Meet Danielle Barcelo of Family First Counseling, LLC.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Barcelo.

Hi Danielle, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am a Denver Hispanic female native. My family has been in Denver for generations. I’m honored and blessed to be where I am now. I was raised by a single-mother of five daughters. I am the second to youngest daughter. I grew up moving a lot around the Denver Metro area due to growing up in poverty. My family has generational trauma and that did not stop with me. Unfortunately, I experienced trauma and loss throughout my life. I was lucky to have a loving and supportive family, and some great role models growing up. I was shown and taught the importance of higher education, and so I knew I always wanted to go to college and become a doctor. At first, I wanted to be a Pediatrician because I love working with children. I found out early on that this was not the path for me. I switched from pre-med to psychology since this came really natural to me. After undergrad, I knew I wanted to continue my education, and was referred to Regis University from my aunt and found their marriage and family therapy program. Therefore, I took a gap year and started their Master’s program in 2011 and graduated in 2015. I loved the program and field so much I continued on, and got two post-graduate certificates from Regis, one in counseling children and adolescents (play and family therapy) and the other in depth psychotherapy (dream work and sandtray therapy). I worked in a lot of different settings, such as, juvenile detention, school-based therapy, multisystemic family therapy in the home with adolescents and their families doing substance use therapy, a private behavioral health hospital, group private practice, and finally, solo private practice, and now owning my own group private practice. I got licensed as a marriage and family therapist in 2019 and also began my PhD in marriage and family therapy, specializing in children and adolescents that year. I am now finishing up my dissertation and about to graduate this December 2025 to become a doctor. I will be the first in my family to get a doctorate degree, so even though I did not become a Pediatrician, I will still be a research doctor. I now run a group private practice with over 25 employees in Denver, Colorado. We mainly serve the Medicaid and under-served populations in the Denver area, and all over the state, to clients who really need and benefit from mental health therapy. We provide high-quality mental health services to children, adolescents, parents, families, couples, and adults; and are about to start accepting Medicare clients, and are in the process of accepting private and commercial insurance too. We also provide high-quality supervision and training for master’s level practicum students and interns, as well as post-master’s candidate level therapists. I am passionate about providing the best services to clients and unlicensed therapists. I am also an AAMFT-Approved Supervisor candidate.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not always been easy, not only in life but in education and my career as well. I did not have the best experience in my post-master’s career experience with getting hours towards licensure. Unfortunately, I had to start my hours over and it took four years to get licensure versus the two years it typically takes. I went through a divorce. I started a new topic for my dissertation, which took over a year to get my dissertation proposal approved. I learned a lot about how to run a business. There has been a lot of personal and professional struggles along the way. However, I have a very supportive fiancé and family, and could not have done it without them. I am also a very religious and spiritual person, so I rely on my religion, God, and prayer for strength and perseverance. I also do my best to take care of my own mental health and well-being by spending time with my fiance, my two dogs, my family, and friends. I have always been in love with beautiful Colorado and her rocky mountains, so I love anything outdoors, such as hiking, snowboarding, camping. I also love going to concerts and traveling.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Family First Counseling, LLC.?
As mentioned, we are a group community mental health private practice with over 25 employees in the Denver area. We offer mental health therapy to children, adolescents, parents, families, couples, and adults at our Denver office and online via telehealth. We serve clients who suffer from anxiety, depression, trauma, stress, interpersonal relationships, defiance, ADHD, ASD, academic and job issues, etc. We specialize in play and family therapy. We are known for serving children, adolescents, and family, and providing reunification/reintegration family therapy. We mainly accept Medicaid, and soon will be accepting Medicare and private/commercial insurance. We also offer a reduced rate on a sliding fee scale. We pride ourselves in providing high-quality mental health therapy, as well as high-quality supervision for master’s level students and interns, as well as post-master’s candidates to get their clinical hours, supervision, and experience to graduate or get licensed. We are also creating two programs for post-licensed therapists to get training and mentorship towards becoming a supervisor or opening their own private-practice. We are continuing to grow and plan to buy our own space to continue growth and hope to one day, open up additional locations in the Denver area and throughout the state.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Anyone can go to our website at www.familyfirst.llc to request information about therapy or employment. They can also call our office number at 970-587-3846 to speak to us about these offerings as well. We are currently accepting new clients for therapy, as well as open to new master’s level students/interns, post-master’s candidates, and supervisors. We also accept referrals for mental health services.

Pricing:

• We accept Medicaid, and will soon accept Medicare and private/commercial insurance.
• We offer a reduced out-of-pocket rate of $140/hr on a sliding-fee scale

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.familyfirst.llc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BUj4HFN7X/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-barcelo

Image Credits
Zencare