Office: Fort Collins, Colorado
Session formats: In-person and virtual (Colorado residents)
Populations served: Children, adolescents, teens, adults, couples, families
Primary specialties: LGBTQIA+ affirming counseling, religious trauma, addiction recovery, anxiety and depression, relationship counseling
Therapeutic approach: Person-centered, empowerment-focused, strengths-based; integrates behavior change, fitness, and nutrition counseling
Languages: English
Accepting new clients: Yes

About Alyson Lowe

Alyson Lowe has spent more than fifteen years doing the kind of work that asks you to show up as a full human being — not just a clinician. Her practice is built around a single Socratic idea that she uses as a compass: the secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. That framing shows up everywhere in her sessions. Alyson is less interested in excavating what broke than in helping clients build what they want next, using their own strengths as the raw material.

She is particularly effective with clients who have been underserved or misread by the mental health system: LGBTQIA+ individuals navigating identity, coming out, or gender affirmation; people recovering from religious trauma or deconstructing a faith system that no longer fits; clients working through addiction and compulsive behaviors, including substance use and sexual compulsivity; and families in the middle of hard conversations about boundaries, parenting, or generational patterns. Her tone is warm, a little irreverent, and refuses to pathologize what is actually a reasonable response to an unreasonable situation.

Before joining Foundations Counseling, Alyson held roles across the nonprofit sector, child protective services, and inpatient mental health — including time as a Mental Health Therapist on the Child and Family Team at North Range Behavioral Health in Greeley, Colorado. That range matters. She has sat with clients in the worst week of their lives and clients in the long, quiet middle of recovery, and she brings both kinds of steadiness into the room. She holds a Master of Social Work from Colorado State University and is a Certified Health Coach through the American Council on Exercise, which means she can also weave in behavior change, fitness, and nutrition work when clients want that integration.

When she's not working, Alyson is active in the community as an ally and advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community and other marginalized populations. She also spends time with her two grandchildren, hikes, backpacks, roller skates, spots storms, plays golf, practices yoga, attends concerts and festivals, and relaxes at home with her three cats. She mentions this not as a biographical flourish but because she thinks clients deserve to know they're working with a person, not a role.

Therapeutic Approaches

Alyson's approach is integrative rather than modality-first. She draws on several frameworks depending on what a client needs:

• Person-Centered Therapy — the foundation of her work; clients lead, Alyson supports.
• Strengths-Based and Empowerment approaches — rooted in her social work training; focus on client capacity rather than deficit.
• Behavior Change Coaching — drawn from her Certified Health Coach credential with the American Council on Exercise, used when clients want to integrate physical, nutritional, or lifestyle change into their mental health work.
• Trauma-Informed Practice — shaped by her years in child protective services, inpatient behavioral health, and nonprofit crisis work.

Prior Clinical Experience

Before joining Foundations Counseling, Alyson served in the nonprofit sector providing individual, child, and family therapy; worked in child protection; and supported clients receiving inpatient mental health care as a Mental Health Therapist on the Child and Family Team at North Range Behavioral Health in Greeley, Colorado. She is known for her empathetic communication style, her sense of humor, her relaxed and open-minded presence, and her ability to hold serious clinical work without making the room feel heavy.

FAQ

Is Alyson an LGBTQIA+ affirming counselor?

Yes. LGBTQIA+ affirming care is central to Alyson's practice, not an add-on. She works with clients across the spectrum of sexual orientation and gender identity, including those in early exploration, active coming-out, gender affirmation, or long-standing relationship and family navigation. Outside of sessions, she is active as an ally and advocate in the broader community.

Does Alyson work with clients recovering from religious trauma?

Yes. Alyson has significant experience with clients processing religious trauma and faith deconstruction — whether that means stepping away from a high-control religious system, reconciling identity with inherited belief, or simply naming what happened. She does not proselytize in either direction; her role is to help clients build what comes next on their own terms.

Does Alyson work with addiction recovery?

Yes. Alyson works with clients in recovery from substance use disorders, as well as sex and pornography addiction. Her approach is integrative — combining person-centered counseling, behavior change coaching, and, where the client wants it, practical work on fitness, nutrition, and routine that supports long-term recovery.

Does Alyson offer couples counseling?

Yes. Alyson sees couples working through communication breakdowns, infidelity recovery, boundary disputes, parenting and mental-load imbalance, attachment wounds, and divorce — both during and after. She is comfortable with couples where one partner is newly out, mid-transition, or recovering from religious trauma that is putting pressure on the relationship.

Is Alyson accepting new clients?

Alyson is currently accepting new clients at the Fort Collins location and offers virtual sessions for Colorado residents. A free consultation is available through Foundations Counseling's Counselor Match Guarantee — a no-pressure way to see whether her approach is the right fit before committing to regular appointments.