Colt Gordon

Growing up, my family battled with compulsive behaviors, mental illness, and dysfunction. After high school, I quickly joined the Marine Corps. And I served on three deployments (Iraq, Korea, and Southeast Asia). Throughout my service, I secretly struggled with an eating disorder, depression, and suicidal thoughts. After being honorably discharged, my symptoms became so debilitating that I became homeless. As a result, I finally found the willingness to receive professional help through the VA and spent four months at UCSD Eating Disorders Center. There I dedicated myself to doing whatever it took to fully recover. While in treatment, I was given the opportunity to lead a group therapy session; at that moment, I found my calling to be a therapist. Since then I’ve been awarded Student Employee of the Year as a Mental Health Peer Educator, received my bachelor’s degree in psychology from UCLA, and my master’s degree in social work from USC.

When it comes to accomplishing your goals in therapy, it starts with making sure we are a good fit, and that we can create and maintain a genuine relationship. While I have resources and specialized training, I can only give you my best guess. I value you as the expert in your own life; I consider myself as a fellow-journeyer on the path. If we agree that we can work together, I will initially focus on fostering safety in our sessions. Safety is important, more importantly, though, my focus will be on helping you build resiliency and effectiveness. I will be honest with you, I will hold you accountable, and I will be empathetic. Creating a life with meaning takes work. You got to do the reps, and I am here to spot you. I work for you.

If you are interested in working with me, please reach out and we can set up a 15-minute complimentary therapist fit assessment.

I largely use the following interventions through a strength-based approach: Internal Family Systems (IFS), EMDR Therapy, classic exposure therapies, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, DBT, SMART Recovery/CBT, Mindfulness training, and Bowen Family Systems.