Andrew Koumis
Andrew Koumis
Licensed Professional Counselor / EMDR Trained / IFS-Informed / Trauma-Informed / Gottman-Informed / EFT-Informed / Practice Owner
Get To Know Me: My Background And Our Journey
I started practicing therapy because it felt like the most meaningful thing I could do with my life. My academic background is in philosophy and theology, so I’ve always been interested in the relationship between meaning and experience. And I passed on other, more lucrative career paths because of the immense value I see in mental health treatment and support.
I’ve come a long way in my own personal journey. I have experienced immense suffering throughout my life, including childhood trauma, bullying, abuse, as well as chronic pain and illness, both as a child and in my early 20s. I’ve also experienced the transformative power of therapy firsthand, and understand how it can change the trajectory of a person’s life.
Within our practice alongside my wife Corinne, I specialize in trauma, anxiety, depression, anger issues, and addiction, just to name a few areas. Our practice fosters healing through connection by helping people become more attuned to themselves, others, and the world around them. And because we see connection as at the crux of mental and emotional health, how connected we feel correlates directly with how happy and fulfilled we are in our lives.
Therapy Has Enriched My Life Both Personally And Professionally
Before I pursued counseling as a career or even as a treatment option for myself, I had very little insight into my own emotions, much less how to deal with them. But engaging in therapy helped me get in touch with parts of myself that I didn’t even know existed.
As a counselor, my philosophy background helps me to ask the right questions so I can discern the root of a given issue. We primarily focus on Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) and Reparenting Therapy, but also use Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as needed. And although I excel at thinking logically and critically, I also incorporate some somatic elements into my work to help people get in touch with their bodies and their feelings, which are very much intertwined.
My larger life philosophy involves merging the logical and emotional minds, which are meant to work symbiotically and in relation to one another. I believe that being either hyper-logical or only focusing on emotions means living life out of balance, and that by understanding the interplay between the two we can lead lives of greater connection, peace, and harmony.
How My Journey Applies To Our Practice
One of the things that makes our practice unique is that my wife and I are both therapists who actively live what we teach. We’re both committed to not only our clients but our own emotional health and personal growth. In fact, we think of the work that we do with our clients as an active extension of the work we are doing personally, with each other, and with our kids.
I have a Pre-Theology Philosophy Degree and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. I’m EMDR-certified and IFS-, EFT-, Gottman-, and trauma-informed. But my superpower as a therapist has always been my keen ability to feel other people’s emotions and sense the root of their problems, which proves so valuable in therapy. And while I take my role as a counselor extremely seriously, I also have a witty and playful sense of humor (as Corinne can attest!) that can help bring levity and calm to the therapeutic setting.
In addition to my therapeutic work, I’m also involved with my church and play in a local band. We write and play original music, having played off and on together for the past 20 years. I also love discussing ideas—particularly theology and philosophy ones—as I crave thought-provoking discussions and am always seeking to grow intellectually and emotionally.
Andrew Koumis earned his B.S. in Business from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, a Pre-Theology Philosophy Certificate from Mount St. Mary’s University, and his M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Colorado Christian University. He has worked as a mental health counselor since 2021. He lives in Colorado Springs, CO, with his wife and collaborator, Corinne, and their three children.