We had the good fortune of connecting with Jacenta Irlanda, Taylor Millard, and Janice Martindale, and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jacenta, Taylor, Janice, what matters most to you?

Jacenta’s Answer:
If I picked one it would be “Authenticity.” It is one of the most important values I intentionally live by. It took me some time to unlearn many of the aspects of authenticity that were taught to me in my education journey. As therapists, we are often taught to remain neutral, remain outside healing circles, and refrain from self-disclosures. Through my journey, I have learned that transparency and self-disclosure can open up powerful moments in therapy when used mindfully and with intention. There are times when it is needed to step into healing circles. The way I view “authenticity” is to be able to show up as we are without judgment, to show up as we need to show up, and to honor and celebrate our identities. It encompasses accountability and acceptance. We are all human first with stories no one else has ever lived in the same way or experienced in the same way as another. “Authenticity” is not only being true to myself but my values and my spirit as well. It allows vulnerability, courage, attunement, empathy, understanding, connection, joy, and other care to enter the therapeutic space.

Taylor’s Answer:
Wow, my initial response is that it feels difficult for me to choose just one! That said, if I go with my second gut response, I would have to say “facilitating safety” in the broadest sense of the term (i.e., including somatic/physical, attachment/relational, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual safety). This is important to me because I see the experience of embodied “safety” as a foundation that allows us to “show up” fully in therapy and in life.  In a therapeutic context, I view the ongoing development of safety as being both a bridge to engage in other healing processes, as well as a significant aspect of healing all in itself.

From my perspective, facilitating safety also encompasses a number of other values in my practice. For example, I believe that facilitating safety encompasses my desire to act with transparency.  It encompasses the importance of ongoing education and being attuned to systems and social justice. It encompasses accessibility, courage, accurate empathy, creativity, connection, and joy. “Safety” means understanding our human needs to belong and receive affirmation for who we are. It encompasses the principle of embodiment, including the power of building on our resources and strengths. It encompasses the importance of developing securely attached relationships with both humans and non-humans (such as our dogs!). “Safety” also encompasses my desire to engage with authenticity — i.e., meeting others in the therapy space as myself first.

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?
Question: Please tell us about your business.

Taylor’s Answer:
Creative Core Therapy, LLC is a private group therapy practice currently composed of myself and my two outstanding business partners (Jacenta Irlanda and Janice Martindale). Between the three of us, we specialize in a number of therapeutic modalities and work primarily with young adults and adults. Over time, we will be offering a full range of services including individual therapy, couples therapy, group therapy, and workshops (both art workshops and specific mental health workshops). We are a new business and we are planning to launch – initially as a Telehealth practice only – later this year.

While our specific personalities, styles, and training as therapists varies, all three of us work from a liberation-focused framework (similarly referred to as “social justice-informed” or “anti-oppressive” frameworks). This means that we strive to be culturally affirming and strengths-based, while also working with individuals around identity development and living with the realities of systemic oppression (i.e., issues of privilege, power, and marginalization).  In a relational sense, this means practicing attunement to dynamics of identity, power, privilege, and oppression in every therapeutic encounter.

Similarly, all three of us happen to specialize in trauma treatment and grief/loss issues, and we all like to incorporate forms of creativity and/or somatic interventions into our work.  This means that we are all drawn to therapeutic modalities that are holistic in processing what is happening cognitively, emotionally, spiritually, and somatically (i.e., in the body).  We also believe that community care and connection are primary vehicles for healing and health.

As a new practice with an anti-oppressive lens, we continue to engage in discussions about issues of accessibility to our services. Currently, we offer sliding scale therapy services. We also have longer-term visions of growing a “mental health fund” in the practice that will support clients who are underserved and underprivileged financially (See our website for details!).

Jacenta’s Answer:
Taylor’s answer is all-encompassing! I would just add that Creative Core Therapy, LLC was formulated by three women (myself, Janice Martindale, and Taylor Millard) who wanted to create a healing space that honors the innate wisdom for healing each person has. We planned this company for two years and in that time we collaborated together to deepen our understanding of the kind of healers we want to be in the community. This also meant revisiting our ideas about what therapy is, what it means to us, and to the community. We understand that a majority of therapists and psychologists are white which means that we need to use that power and privilege to decolonize mental health to better serve LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC populations. This is one of the few intentions/goals with building Creative Core Therapy.

Question: What sets you apart from others?
Taylor’s Answer:
As a group practice, I would say that our dual focus on both 1) more “traditional” Western psychotherapy services (i.e., “talk therapy”); and 2) less “traditional” Westernized modalities — such as art therapy, somatic therapies, internal parts work, etc. — makes us unique.  That dual focus, combined with our shared commitment to act on our values with transparency, seems to set us apart.

While I do not want to speak for Jacenta or Janice, one thing I believe we agree on is this:  We all believe wholeheartedly in the power of psychotherapy, and at the same time, none of us believe that psychotherapy is the only way to heal.  We also believe that healing is not an isolated event.  It is multi-faceted, non-linear, complex, and almost always requires additional systemic resources, some sense of larger meaning, various forms of connection, and layers of community support.

This is partly why, on a more concrete level, we focus on various psychotherapeutic modalities and honor more than one avenue for “healing” in our practice.  For example, we hope to eventually have a studio where, in addition to art therapy, we can also offer open studio times – i.e., spaces where the art itself can create healing and joy for others. This is also one of many reasons why a long-term vision we have for the practice is to build community with other practitioners coming from various perspectives, healing modalities, and walks of life:  because we recognize the value of other methods, we know that we ourselves need ongoing support, and we believe in the power of community care for clients.

Jacenta’s Answer:
We understand that there is no one way to heal and not every method works for everyone. We have group offerings that include support groups, processing groups, psychoeducational/life skills groups, art therapy groups, etc. to provide a range of therapeutic spaces to meet the needs of the community. We are willing to continue our decolonization learning processes and maintain our community support to best serve people on their healing journeys. This also includes understanding our own identities, privilege, and power that is in the room with each therapeutic relationship we have. Our mental health values are not just within the office; we integrate these same values into our everyday lives.

In addition, we understand that healing doesn’t take place in a vacuum. Together we know the importance of having people in our community that we can consult with, bond with, support, and collaborate with to promote change.

Question: What are you most proud of and excited about?
Taylor Answer:
I feel excited about the collaboration with Jacenta and Janice – these two fierce individuals who seem more than willing to dream and dare greatly in service of this work.  I also feel appreciative of the ways that all three of us at Creative Core Therapy, LLC strive to integrate many of our principles as therapists and as human beings — however imperfectly, and with the knowledge that this is a lifelong process. I believe that it takes significant ongoing work and intentionality to try to “walk the walk” as both a therapist and as another messy human navigating this wild ride called “life.” I feel honored to be in connection with people who not only engage genuinely in this process with me, but who hold me in a space of mutual accountability and support.

Jacenta’s Answer:
I am so very ecstatic to be able to work on this business with two astounding women that I am grateful to have long-term friendships with, Taylor since high school and Janice since graduate school. It is exciting to be able to launch this private practice with an incredible team and community support that I am privileged to have. This practice has been a dream that continues to grow through our willingness to lean into discomfort and confront ourselves through a decolonization lens. I feel humbled bearing witness to the growth of this practice. To have amazing partners who are willing to engage in vulnerable conversations so we can uplift each other is an experience that I truly cherish.

Question: How did you get to where you are today business-wise? Was it easy?
Taylor Answer:
When speaking strictly in the context of business, then my immediate honest answer is that I got to where I am today (business-wise) mostly through privilege and some random moments of luck.  While I cannot say that my journey has always felt easy, I would not be answering these questions about business right now if I did not have the following privileges: 1) the privilege of friendship and other social supports; 2) partner privilege (i.e., having a partner who also works and receives a living wage, which provides a safety net allowing me to justify the risks and financial challenges of starting a business at this time); 3) more recent increases in my educational, social, and cultural capital as a result of getting my degrees and clinical license; and 4) being born in the U.S. to a white father/having white paternal lineage.  Without those advantages, I am sure my journey would have been far more difficult.

Basically, I have been “lucky.” And I recognize most people are not so lucky.  I myself have not always been as class privileged as I am now, and yet the reality of that privilege is probably the most significant factor in assessing my current position from a business perspective. I have not always known stability or been privileged enough to even consider starting a business. Yet I also am continually learning how my areas of privilege at birth – such as being biracial and white presenting —allowed me to experience some “upward mobility” in that regard.  And, while there are many other experiences and factors that led me to the social work/mental health field(s) as a whole, it would be hard to disentangle my narrative of “starting a business” from the factors I have already named.

Jacenta’s Answer:
I don’t think anyone can truly say building a vision is easy especially when the vision is constantly changing as our learning continues. As women living with white/white presenting privilege, we understand the importance of taking accountability and acknowledging our flaws. New learning is constantly being navigated and integrated to be able to offer healing spaces to the community. I am fortunate to have support from friends, family, and a team to be able to start up this business which is a privilege not everyone has. I was privileged to be able to pursue higher education in order to fulfill my dream of becoming an art therapist and to be able to follow my path to being someone who fights for change and promotes social justice. It has been a difficult journey, however, there are many aspects that made it easier for me than for others such as my privilege, the support from my friends and family, trusting my intuition to pursue this path, having incredible friends and business partners who challenge and share the same values, for having a place to stay while I pursued my education, having access to wonderful teachers, mentors, therapists, and presenters to guide me further into understanding decolonization practices, and having the support of my artist community. Spending time understanding my own bi-racial identity, having the time and ability to do my own exploration has provided a stronger sense of self and how to show up as a human and therapist.

Question: What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way?
Taylor’s Answer:
There are so many! With this business and with mental health in general, the learning is ongoing. I have definitely learned that starting a group practice/group business is complicated (to say the least)!  Not just logistically, but also intrapsychically.  Like, “How do we put our clients and our values first while also supporting ourselves?”  That has been a huge ongoing question.

Some other lessons I am learning over and over again include 1) the recognition of how little I know and how much there is to continue learning, unlearning, and integrating; and 2) the reminder to myself to “be brave” and step out of my comfort zone when I can – in my own therapy (as a client), and also with this new group practice.

Jacenta’s Answer:
There are many lessons I have learned through this journey. Not just about how to start a business with business partners, but also the kind of healer I want to be, how to put into action the values I live intentionally by, how to show up in this new role as a business owner, and as a business partner, and dive into the things I needed to unlearn. My partners and I ran into a lot of people who thought of business through a white colonialist, capitalistic point of view so we had to navigate together how to step away from that mindset and find other ways to create our business. Each step has been a growing opportunity.

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?
Eat- Jerusalem Restaurant (Middle Eastern), Domo (Japanese), Somebody People (Vegan), Mason’s Dumplings (Asian), Kobe An (Japanese), Uncle (Japanese), TeaLee’s tea Co (afternoon tea), Axum Restaurant (Ethiopian), Cuba Cuba Cafe and Bar (Cuban food), Dushanbe Teahouse, Sweet Sweetz (vegan ice cream), Snowl (Korean ice cream), Food trucks!

Drink- Twenty Brew Taphouse, Colorado Sake Company, Black Project, 4 Noses Brewery, Awake (Sober bar)

Night Out- Tracks Night Club (LGBTQIA+ friendly), Milk Bar, Dazzle Denver, Mercury Cafe for Slam Poetry

Places to go- Mutiny Cafe and Comics, The Beer Spa, Botanical Gardens, Mile High Flea Market, Santa Fe Art Walk, Rino art walk and karaoke, Meow Wolf, Red Rocks, Denver Center for the Performing Arts

Hiking- Rocky Mountain National Park, Maroon Bells, The San Juan Mountains, Eldorado Springs

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?

We are extremely grateful to our communities of support: Gracie Bueno who helped us formulate this business and offered support.

Gerry Mulowayi who is a graphic designer and artist in Colorado. He designed our logo and helped us with our website.

The Colorado Art Therapy Association for always being a community of art therapists we can consult, bond, and connect with.

Our friends and family members who have supported us in creating this private practice.

Especially grateful to our amazing animals who are our emotional supports and working therapy dogs: Courage, Maple, Asher, and Cap’n Jack.

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?
We are extremely grateful to our communities of support: Gracie Bueno who helped us formulate this business and offered support.
Gerry Mulowayi who is a graphic designer and artist in Colorado. He designed our logo and helped us with our website.
The Colorado Art Therapy Association for always being a community of art therapists we can consult, bond, and connect with.
Our friends and family members who have supported us in creating this private practice.
Especially grateful to our amazing animals who are our emotional supports and working therapy dogs: Courage, Maple, Asher, and Cap’n Jack.

Website: www.creativecoretherapy.org

Instagram: @CreativeCoreTherapy

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativecoretherapy

Other: info@creativecoretherapy.org

Image Credits
Photo credits go to Lauren Millard, Viola AI Artist, Jacenta Irlanda, Janice Martindale, Gerry Mulowayi, Shonna Reddick, and Nic Roos

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.