About & Approach

About Calyn

My name is Calyn Acebes and I am a licensed mental health counselor, nature enthusiast, animal lover, deeply curious, mother of three. The greatest honors of my life have been having the opportunity to show up and accompany my clients, family, friends, and animal friends on their journey of life. I believe that with trust and connection we are able to do remarkable things, overcome obstacles, push ourselves to places of tremendous growth, and feel a sense of great accomplishment.

Approach

My approach to counseling is client centered. I believe that my clients have the wisdom to create change for themselves. I also believe that through relationships with others, nature, human, or animal, there is a great potential to grow and heal. I believe that our traumas, conflicts, and wounds occur in relationships therefore the only way to change and move beyond our wounds is to navigate what comes up for us in relationships. I encourage people to become aware of their experience in the moment and then to move into deeper contact with their emotions and feelings. Through deep contact with thoughts and feelings, new patterns can be created, and change can occur. Change in the desired direction brings empowerment and a greater sense of well-being. 

In order to better understand my approach to therapy, understanding my journey to becoming a psychotherapist may be helpful. I was a deeply feeling child who loved animals, nature, and moving my body. When I wasn’t at school, I was on the sports field playing soccer or lacrosse, at the barn riding horses, or exploring the woods or beach where I grew up. Moving my body and being outside felt essential to my survival. They continue to today.

I learned through the pains of adolescence, that I could find respite in the natural world. My parents , despite having little to no interest in horses, saw that I was struggling and helped me adopt a horse. Glory, rescued thoroughbred, showed me I could trust myself, feel confident and strong. Over time I discovered that sharing natural places and animals with my friends and family created deeper meaning and connections for myself and others. 

Moving my body by walking, running, riding horses, or stretching enabled me to regulate the many feelings I experienced throughout the day. I could find my center, a calm, connected place no matter what was going on around me. I learned that I had all the tools I needed right inside of me to bring change, growth, and healing. Sharing this experience with others made the healing even more profound.

I knew as I entered college I would be a therapist one day. I have always been so curious and inspired by people. I received my BS in Applied Psychology from Ithaca College in 2004, where I also played four years on the women’s lacrosse team. Upon graduating I went to Alaska to attend a month long educators backpacking course where our small group navigated the Alaskan back country with a map and compass. Yes we did see a grizzly, a highlight of my time in the backcountry. The trip was very difficult and there were days I didn’t think I would be able to finish the course, but the wilderness was immense and reminded me that there was something so much bigger than myself and that I could do hard things, and feel stronger.

When I returned from Alaska, I knew I wanted to be a psychotherapist that incorporated nature into the therapeutic process. I found Naropa University in Boulder CO and completed their Masters in Counseling program with an emphasis on Wilderness Therapy. In 2006 I completed a certification in Gestalt Therapy through the Gestalt Institute of the Rockies, a certification in Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy through EAGALA (equine-assisted growth and learning association as well as the Gestalt Equine Institute of the Rockies). I worked at the Women’s Wilderness Institute in Boulder as well, taking teenage girls backpacking and rock climbing.

For the following four years, I worked at a non-profit, Medicine Horse Program in Boulder, CO, as a psychotherapist, program director, and clinical supervisor. I helped facilitate student trainings at the Gestalt Equine Institute of the Rockies and consulted for individual therapists building their own equine therapy practices. For three years I worked as an in- home family therapist for a community mental health agency in Rhode Island before reopening my private practice in 2014.

These days, in addition to my work, I am a mom of three boys, married to an active nature loving psychotherapist, and spend most of my time outside, moving with my family, and many animals including two dogs, a horse, bunny, cat, and chickens. When I am inside I do love a good cup of coffee, cozy pants, and listening to music or watching films.