Aaron Shipps, LPC & CGC

About Aaron

I came to grief work through my own significant losses, both the kind I studied and what I’ve lived. Grief work is more than simply a job for me, it’s a way of being. I think of well-being as the capacity to hold both love and loss, which is an essential human experience.

Southwest Colorado got hold of me early. I can still remember my first camping trip out in the desert, and what struck me was the silence. That and the landscape. I went to college here and I’ve lived here off and on since 1994, and is where I feel at home in the world.

Meditation is a daily practice for me and it keeps me clear, which matters most when I’m sitting with someone. The other thing is climbing. On the hard days, when I walk out of the office after difficult sessions, I climb and come away feeling washed out and brand new. It’s a community I love being a part of. And my family. My family means the absolute world to me and is a place where I continue to grow and learn what it really means to love.

Aaron’s Approach to Care

The relational side of this work is where I put most of my weight. What happens between two people in the room is usually the thing that moves, more than any technique laid over the top of it.

I’ll admit to an ongoing argument with my own field. There’s a great deal in mental health that I admire, and there are also times when the way we practice doesn’t seem to come from a clear or an honest place. Working out what an honest approach actually looks like is the thing I keep circling back to. What I’m after is a way of being with people where they feel seen and valued, not processed.

Grief is the center of my practice, and is where I practice best. Death and loss, life limiting and terminal illness, missing persons, suicide, and relational grief. Within grief therapy I’m a certified grief therapist, a trained End of Life Death Doula, am trained in grief ritual, and have experience as a past Hospice Volunteer. More broadly I’m certified in EMDR and trained in mindful self-compassion for shame, which comes up more often in grief than people expect. Similarly, I am working towards supporting those with terminal Illness or life limiting illness and/or their circles of care as a Community Deathcare Advocate.

One thing I’d say before you come in: Grief is not a pathology, but a human experience. It has many shapes and forms. And the intersection between grief and trauma is something to be carefully handled. This is not something that should be gone alone. If you feel that support might be helpful wherever you are at, I’d be honored to hear from you.

Aaron’s education and experience

I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Grief Counselor, trained End of Life Death Doula, along with having past experience as a Hospice Volunteer. I’m certified in EMDR, trained in grief ritual, and trained in mindful self-compassion for shame. My work covers grief of all kinds, along with trauma. Similarly, I am working towards supporting those with terminal Illness or life limiting illness and/or their circles of care as a Community Deathcare Advocate. I attended college in Durango and have lived in Southwest Colorado off and on since 1994.

Aaron’s license information

Credential: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC); Certified Grief Counselor (CGC)
State: Colorado