Meet Briton Sloan | Social Worker, therapist, and Owner of Reawaken Counseling

We had the good fortune of connecting with Briton Sloan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Briton, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
For many years, as a school social worker in Denver Public Schools, my purpose in life was built on the idea of serving others in need. Although this sounds like an honorable way to live, I did this at the expense of myself and my family. I wasn’t happy and felt like I was just surviving every day.

After leaving a position that took 100% of my daily capacity, I realized that I had been living in a tunnel that didn’t allow me to see the beauty and potential that was all around me. Leaving a 15 year career in the schools was the springboard towards a different way of showing up every day. I finally began to experience the world in the present and appreciate what each moment had to offer. This realization was extremely empowering, and I wanted to allow others to experience their own “reawakening” to life.

Although, working at a small group practice enabled me to do therapy through this lens, I was still experiencing the constraints of others’ expectations. I wanted to determine what that looked like on my terms. So, I took the plunge, and Reawaken Counseling was born.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Reawaken Counseling is a small psychotherapy practice that serves adolescents (age 12 and up), adults, and couples in Arvada, Colorado via both telehealth and in-person visits.  The therapeutic space that I offer gives clients permission to show up just as they are so that they can begin to understand and extend compassion to themselves.  My approach is non-judgmental and utilizes aspects of Cognitive behavioral therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectic Behavioral Therapy, and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction.  The lens that informs my therapeutic approach as a whole, however, is the Internal Family Systems model, which welcomes all parts of a person and seeks to heal pain through relating to those parts from a place of curiosity and compassion.  I believe that all people can heal and that everyone has the capacity to live authentic and joyful lives.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
It’s been a while since I’ve spent much time in Denver. I lived in a small condo in Wash Park in my 20’s but moved west to Green Mountain and then to Arvada after I got married and had kids. COVID has also exacerbated that for me. We’ve really kept to ourselves in our little family Pod and are just starting to come out of that shell.

Previously, though, I would take my friend to Wash Park or City Park West to toss the frisbee. Maybe do Jazz in the park to start the week after dinner at Tommy Thai on Colfax followed by a night cap or two at the P.S. Lounge. We could take a walk across Hungarian Freedom Park and maybe ride bikes down the Cherry Creek bike Path. I love the old Angelo’s and would recommend their homemade spaghetti with a carafe of their house wine. One shouldn’t miss a night at Cuba Cuba for some rice and beans and mango mojitos. There’s always lunch at Watercourse or dinner at City O’ City for some exceptionally good vegan cuisine. Another blast from the past that I wouldn’t mind bringing back would be sipping Café Mexicano at Paris on the Platte listening to an up and coming artist play original songs to a diverse crowd of artists, poets, and late night coffee drinkers.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wouldn’t have been able to do this without the support of my partner, Jay. He has encouraged me and helped me every step of the way. His belief in my ability to leave my former career and start anew has gotten me through many moments of self-doubt. He has also “held down the fort”, cooked almost every meal, and never complained as I waded through so much unknown territory to get my practice off of the ground late into the evening.

I also would like to Shoutout to my parents, Barbara and Ron Sloan. Their unconditional support has also given me the courage to keep pushing on. I can always count on them to help me through the roadblocks that come with working motherhood. They are amazing supplemental caregivers to my two boys, Kai and Emerson.

Website: www.reawakencounseling.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briton-sloan-lcsw-she-her-96713319/

Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/briton-sloan-arvada-co/709826 https://ifs-institute.com/practitioners/all/83997

Image Credits
Jay Lynch