Naropa Community Counseling Center Expands Affordable Mental Health Services and Therapist Training

New, Larger Facility Offers Holistic Care and Greater Access for Boulder County

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Naropa Community Counseling (NCC), a leading provider of affordable and accessible mental health care in Colorado, today announced the opening of its new counseling center in Boulder County. The expanded facility affirms NCC’s dual mission to provide essential services through accessible, Medicaid-covered care, while preparing therapists on the path to licensure with a robust training program.

Naropa Community Counseling provides adolescent, individual, group and couples counseling at affordable rates and also serves Medicaid patients. NCC integrates more traditional modes of talk therapy with contemplative practices and holistic methods, including wilderness, art and somatic therapy programs to meet a wide range of client needs. The unique set of offerings is designed to help individuals who occupy a wide variety of social locations and identities, and often experience marginalization in the community.

"Our new facility allows Naropa Community Counseling to deepen its commitment to creating an accessible, holistic and compassionate healing environment for our clients and nurturing the next generation of mental health professionals," said Bill Monroe (LCSW LAC), director of Naropa Community Counseling. "Since 2015, we have also supported nearly 130 students on track for licensure, providing a vital resource for clinical training. With what is happening in the world around us, our community needs access to these affordable services now more than ever.”

The therapy programs are led by NCC clinical supervisors working in concert with second- and third-year graduate students who are seeking to become licensed in mental health counseling and clinical social work. The training includes students of Naropa University, Regis University, University of Northern Colorado, University of Denver and Metropolitan State University of Denver.

“We continue to seek funding through the Naropa Community Counseling Client Access Fund, assisting 30 to 40 individuals annually with 10 sessions at $20 each to help more people in need,” Monroe said. “Additionally, accepting Medicaid has also broadened access since therapists in Colorado are often at capacity. Many interns train with us to learn Medicaid billing administration to serve vulnerable populations."

Recent data reveals that the share of Americans aged 18 to 44 who received mental health treatment increased from 18.5 percent to over 23 percent between 2019 and 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2022, NCC served 475 clients, with 50% of them on Medicaid.

For more information, please visit the NCC website.

About Naropa Community Counseling

Naropa Community Counseling (NCC), a branch of Naropa University, was the vision of former faculty member and Graduate School of Counseling and Psychology founder Deborah Bowman. It was 25 years in the making and, since NCC opened in 2015, it has offered genuine and growing support for the mental health needs of the Boulder community. Learn more: naropacommunitycounseling.com