About Kristen Cochran-Ward, LCSW, CST
Therapist for Women | Sex Therapist for Individuals and Couples | Colorado and Wyoming
I created Empowered Path Counseling and Coaching because you are not a problem to be solved. You are a person to be understood.
Many of my clients come to therapy feeling overwhelmed, guarded, disconnected, ashamed, or exhausted from holding everything together. They may look capable on the outside while carrying pain, grief, trauma, self-doubt, or fear that others do not see.
Therapy with me is not about being fixed, judged, or told who to become. It is about being met with curiosity, compassion, honesty, and care.
My style is warm, relational, trauma-informed, and deeply human. I do not sit above my clients as the expert on their lives. I walk alongside them. Together, we slow down and make space for the parts of your story that have felt too heavy to carry alone.
Sometimes we sit in the muck. Sometimes we grieve. Sometimes we untangle old patterns, protective responses, shame, fear, and beliefs that no longer serve the life you want to live. And over time, we begin to build strength, clarity, boundaries, self-trust, and a deeper sense of connection with yourself.
I bring advanced clinical training, years of experience, and my own lived humanity into the room. I care deeply about this work, and I care deeply about the people who trust me with their stories.
My hope is that therapy with me feels like a sanctuary — a real, honest, compassionate place where all of you is welcome.
You do not have to perform being okay here.
You can come in exactly as you are, and we will begin there.
My name is Kristen Cochran-Ward. I started Empowered Path Counseling and Coaching to help people like you see your worth, advocate for your needs, and create your dream life.
My Core Services:
Women's Issues
Sex Therapy
EMDR
Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy
Healing happens when people feel safe enough to be fully human.
I provide in-person therapy at my Fort Collins practice and online therapy throughout Colorado and Wyoming.
Counseling Approach
I welcome adults and couples of all races, ethnicities, cultures, identities, orientations, relationship structures, and lived experiences, including members of the LGBTQIA+ community, fellow therapists, first responders, and their partners.
My approach is warm, collaborative, trauma-informed, attachment-focused, and experiential. In therapy, we slow things down and pay attention to what is happening beneath the surface — your patterns, emotions, body responses, relationships, protective strategies, and the parts of you that feel stuck or ready for change.
Depending on your needs, our work may include EMDR, parts work, somatic awareness, mindfulness, sex therapy, psychedelic preparation or integration, or honest conversation in a space where you can finally exhale.
We will not force the work. We will move at the pace of safety, with curiosity, compassion, and respect for your nervous system.
And yes — there may be hot tea, coffee, moments of stillness, room for grace, a few laughs, and Lucy and Daisy, my dogs, nearby if you need a little extra comfort.
Specialties
- Anxiety
- Body image or eating concerns
- Depression
- Life transitions
- Sexual challenges
- Relationship problems
- Risky behaviors
- Self-esteem
- Trauma
- Women’s issues
Modalities & Training
- Sex Therapy
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
- Internal family systems (IFS)
- Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy
- Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT)
- Trauma responsive and informed care
Education + Experience
I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Colorado (LCSW #00000329) and Wyoming (LCSW-1677). I am also an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist. I graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2001 with a Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW). I completed my Certified Sex Therapy training with Modern Sex Therapy Institute. I completed my Psychedelic Assisted Therapy training with Integrative Psychiatry Institute.
I have over 25 years of experience in the mental health field, specializing in assessments, crisis intervention, clinical care coordination, and of course—individual and couples therapy. I also have an extensive background in developing, managing, and supervising behavioral health programs in the community. And I’m thrilled to continue to help people grow through my private practice.
Let’s Do This Together!
I can’t wait to embark on this empowering journey with you.
Contact me to see if we’re a good fit, and let’s start healing.