Therapy for Physicians & Health Professionals in Denver
Brett Marroquin, Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Arches Psychology Denver offers in-person therapy for individuals, couples, and other relationship types in our offices located in the Cherry Creek neighborhood of Denver, Colorado.
All services are evidence-based and scientifically-supported, and are always affirmative and supportive of the wide diversity of gay and LGBTQ identities, experiences, and relationships.
Therapy for Physicians and Health Professionals
Doctors and other health professionals are used to caring for others, but sometimes struggle to care for themselves. Physicians in particular are taught to be tough, to achieve at the highest levels, to keep going no matter what, and to hide any mental struggles they’re dealing with.
It’s no wonder that studies show that a significant percentage of doctors struggle with their mental health, with consequences for themselves, their partners and families, and even their patients.
Over the years, I’ve found more and more health professionals seeking me out and finding me to be a good fit for their unique needs. I have been lucky to work with physicians and other professionals, from medical students, to residents, to attending physicians, as well as nurses — and other psychologists and mental health care providers.
Common areas of concern for physicians in therapy include:
Burnout, frustration, and exhaustion
Difficulty with work/life balance
Starting and maintaining romantic relationships
Transitions between career stages (for example, from residency to attending role)
Performance anxiety and self-doubt
Feelings of failure or disappointment
Feeling misunderstood by non-medical professionals
Click below to learn more about my services for individual therapy and couples therapy.
Physicians and health professionals often have particular needs in mind in working with me as their therapist:
Level of training/professional identity
I am a doctoral-level therapist, with a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and postdoctoral training in Health Psychology. This has been important to many of my physician clients who value this level of advanced training and expertise in their therapist.
Familiarity with medical settings and health care
Sometimes clients are surprised to find that clinical psychologists’ training, unlike that of many other mental health professions, often happens in hospitals and medical settings. Most of my clinical experience prior to private practice was in hospital settings, including outpatient, intensive outpatient, and community mental health clinics. My postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA was in Health Psychology, in an NIH-funded research program that focused on links between physical and mental health.
Scheduling challenges
Some doctors and nurses maintain regular work schedules, but many do not. I am able to offer flexible scheduling session-to-session if needed.
Value of evidence-based treatment
I share with physicians a commitment to treatment based in science and evidence. All of the therapy approaches I draw on have been well-tested in rigorous randomized controlled trials. Good therapy, like good medical intervention, is always tailored to the patient, and I use standardized assessment techniques and outcome monitoring to make sure we’re moving in the right direction.
Connection with research and scholarship
I was a tenured professor in academia before I decided to focus on full-time private practice. I’ve published over 25 scientific articles, and remain active in ongoing research. Related to my clinical work with doctors, I wrote a chapter for a medical textbook about the role of emotion in medical providers and their encounters with patients.
Privacy and confidentiality
It can be hard for physicians to overcome the shame and stigma that their profession tends to hold about mental health and seeking help. I recognize the emotional risk and vulnerability physicians face in therapy. This should go without saying, but privacy and confidentiality are absolute priorities in therapy. I am not affiliated with any hospital system and do not contract with any insurance companies, so you can rest assured that your therapy is yours alone.
Cost
For more junior health professionals, cost can be a barrier to accessing good mental health care. I recognize that medical students and residents face steep costs at relatively low pay, and may not be able to afford out-of-pocket costs of therapy. For those at the medical student or residency levels of training, I am able to offer discounted rates when my availability allows.
How I Help
Getting Started
First we’ll have a brief, free phone consultation to see if I’m a likely fit for you and your needs.
For individual therapy, we will then meet for one or two initial assessment sessions. We’ll do a thorough assessment during which I will get a better sense of you and what you’d like to work on, you’ll get a better sense of me, and we’ll develop goals and a plan for treatment. After this, therapy sessions are usually once per week for 45-50 minutes.
We’ll then use practical, concrete approaches — tailored specifically to your needs and treatment goals — to explore how different ways of thinking, feeling, and interacting can free you from what’s been holding you back, so you can live the life you want.
