At Good Enough Counseling: Questions to ask:
Are you a friend to yourself? If you’re hurt or grieving, who is close enough to notice? Who stays? Who are you faithful to—and who is faithful to you? Do you trust anyone?
Grief isn’t a malfunction. Depression isn’t a personal defect. Moral disgust isn’t “dysregulation.” They’re signals: something you care about has been taken—or never reliably given. Maybe you never had it, but you can sense it’s the thing to move toward. Therapy a place to address serious issues that concern you.
I’m less interested in whether you “feel happy,” and more interested in this: are you going in the right direction—toward a life that’s more held, more stable, more human? Life is complicated.
I bring training, patience, and quiet listening.About — Brian Whitney, LCSW
About Brian:
I’m a Denver-based therapist focused primarily on individual adult outpatient therapy. I began in the early 1990s as a psych tech, working with acutely disturbed children in acute psychiatric hospitalization. moved quickly from child work into adult treatment settings, and have spent most of my career doing one-to-one therapy with adults.
I was first licensed in 1997. I earned my Master’s degree at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, with clinical training through placements including the state hospital, the VA, and BridgeWay. Early in my career I received unusually close supervision and intensive training, several hours weekly, with a full 33 therapy hours/week, and I’ve continued ongoing education and consultation throughout my practice, most of it in iindividual adult counseling.
Today my work is straightforward: I offer a calm, direct, collaborative therapy process for adults who want real traction—whether that means working through long-standing patterns or focusing on a specific problem and building a plan.
About me: I try to practice what I preach, emphasis on try. I do believe in simple things. A daily walk with my old dogs, at sunup or sundown, is my daily centering. Putting healthy routines in place. My wife and I try to stay connected to friends, family and stay open to new things, as life and time allow.
Who I work with:
Adults 19–99
In person in my East Denver office (near Leetsdale & Monaco)
Teletherapy statewide for clients located in Colorado
My practice is primarily individual therapy. Occasionally a partner or family member may join a session when it supports an individual client’s goals, but the work remains centered on one adult.
What I help with
People come to me for many reasons. Common themes include:
Anxiety, depression, irritability, and stress that doesn’t shut off.
Grief and life transitions.
Trauma and its aftereffects (including fatigue, sleep disruption, hypervigilance, shutdown, or avoidance)
Relationship strain and “relational patterns” that repeat, for the individual client.
Work stress, burnout, and loss of motivation, sleep issues.
Chronic health issues or chronic pain that affect mood and functioning.
Sometimes the surface issue is one thing, but underneath it’s a smaller set of problems: not enough support, too much responsibility, an old survival strategy that is no longer working, caring for self last, if at all, or a nervous system that has been on high alert for too long.
How I work:
I aim for therapy that is grounded, honest, and effective—not performative.
Depending on your needs, I draw from:
Evidence-based approaches (including ACT, Motivational Interviewing, REBT, and trauma-informed CBT)
Longer-term psychodynamic therapy when deeper patterns and history matter
You should have a clear sense of what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and where we’re going. Some clients want focused work toward a defined goal and then stop. Others want longer-term therapy to change deeper patterns. Either can be appropriate.
Training and consultation
I take technique seriously and keep training current. Recent and ongoing professional development includes:
2026 formal training focus on Men’s issues already started, February.
2024: CCPT-II training with Dr. Ruth Lanius and other trauma clinicians
2025: In-person training event with Nancy McWilliams (Denver)
2025–2026: Additional training focused on mature clients. Ongoing peer consultation with clinicians I respect, to make sure we are on the right path.
Training started in 1995, and has continued every year. Several years of close weekly supervision and psychodynamic technique, and CBT and evidenced based training— hands on. I take an active interest in finding out what works, weeding out what doesn’t, and applying technique and close attention to help the person in front of me. I read a few books of interest every year, train with the best I can find, and make sure I am listening.
I keep my caseload intentionally sized so I can respond thoughtfully and do the work with care, and reflection between sessions
A note on “Good Enough”
I named the practice “Good Enough” because therapy is not about perfection. It’s about showing up—honoring the part of you that wants things to be better—and building change that holds in real life.
No social media. No “likes.” Just therapy that is grounded, well-trained, and supported by ongoing consultation.
Of course AI did help me with this website: keywords, snippets, strategies, Google Ad Cost strategies, etc. Its 2026.
But I’m still very much here. Hello.
Next step
If you’re doing the responsible thing and comparing a few therapists in Denver (or across Colorado for teletherapy), I encourage it. Look for someone whose style, boundaries, and availability feel right.
If my approach fits, the next step is simple: call or email and we’ll see whether we’re a match.
If you’re considering thapywith me, the simplest way to start is a brief phone consult to check fit and availability.