Meet Nakoma Garcia of Peace Within Counseling in Parker, Colorado

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nakoma Garcia.

Nakoma, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
As a teenager, I was always the girl that my friends would come to for guidance and to talk to. However, I had dreams of joining the Air Force and becoming a Nurse. When the AF door closed, I decided to pursue college on my own. I made it through one year of Nursing school when I realized I really did not like Science and Math so I decided against that degree

As life changed, so did my plans. My family started having some issues and I soon found myself married with a newborn son. My son was in and out of Riley Children’s Hospital a lot and it felt like a second home for a couple of years. At this time, I decided that I wanted to be a Social Worker and help other families and children the way we were being helped. I immediately went back to school as a then single mom and finished my Bachelor’s degree in Social Work. I had other ideas of where I wanted to work and I was blessed with a job as a Social Service Director at The Salvation Army and later was offered a counseling position with a Therapeutic Boarding School. Through this job, I fell in love with Counseling and knew this was what I needed to be doing.

Fast forward a few years, we had a big move to Colorado, added a husband, two more boys and our stillborn daughter. I eventually decided it was time to go back to Grad School to finish my goal. I had a middle school son, a toddler and an infant. However, I pushed through many trials and was able to graduate with my MAster’s in Professional Counseling. I believe those trials pushed me to get to the point that I did and I knew that I had to fight for myself and my son’s to get the life I desired for us.

I graduated and became Licensed in Colorado. I worked for a private practice until I decided to open up my own doors. It has been a long journey, but it definitely has been worth it.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have had my share of obstacles. I was a married mother of a newborn and divorced by age 21. However, I persevered and received my diploma in 5 years. Later, I found myself in Grad School and living apart from my childrens father. I had to work full time and attend school as a Single Mom again for a large part of Grad School. However, I knew I needed to keep going for my boys. I definitely found rough days and obstacles arose often.

My career has not been exactly smooth. It can be difficult and lonely building a private practice. My main obstacle is that I want so much for myself- I want to help more people, be able to reach more populations, do more in my 24 hours each day. I am a dreamer and many times I need to be reined in and not think too big for where I am now. I know that my goals will be attained in the right time. I am learning patience and perseverance through these days. I am learning to focus on what I am doing currently and continue to help the clients that I am able to help along their journey.

Please tell us about Peace Within Counseling .
I need to go back a little to where this business started. I grew up on a farm in Indiana. I didn’t have too many animals growing up, but I saw the hard work it took to get the crops in and harvested. My parents worked late nights and I saw the pain, tears and anger to build their businesses. Like many girls, I loved horses. I would ride my friends horses as often as possible than I was able to purchase my first horse as an older teen. Taco was an Appaloosa who would let anyone and everyone on him. He was like a wise old man with a big heart.

As a counselor at the school, I worked in, students and their houseparents and guests would come to our barn. It didn’t matter if they were mucking stalls, grooming or riding horses. I noticed that they all seemed to love being near our herd. I also found that if I was having a rough day, that all I needed was a brush and Taco and I would immediately feel less anxious and the stresses would just melt away.

Peace Within developed a few years ago from my belief that all people deserve a chance to find peace and serenity and gain mental wellness. I focus on trauma and realize that a large majority of people can become Trauma Warriors and many people struggle with a variety of issues from childhood issues to PTSD. I work closely with Veterans and have loved the opportunities I can give back to my country in working with those who have given so much for our freedom.

I have also worked with teens who have been in the adoption/foster care systems for many years. I understand the attachment lens that we must work through as a team and can easily relate to this population.

As a counselor with a trauma focus, I have a full toolbox to help people. I am trained in EMDR, which allows a more non-invasive and safer approach to process past trauma. I also offer Equine Therapy.

Horses are able to reach many people, where they are hesitant to go emotionally. They can teach us more about ourselves in a non intrusive way which allows us to understand deeper issues. Horses are also a wonderful way to build trust, self esteem, relationships, emotional regulation and they offer many other much needed benefits.

Being in nature is something many people do not take advantage of. Therefore, I also offer many sessions outside if the client would like this. We hold sessions in the office, but we also offer walk and talk sessions at the park or at the barn where we have 40 acres to peruse and meditate on overlooking the beautiful mountain ranges, the plains and oftentimes we can watch a herd of pronghorns as they come up near the horses.

I have found my passion for working with people and horses has led my clients to opportunities that most practices are unable to provide. This has also helped me learn to share my hobbies and career together which makes going to work feel like a wonderful experience. I’ve witnessed so many miracles with the clients that I’ve worked with over the years. In the last year, I have also had the pleasure of adding Sebastian, a nine year old Paso Fino and Nala, a one year old Bay Roan. Each of these horses are rescue horses and each come with their own trauma/attachment stories.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
As a kid, I thought my life was boring. As an adult, I look back and think about how lucky I was to have the life I did. It was a simple life with little to no technology. I spent a lot of time outside on three wheelers, playing in the creek, driving trucks and tractors. I definitely was an outdoors kid. We lived in Indiana and while I had to help on the farm a lot, we also had a lot of time to play. I think my favorite memories were playing games with my grandmother while my parents were in the fields. She would sit and play with me for hours. I also really enjoy looking back and thinking about our camping trips as a family. We would visit Colorado regularly and just find an off the road place to park our tent. We had some scary nights, but a lot of good memories of my family. One night we woke up with snow on our tent. Now, this seems so trivial and normal, but snow in the summer/fall was not normal for me. Also, one time we were camping and a grizzly bear was loose from some dungeon he had been living in. I don’t remember the story, but I remember the fears of sleeping that evening.

Contact Info:

• Address: 19563 E Mainstreet, Suite 206
  Parker, CO 80116
• Website: www.peacewithincounselingllc.com
• Phone: 303-888-9042
• Email: nakoma.garcia@gmail.com
• Instagram: peacewithincounseling
• Facebook: peace within counseling

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