About
About Joanna Ford, MA, LPC
Working as a therapist with specialties in PMDD therapy, EMDR and treating depression, anxiety and trauma is a second career for me—inspired by my sincere love of supporting people, helping them find and foster healing and resources, providing supportive feedback and celebrating personal and professional growth and transformation. For many years, I worked in HR, witnessing every day how many challenges, stressors and issues we are all trying to navigate as we do our best to manage and juggle the many moving parts and aspects of our busy and often highly stressful lives.
This exploration began with me volunteering at the Urban Peak Shelter for Teens Safe House in Denver. While difficult at times, I absolutely loved supporting and getting to know those teenagers. It was also while working at Urban Peak that I began to meet others in the community who were going to school to study social work and psychotherapy, which prompted me to return to school to become a therapist.
Today, as a licensed professional counselor, it’s my honor to support people through significant life transitions, find their personal path to healing, mitigate stress and live with more clarity, purpose and ease.
I am particularly inspired to support people who are experiencing PMDD, which is often misunderstood and misdiagnosed, as well as those struggling with other hormonal issues, depression, anxiety, trauma, mood disorders and hypersensitivities.
In my early 30s, I really started to struggle with what I now know is PMDD. I was using birth control pills, and began experiencing severe migraines. I went off of birth control and the migraines stopped, but my cycle became irregular and increasingly challenging. I began to wonder if I was experiencing early onset perimenopause, although I was really struggling for about two weeks every month.
No medical doctors could answer my questions. I consulted with a naturopath, who thought it might be diet related. I made some nutritional and movement/exercise changes, which helped some (getting proper nutrition and moving the body are always good practices), but those changes didn’t lead to the sustainable relief I was seeking. Some months were better; some were terrible.
This was also during a time when we didn’t talk openly about women’s health, hormonal changes and mental health challenges. We’re doing a bit better today, but still have a long way to go. Thankfully, a wonderful neighbor who was older than me spent time talking with me, validating my experience and helping and encouraging me to not give up and to keep seeking alternative methods in a search for something that could help.
After almost 10 years of trying to understand what was going on, experiencing what felt like being on a rollercoaster that never stopped, I learned about PMDD and began my personal path to healing, learning to accept my condition and work with it rather than have it steamroll me. PMDD is still highly misunderstood, although we’re continuously learning more, and it can feel scary, isolating and confusing to navigate—as can depression, anxiety and unresolved trauma.
Over the years I have also learned and personally experienced that unresolved trauma is often at the root of many of the challenges we experience today, whether that be anxiety, depression, substance abuse and addiction issues, struggles with interpersonal relationships, low self-esteem, trouble with focus and concentration—the list goes on and on. Understanding that trauma is ubiquitous in today’s world led me to become certified in EMDR therapy, which has helped millions of people renegotiate and resolve trauma, leading to significant relief and increased ease and peace in all aspects of their lives.
Begin Your Healing Journey
The road to healing and recovery, whether it is PMDD, depression, anxiety, trauma or any other stressors, comes with many frustrations, confusion and a slew of other mental, emotional and physical challenges. However, there really is hope and a path to healing for each of us. I understand that PMDD, depression, anxiety and trauma are real and debilitating struggles, and in our work together, I acknowledge and validate your experience, helping you know—and really feel—that you are not alone in this.
I hold both personal and professional goals to widen and elevate the conversations we’re having today about women’s health, mental health issues, underserved populations, and the very real fact that we all are struggling with and trying to work through something. As a therapist, I understand that while many of our issues and symptoms overlap, we’re all unique, experience things differently and that everyone’s experience is real and valid.
I take a client-centered approach, meeting you where you are today and in all of our sessions. I believe in working collectively to develop a therapy strategy that works specifically for you and considers your needs, wants, values, lifestyle and therapy/life goals. I bring warmth and compassion into our work together, helping you get to the source of the issue(s), develop practical strategies, heal from trauma, and encourage and support you in building a life and lifestyle that supports you in getting what you need.
Understanding your struggles and personal experience with them, learning to make self-care a priority (which can be a challenge for many of us), practicing techniques to mitigate stress, making appropriate lifestyle changes, figuring out what works specifically for you and working with a therapist who understands these issues from the inside-out can make a significant difference. It certainly did for me, and it’s my calling and honor to help others do the same.
I’ll meet you with an open heart, tenderness, empathy and compassion. I’m often told that people feel a warm and grounding energy during sessions and feel understood and supported fairly quickly. Again, I will meet you where you are, supporting you through the challenges and also right there with you to celebrate both the small and big successes.
A Little More On Joanna Ford…
Outside of my work as a therapist, I practice yoga and other breath and movement activities and spend as much time as possible outdoors. For me, being in nature is the best therapy. I also love crossword puzzles, which are said to help with memory and cognitive function as we age, which is great, but I also really just enjoy word games! When I’m unable to get out into full-on nature, I love gazing at the trees, the clouds, the stars and the sky, thinking of myself as a small, albeit important part, of something much bigger and experiencing peace knowing that each of us and everything is interconnected.
Live With More Ease
If you know or think that you may have PMDD, are struggling with depression, anxiety and/or trauma, are interested in EMDR therapy, and are located in the Denver area, I can help. I invite you to contact me today to schedule a complimentary call. You can share your symptoms, experience, needs and therapy goals with me, ask any questions you have about my specialties and practice and we can discuss how to effectively work together so I can best support you on your healing journey.
I also offer online therapy to anyone living in the state of Colorado. If this format better serves your needs and lifestyle, we can meet you virtually from the comfort of your home through a secure and confidential online platform.
Although you are likely feeling overwhelmed, confused and at a loss right now, please do remember that there is always hope and the discovery of your personal path for healing. It is possible to get to the root cause(s) of your distress and learn, practice and implement new perspectives, tools and strategies to live with more peace, ease, flow and joy.
Joanna Ford, MA, LPC is a licensed professional counselor and therapist; license # 11836. Joanna earned her Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology and Counselor Education from the University of Colorado Denver and her Bachelor of Arts at State University of New York at New Paltz. Before moving into private practice in 2014, Joanna worked as a therapist and counselor at Mile High Women’s Outreach Center, Family Advocacy Care Education Support (FACES), Lifelong Adult Education Services, The Denver Hospice, Project WISE (Women’s Initiative Service Empowerment) and the University of Colorado Denver Counseling Center. She has also served as a case manager at the Center for Work Education and Employment (CWEE) and Urban Peak, as well as volunteered at a Safe House in Denver. In addition to her formal education and years of counseling experience, Joanna has consistently engaged in advanced trainings and earned certifications to better serve her clients and help improve the overall collective experience of humanity. Additional trainings and certifications include: Certified EMDR therapist; Integrating Ego States; Flash Technique; Encampment Resident Support Training and Discussion; Social Justice Counseling by the Humanitarian Alliance; We Need to Talk about Sizeism, Regan Byrd Consulting; A History of Race and White Supremacy, Regan Byrd Consulting; PMDD & Me Conference 2019; How To Clinically Support Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clients; and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
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