Get to know me

Circles of Competence

Lynn McGregor - Denver TherapistMy background includes time as a teacher, middle school coach, commercial designer, corporate communications and product manager in a Fortune 500 Corporation, a small business owner, counselor, mother, and spouse.

After earning a Master’s degree in Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania, and a post-graduate degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, I have built a specialized practice over the last 12 years in counseling young adults, parents of young adults, individuals who want to reinvent themselves, and couples who are experiencing conflict and would like to mend.

I have experienced nine relocations in the course of 35 years, and have been lucky to be able to live in different places such as Houston, Michigan, Atlanta, Paris, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and now in Denver. Each time I had to build on what I had, but also reset myself to adapt to what the new place had to offer. I learned early on that I had a choice: to be sad and depressed about the place we had left, or to take a deep breath and embrace the possibilities yet to come. What I found was the chance to experience new things and people that I never would have imagined. And what an extraordinary life it has been – certainly not always easy, but gratifying in many surprising ways.

Attitude is the little thing that makes a BIG difference.

Winston Churchill

In my clinical practice, I have integrated my broad life experiences with systemic approaches in counseling to create a safe and non-judgmental experience of acceptance and exploration. I teach and encourage the use of intellectual curiosity, which is the deep and persistent desire to know. The experience can be captivating; it’s like peeling back more and more layers to get beyond the surface, to understand yourself and others, and to make better choices.

It is an opportunity for increased self-awareness. Psychologist Daniel Goleman who has written extensively on emotional intelligence believes that self-awareness is crucial. He believes that the ability to monitor our emotions and thoughts from moment to moment is the key to understanding ourselves better, being at peace with who we are, and then proactively being able to manage our thoughts, emotions and behaviors.

Most of us operate on autopilot throughout most of the day, being largely unconscious of what we are doing. Learning how to pay attention to what is going on both inside of us and around us is part of the work that I do.

My work is client-centered self-improvement for those of you who want to learn how to make better decisions that will serve you well. My clinical background also allows me to work with mental health issues that may be getting in your way of making the most of what you can be. Issues frequently addressed are anxiety, depression, panic disorder, obsessive and compulsive behaviors, trauma, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and difficulties with adjustment to changes in life.

I have been told that I am direct and “no nonsense”. And with that, I try to incorporate a broad perspective of what the stages in life are, and how we can not only adapt to, but thrive at every stage when taking the longer view.

View my full CV

Theories/Techniques/Methods

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
  • Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
  • Fixed versus Growth Mindset
  • Attachment-based therapeutic approaches
  • Bowen Family Systems Theory
  • Minuchin Structural Family Therapy
  • Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Interpretive Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
  • Mindfulness
  • Narrative Therapy
  • Gestalt
  • Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)

Licenses, Certifications, and Affiliations

  • Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
  • Post –Graduate Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT)
  • EMDR Certified (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing)
  • EFT Certified (Emotionally Focused Therapy)
  • MBTI Certified Step II Interpretive Practitioner (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator)
  • Adjunct Professor at Denver University in the Graduate School of Social Work teaching the Foundations Course in Clinical Skills
  • Clinician, CereScan Functional Brain Imaging and Diagnostic Clinic
  • Member of the National Association for Social Workers (NASW)
  • Member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)
  • NIA Somatic Movement White Belt

Education

Post-Graduate Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT)
Council for Relationships
Philadelphia, PA

Masters of Social Policy and Practice, (MSW)
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Honors: John Hope Franklin Award, 2009

The Myers & Briggs Foundation
Step III Certified Practitioner

Spanish Language and Culture
Warren Hardy School
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

French
Comparative Religion and Islam
Hope College, Holland, MI

French
Institute Catholique
Paris, France

Art History
Women in Continuing Education
Paris, France

Textile Analysis and Finishing
International Fabricare Institute
Silver Springs, Maryland

Product Management
Wharton School of Business
Philadelphia, PA

Environmental Design
Parsons School of Design
New York, New York

Bachelor of Arts, English and Psychology, Honors
Teaching Certificate
University of Northern Colorado
Greeley, CO

Client Testimonials

What my clients say about me.

Since I started working with Lynn, my relationships at work and with friends, and especially with my wife, have significantly improved. I learned the importance of listening, and how to better communicate in any type of situation. Most importantly, Lynn has always been there for me when difficult situations arose in my life. I cannot imagine where life might have taken me without the guidance of Lynn!

My experience with Lynn has been exceptional. Lynn is an incredible therapist who genuinely cares about each of her clients. She makes me feel comfortable opening up which can be hard when you feel vulnerable. Lynn not only listens, but teaches me coping skills which are needed for me to function. Lynn helps me with my anxiety and PTSD which is an everyday struggle. She is extremely knowledgeable and experienced as a therapist, and knowing that she is a professor who also teaches clinical skills is definitely a bonus. Lynn is warm and compassionate, but more importantly, effective at helping me find myself, and grow and take the tools I need to be my best self. After working with Lynn, I am back at the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver and found the strength within myself to leave a toxic work place. I am walking dogs for some money and looking to return to my roots in Case Management. I am constantly improving myself by learning how to ground myself and work on cognitive behavioral techniques to continue to develop better coping mechanisms for my anxiety. Lynn is very talented and doesn’t just sit and write notes when you talk, but actively works on ideas to stop the panic before it happens and manage the anxiety, where it is more normalized. I am lucky to have Lynn McGregor as a therapist and believe she can change many lives for the better. 

I have been seeing Lynn as my individual therapist for over 5 years. During this time, she has helped me walk through the challenges I have faced from past childhood traumas and how they have affected the way I love myself. She has helped me better understand how my past can be a map to help navigate many interconnected problems I have faced as a parent and spouse, in a family coping with the devastating effects of addiction and co-dependency on our family dynamics. Raising teenaged twins in this toxic environment has had potentially damaging results on our children, but both my individual and interwoven sessions with my husband’s therapist has saved our family from totally falling apart. I have always felt able to be brutally honest expressing my feelings in my sessions with Lynn because of her compassion, her exceptional listening skills, and her professionalism around boundaries and confidentiality. Most importantly, though, it has been her constant drive to work with me on developing skills to effectively manage my emotions in a way that is productive to our family, while still taking care of myself. Her support during our marital and family sessions has allowed me to honestly express myself during sessions, and to use these marital sessions to learn from, developing and using skills to take home with me. I am not sure I would be able to support my family right now during our times of strife from addiction, unemployment, loss, and adolescent growing pains, without the professional support from Lynn and the exceptional practice she has developed.

I grew up in a very traditional family where I was expected to conform to certain expectations that my father set forth for us all. I never seemed to be a great fit for that model, and always felt like I was a big disappointment when compared to my brothers and sisters who did fit in. In working with Lynn, I discovered that the alternative choices that I had made, were in fact, the right ones for me. I began to celebrate the extent of my achievements and found that I no longer needed to apologize to anyone for the life I had chosen. Most important of all, it no longer made any sense for me to feel badly about myself. That has made a big difference in how I see myself and the world.