Meet Empowered Play | Center for Child and Family Counseling

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

Hi Empowered Play, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
As child therapists, we have two main areas of focus. The first and most immediate is to help families in the here and now. Often, people are coming to us because there is a level of distress in their household that is negatively impacting one or more members of the family. Whether that is because of behavioral challenges, life circumstances, traumatic experiences, etc, our primary focus is always to find the family relief as quickly as we can. Our second area of focus is the long-term and more universal impact we can have. We are lucky to be trusted with the youngest members of our communities; the ones who are both the most vulnerable and have the most still to learn in their lives. This means that we have the potential to impact them in big ways. If we can help children learn healthy coping skills at a young age, not only do we improve their future outcomes, but we also get to have a ripple effect on the communities that each child will impact as they move through the world. It’s easy to see how unhealthy our culture is by just checking the evening news, and we are privileged to be able to help the next generations to be healthier and more whole. We believe that if you help one child, you help the world.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
As we built our business, we were not really focused on what would set us apart, but instead how we could be the truest to ourselves. If we are going to show up for work every day (and require others to do the same), we needed to feel aligned and passionate. To build a foundation that felt like “us,” we spent a lot of time reflecting on our shared values and being mindful of the kind of environment we wanted to create for our clients and staff. The difficulty in proceeding this way was that the business structure we created didn’t look like anything we had seen before. Knowing that we were building something unorthodox brought up a lot of questions about if and how our business would actually work for us. In the end, however, the risks we took have thankfully paid off.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Of course, we love a kid-friendly itinerary! Our favorite spots for families include: Acreage by Stem Cider
The Butterfly Pavilion
WOW Children’s Museum
The Bay Aquatic Park

We are also gluten-free food aficionados, and we LOVE:
Kim and Jake’s / Sweet Sisters
Button Rock Bakery
Explorado Market
Rivers and Roads

Finally, we are big fans of live music, especially at Red Rocks!

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?
As an organization, EP is co-owned by three boss babes: Brittany Alley (Fort Collins), Genny Johnson (Longmont), and Alicia Lord (Westminster). Before we were in business together, we were just friends with a shared passion for play therapy. It is not an exaggeration to say that EP would not exist without the community and support we provide for one another. Training as a therapist in no way prepares you for business ownership, so much of our success has been trial and error. In the moments of self-doubt, questioning, and hardship that inevitably come, it is irreplaceable to have two colleagues to turn to. Whether we just need a shoulder to lean on or actual action steps, we have each other’s backs without question. Each of our success is due in large part to the others, and we are well aware of how lucky we are to be on this journey together.

Website: www.empoweredplayco.com

Instagram: @empoweredplaytherapy

Facebook: @empoweredplaytherapy