people.

Flash forward to the spring of 2020, when the next major chapter of my story began to unfold…I had my life and career fairly mapped out. I was about to graduate with my Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, I owned a townhome in Breckenridge, and was working as a full-time therapist at the Summit Community Care Clinic in Frisco. But, the global COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the course of all I had mapped out, and my life’s story began to take a turn.

Long story short, in March 2020, I was laid off from the clinic due to pandemic-related budget cuts. Immediately, I searched all over Colorado for another community clinic-based position. However, the pandemic presented many challenges, so in December, I finally decided to open up my own shop.

I now own a private practice, which I’ve named Peak Pursuits. My office is physically located in Boulder, though I work with people from all over the state. I specialize in working with high-achieving (“perfectionist”-type) adults and athletes, treating anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges.

Although my life’s story has involved many highs and lows, twists and turns, I love what I do, and I feel incredibly lucky to have ultimately curated a dream job that incorporates and benefits from my personal experiences. And I know my story doesn’t end here. I look forward to pursuing my passions around raising awareness, providing education, and giving back to the mountain communities that fostered my dream and began it all.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As I previously mentioned, my life story is rich with life’s challenges, like most humans. There were many times I thought I had it all figured out, only to learn that I had nothing figured out at all. Lo and behold, these challenges were the stepping stones that actually led me to where I am today.

Remember when I said, “Long story short…”. Well, that was right about when it felt like my life became a game of dominos and every part of it began to fall down. This unearthing was precipitated by a depressive episode in 2019 following a breakup with a long-term partner, the emotional and mental strain from graduate school, and a personal trauma that cumulatively left me feeling alone, lost, exhausted, and struggling to find where I fit in. Come the spring of 2020, I was finally picking up the pieces and rebuilding myself. I was relieved to be graduating from my Master’s program, excited to start my career, and finally, step into a new life with confidence.

But then, the pandemic struck in March 2020. It felt as if someone had smashed their fist down on the table and whatever dominos had remained standing were thrust into the air and toppled to the ground. My layoff and a family member’s severe illness eventually necessitated a move to the front range. This marked the beginning of another unknown journey, full of an entirely different set of unstable dominos.

I found myself in a really dark place in the winter of 2020/2021. I often journal to help myself processes my emotions. It was during that time I wrote the entry below.

I’m treading water in the ocean where your toes can barely touch, and you only have a split second to gasp for air before the next wave crashes over you…It feels like I’m walking around with a massive flesh wound, but only I can see it…The ground beneath me is shaking…I can feel the sting of the cracks splintering through me as the ground crumbles beneath me…Salt is being poured into my wounds…My entire body aches like a migraine as if every inch of bodily tissue is clinging on so desperately tight to prevent me from shattering…I feel I’m about to lose the last brace I have preventing me from completely collapsing…I’m endlessly falling from the sky. My stomach drops as it does when you pass the apex of a roller coaster right before the downfall…

…I knew there had to be light at the end of this century-long tunnel. I had no other option but to push. Push through this mountain of pain. This sea of hopelessness. This desert of anger…

…And then, one day, I did.

I never knew how strong I was until this time in my life. (I thought my adolescence was tough, but this didn’t have sh*t on that.) Still, I learned a ton. I learned a lot about myself personally, and I love what I’ve been able to build professionally through it all.

And that’s just it. That’s how you grow. The peaks wouldn’t be so beautiful without the pursuits through valleys.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Peak Pursuits, LLC – Mental Health Care?
I am the owner and founder of Peak Pursuits Mental Health Care. I specialize in working with high achievers (more commonly known as “perfectionists” or “type-A”) and athletes from the weekend warrior type, high school and college student-athletes, professional and competitive athletes, hobbyists, retired and injured athletes. While my area of clinical expertise and focus is anxiety, I also treat depression and other mental health challenges that impact daily functioning, mood, and relationships.

Now, I am not a sports psychologist. I am a clinical mental health therapist (also commonly known as a psychotherapist). My treatments do not solely focus on sports performance. If you think about sports, and other life stuff, as the tip of an iceberg, then the work I do is focused on all the stuff beneath the waterline. I’ve found that targeting a person’s foundational aspects, especially at the start, provides the clarity necessary for the therapeutic process. Benefits of which can include increased sports performance, among others.

There is a saying in my field that goes like this, “whatever you’ve walked through in life will walk through your office.” And that’s because, as a therapist, you often do your best work with those you understand the most. Therefore, it makes sense I was drawn to high achievers, athletes, and anxiety. (Although – I didn’t quite realize that from the start.) My interest in athletes sparked while living in sports-minded mountain towns around Colorado and identifying a lack of recognition for athletes as a distinct population needing specialized services during my coursework in graduate school. Then, as I began to grow my business and clinical skill set, I realized the similarities between athletes and “perfectionists.” Both groups developed similar qualities and characteristics that motivated and drove them to success, whether it was found on a podium or in a courtroom.

The work I do is typically long-term and is comprised of two main simultaneous components. The first component of my work is the “unpacking” process, where I help clients explore their past lived experiences and unearth the interconnected underlying emotionality. This is a cathartic process in itself. It also sheds light on why someone thinks and acts the way they do. This leads to the second component, where I help clients identify thought and behavioral patterns established in early life, which, at that time, served as an effective way to meet their needs. However, gone “unchecked” over time, these patterns become ineffective, ultimately causing or exacerbating emotional distress. Then begins the process of changing the ineffective to effective. This is accomplished through observation, evaluation, and practice. And it’s f*cking hard. No doubt about it.

You’d have to ask my clients why they’ve stuck with me and what sets me apart from other therapists they’ve worked with. Except that would be a massive violation, haha. But, from what I gather from their feedback, it comes down to two things. One is the connection we’re able to establish, and the other is the combination of the components of my work. It seems my clients can get emotional relief and build tangible skills. It feels really amazing to see a client, just one year after working together, able to live life in a way they never knew was possible, let alone exist.

That’s the message I’d most like to share with readers. You don’t have to tolerate relationships, and you don’t have to suffer through life. Everyone has the ability to change. Everyone has the ability to create the life they want for themselves.

Any big plans?
I’m actually really excited for stability. I’ve finally landed in an ideal location, and I’m putting some cement down under my dominos this time around! Professionally, Boulder is ideal because it turns out, it’s chock-full of athletes and high achievers. So, I’m really looking forward to creating community and sharing my passion through awareness and education. Personally, being in Boulder offers a nice middle ground between the mountain and front-range life. In the future, I plan to split my time between the two, so I can provide free mental health care for mountain town residents.

Contact Info:

• Website: PeakPursuitsllc.com
• Instagram: TherapyRules
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peakpursuits 

Image Credits
Lifestyle portraits by Bonnie Sen and action shots by Kevin Weber