Good Neighbor Podcast: Fort Collins

Evolve Counseling: Transforming Mental Health in Fort Collins

• Nick George

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What does truly effective mental health support look like in today's world? Ben Smith, co-owner of Evolve Counseling Services in Fort Collins, brings refreshing clarity to this question in our latest conversation.

Mental health therapy isn't just for those in crisis—it's increasingly becoming a tool for personal growth and development. Ben shares how he and his wife Lindsay built a practice centered on being genuinely useful to clients struggling with anxiety and depression. Their approach is particularly valuable for college students navigating the numerous challenges and "firsts" that come with this transformative life stage.

The conversation challenges common misconceptions about therapy. Rather than endless sessions of "just talking about my week," Ben emphasizes goal-oriented treatment that produces measurable results. "A good therapist should try to put themselves out of a job," he explains, highlighting their philosophy that effective therapy means clients gradually need less support as they develop stronger coping skills and resolve their challenges.

What truly sets Evolve Counseling apart is their specialized focus and commitment to results. While many practitioners claim expertise across numerous domains, Ben and Lindsay concentrate on what they do best—helping individuals break repetitive negative patterns, resolve recurring conflicts, and learn to advocate for their needs. For anyone curious about how modern therapy actually works, this conversation offers valuable insights from a practitioner who balances professional expertise with authentic human connection.

Ready to explore whether this approach might work for you? Evolve Counseling offers free consultations with no pressure to continue if it's not the right fit. Visit EvolveCounselingNoCo.com to learn more and take that first step toward meaningful change.

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Nick George.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of counseling services locally? Well, one awesome option might be closer than you think. Today I have the great pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, ben Smith, with Evolve Counseling Services. Ben, how are you doing today?

Speaker 3:

Hi Nick, I'm doing well. Thank you for having me on. Thanks for the kind intro.

Speaker 2:

We're excited to learn all about you and your practice. Tell us about your counseling services. Company at Evolve Counseling Services.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, absolutely. I co-own and operate Evolve Counseling Services with my wife Lindsay. She actually founded it, so I always want to give credit for that. And what we specialize in is we help people with depression and anxiety primarily, and we tend to do that through a cognitive behavioral basis. We also help a lot of college students. Just being here in Fort Collins, you know, with CSU nearby, it kind of lends itself to that. But you know, we've kind of found a secondary niche, just really helping college students go through all the many, many firsts and challenges that they have. We provide individual therapy to people age 16 and up.

Speaker 2:

And how did you get into this business originally?

Speaker 3:

Man, that's a good question, like the private practice or mental health in general.

Speaker 2:

The deeper question.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

In general.

Speaker 3:

And maybe we have a moment for both. I think I mean I'll speak for myself, you know, lindsay, obviously being an absentia today, but I think the thing that attracted me to just mental health and counseling is like I have a genuine, just curiosity for deep matters. I really want to talk to people about not small talk but big talk, the things that matter, and I appreciate your question going for it there, Like, yeah, let's talk about the deep thing and it's a really cool job like that, the fact that the people trust me with that and like let's talk about what's really going on. Let's talk about what's really really at stake here and what's at the heart of the matter. It was really cool and my days fly, my sessions go by because I'm having fun talking about what counts.

Speaker 2:

What are some myths or misconceptions in your niche in this industry?

Speaker 3:

Man and with mental health. There could be many, and I'm glad the world is just warming up more and more to mental health. I think some of those myths are starting to kind of sort themselves out. But one of the things I would just encourage, you know, given the opportunity to answer this question, is like mental health isn't always someone coming in because they're hurting very badly emotionally, they're in some sort of personal crisis or it's something really clinical in nature.

Speaker 3:

People more and more are figuring out like mental health is like let's get after this thing that I kind of want to work at, it's my area for growth. It's kind of a blind spot. It's something I don't want to bother me anymore. And sometimes that's things like how do I get stuck in the same pattern again and again and I don't know why I'm repeating it? How do I get what I want out of life? How do I avoid having the same argument with my spouse time and again? How do I speak up for what I want and what I need? These are the things that it's like. I don't even know what those are clinically, but people want to work on them all the time and therapy is actually, you know, one way that you can really go about learning those things effectively.

Speaker 2:

You may have already said this, and forgive me if you did, but marketing is the heart of every business, so I like to ask the question who are your target clients and how are you attracting them now?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that's a good question. You know, some of our marketing is by just who our practice specializes in, right? So that is helping people with anxiety and depression. Sometimes, you know, you can look up a therapist on like psychology today, like that's a great resource for finding someone. But a lot of therapists are like I specialize in like 12 things and that's definitionally incorrect, right, you can't be that broad. So you know, a little bit is like we're here to treat certain symptoms and certain mental health phenomena. You know we're specializing that way. But otherwise, I think you know our clients are anyone that's kind of just motivated, ready to go, ready to make that change. Therapy needs to be approached very, you know, in a very voluntary manner. So anyone that's ready to do this, we're here for them.

Speaker 2:

Have you ever done or thought about doing your own podcast?

Speaker 3:

I have. Interestingly, my wife and I have been on another podcast and it's a curious question why do you ask?

Speaker 2:

Because it seems like you take to it and you're not afraid of overeducating your customers before they pay you.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah, no, for sure, I mean thanks, thanks for the feedback. That's really what we try to do. You know that was some of our model of getting into. Just private practice in general is like how can we do the fundamentals really well? Is like how can we do the fundamentals really well Even if someone calls us to inquire for therapy and we're not quite the right fit for them? We want to be a helpful part of their journey and do some of that over education. Who can we connect you to? Opening up the directory of therapists, even just in Fort Collins, is overwhelming, right. So if I know a person or two that kind of specializes in what they need, then let's help with that and let's be a part of their journey. So thanks, nick.

Speaker 2:

Outside of work. What do you do for fun?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that's a good question. You know, how does the therapist take care of themselves, in other words? And you know I think spending a lot of time with friends and family is huge. My wife and I love just kind of grabbing a patio beer in the fall here. That's a very special kind of moment to just be present with people you like.

Speaker 3:

Personally, I'm pretty big into just health and fitness. I have a gym in my basement and I think I use physical exercise to kind of constitute me internally and just be ready to. You know, that helped me ensure I'm in good order for my clients and to show up for the day. This is kind of fun. I really challenged myself this year. I've only been at it for maybe eight or nine months, but I started learning jujitsu this year just as something like totally out of the box, like like I've been involved in athletics most of my life but like never anything like this. And you know, just living some of those, those principles that I try to talk about in therapy is like what challenges me. What are my edges for growth? You know how do I do something I'm uncomfortable with and learn to become comfortable with it?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's how you keep growing, ben, tell our listeners one thing they should absolutely take away from this interview with you regarding Evolve Counseling Services.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, what we try to convey, you know, through our website and our media and things like that, like we are a little different and not in some revolutionary way, like this would be unrecognizable as therapy. But what Lindsay and I take really serious, and I think one of our core mission values, is the word useful. People come to us like because they're struggling with something, they have a very specific problem and I think it's our job to be, you know, useful to the end of that problem. A lot of the feedback that we get from people that have been to therapy before is something like I liked who I talked to. They were perfectly nice, but we kind of just talked about my week. And don't get me wrong, I definitely talk with people about their weeks, like that that's part of life.

Speaker 3:

But you know, we try to be very goal oriented and say, like if you really think about it, like therapy is a gradual process, but a good therapist should try to put themselves out of a job, right, you should need this less and less time if it's actually working. And like, don't get me wrong, I know people do maintenance therapy and things like that. I'm a fan of all these things, but your symptoms should get better. If you're actually targeting and working at the problem, you know it might be a sign that that you know your therapist you know isn't quite the right match for you if you don't feel like you're moving forward, if you're stuck in the same things for years. So sometimes it's just some helpful feedback for someone that's new to mental health.

Speaker 2:

Yes, that's refreshing to hear in the paradigm of medicine, for sure, these days. How can our listeners learn more about Evolve Counseling services online and the old-fashioned way with a phone number?

Speaker 3:

Yes, absolutely Best way to reach us is Evolve Counseling NoCo. It's in northerncoloradocom. You'll find our phone numbers. There's contact forms on there and this is one of the great parts about us being small and local and in a mom and pop shop like like, we will call you back, we will get back to you, we will answer your questions and we offer free consultations if you just want to visit on the phone for a little bit or come in for 30 minutes and see if this is a good fit. There's no pressure, there's no hard feelings if it doesn't fit, but we're here to see if this is right for you. So don't be shy if you're curious.

Speaker 2:

Well, Ben, I really appreciate you being on our show. We wish you and your business the very best moving forward.

Speaker 3:

Thanks, nick, appreciate it so much.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpfortcollinscom. That's gnpfortcollinscom, or call 970-438-0825.