About Colt Gordon

How I Got Here

I didn't come to this work through a textbook. I grew up in family dysfunction and joined the Marine Corps, where I served three deployments — Iraq, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Somewhere in there I was fighting a war nobody could see: a secret eating disorder, depression, and thoughts of ending my life. After my honorable discharge I hit bottom — including a stretch of homelessness — before the VA connected me to real help, and four months at the UCSD Eating Disorders Center changed the direction of my life.

It was in treatment, leading a group therapy session, that I found my calling. I went on to earn my BA in Psychology from UCLA and my Master of Social Work from USC — and along the way was named Student Employee of the Year for my work as a Mental Health Peer Educator.

I tell you this because you should know who's sitting across the screen: not someone who studied struggle from a distance, but someone who has been on both sides of this conversation.

How I Work

Everything starts with a fit assessment. I value you as the expert in your own life — I can offer my training, my experience, and my best guess, but you're the one living your life, and I'm a fellow-journeyer on the path. We establish safety first, then build resiliency and effectiveness.

Here's my promise: I will be honest with you, and I will hold you accountable. You've got to do the reps — and I'm here to spot you. I work for you.

Do you have a process for change? I do, and I can teach it to you. See The Process.

Credentials & Training

I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in California (LCSW #110973) and Wyoming (LCSW-1577), and a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) — I train other professionals in Motivational Interviewing across behavioral health, medicine, education, clergy, and law enforcement.

My clinical toolkit is strength-based and integrative:

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) — the cornerstone of my practice
• Bowen Family Systems
• EMDR
• Internal Family Systems (IFS) / Parts Work
• Classic Exposure Therapy
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) & SMART Recovery
• Mindfulness Training
• Motivational Interviewing (MI)

Why Online, Why Here

My practice exists to increase access to psychotherapy, particularly in rural areas where the nearest therapist can be hours away. I provide online therapy across California and Wyoming — and for everyone else, anywhere in the world, I offer Bowen Family Systems Coaching.

I live in Cody, Wyoming, where I host my podcast, play guitar badly enough to keep at it, and practice what I teach — including a daily meditation practice I've kept since 2021.

Start with a Fit Assessment

Fifteen minutes, free, no pressure. You tell me what's going on; I tell you honestly whether I'm the right person for it — including telling you if I'm not. That's the deal.