Colorado Brain Injury Therapy
Rebuilding Identity. Restoring Hope. Redefining Recovery
Call or email Colorado Brain Injury Therapy and schedule a free 15 minute consultation now 720.812.8493
Welcome to Colorado Brain Injury Therapy — a specialized psychotherapy practice dedicated exclusively to the emotional and identity-based recovery of individuals living with brain injury.
A stroke, concussion, or traumatic brain injury can feel like losing part of yourself. The changes are not only physical. Survivors often experience identity disruption, executive dysfunction, depression, anxiety, substance use risk, relationship strain, and profound loneliness. Many describe feeling like they are no longer the person they once were.
At Colorado Brain Injury Therapy, we focus directly on that shift.
Our work is grounded in a structured, neuro-informed approach to identity reconstruction after brain injury. Treatment is designed to help survivors:
- Understand neurological changes without internalized shame
- Process grief related to lost roles and abilities
- Rebuild agency within cognitive and emotional limits
- Stabilize mood and reduce relapse risk
- Restore meaning, connection, and role continuity
We recognize that navigating life after brain injury can feel isolating. You do not have to do it alone. Our practice exists to provide specialized mental health care that understands both the neurological and emotional realities of recovery.
Services are available via secure video and telephone. In-home visits may be arranged when technology access is limited.
Insurance Accepted:
- Medicaid
- Medicare
Areas of Focus:
- Identity disruption after TBI or stroke
- Depression and anxiety secondary to brain injury
- Trauma and PTSD
- Substance use risk following neurological injury
- Executive dysfunction and reintegration challenges
- Concussion recovery support
If you or a loved one has been impacted by a brain injury, we invite you to schedule a free 15-minute consultation to determine whether this specialized approach is the right fit.
Lucia Valdez, LCSW
Lucia Valdez is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Brain Injury Specialist, and founder of Colorado Brain Injury Therapy, a specialized psychotherapy practice dedicated to the emotional and psychological needs of individuals and families affected by concussion, traumatic brain injury, acquired brain injury, and stroke.
Lucia brings more than 20 years of experience working across the brain injury continuum. Her career has included inpatient rehabilitation, post-acute treatment, community-based brain injury services, program leadership, and outpatient psychotherapy. This breadth of experience gives her a unique understanding of what happens after the immediate medical crisis has passed—when survivors and families are left navigating changes in identity, relationships, mood, cognition, independence, and expectations for the future.
Her clinical work focuses on the often-overlooked psychological impact of brain injury, including depression, anxiety, trauma, grief and loss, loneliness, emotional regulation, relationship changes, and the experience of no longer feeling like the person you were before your injury. A central focus of her work is helping clients rebuild a sense of identity and create a meaningful life that incorporates both who they were before their injury and who they are becoming.
Lucia earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Colorado Boulder, where her academic interests included recovery of function following brain injury. She earned her Master of Social Work from the University of Denver, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a concentration in Family Systems Practice.
In addition to her clinical work, Lucia has served as an adjunct professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She continues her work as an educator by training and mentoring graduate-level interns in brain-injury-informed clinical practice. She is committed not only to serving people affected by brain injury, but also to strengthening the knowledge and skills of the next generation of clinicians who will work with this population.
Lucia’s therapeutic approach is person-centered, strengths-based, trauma-informed, and grounded in an understanding of the neurological consequences of brain injury. She incorporates approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), mindfulness, grief work, and identity-focused psychotherapy. Treatment is adapted to accommodate challenges with processing speed, attention, memory, executive functioning, fatigue, and emotional regulation rather than expecting clients to fit into a traditional psychotherapy model.
For Lucia, this work is also personal. Brain injury has affected her own family, giving her an understanding of the profound ways an injury can affect not only the survivor but the entire family system.
After more than two decades in the field, Lucia founded Colorado Brain Injury Therapy around a simple principle: recovery from brain injury is about more than surviving an injury—it is about helping people reconnect with themselves, their relationships, and a life that feels meaningful again.
Brain Injury Blog
Insights and encouragement from Colorado Brain Injury Therapy
The Pressure to Inspire After Brain Injury
Every March, during Brain Injury Awareness Month, we see the same type of story repeated again and again. A survivor describes the day everything changed. There is struggle and hardship, but by the end of the story, there is triumph. The person finds strength, embraces a “new normal,” and becomes a warrior of recovery.[...]
“I Don’t Feel Like Myself Anymore” — Identity Reconstruction After Brain Injury
One of the most painful statements I hear from brain injury survivors is not about pain. It’s this: “I don’t feel like myself anymore.” After a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or stroke, changes in stamina, processing speed, and sensory tolerance are expected. But what often goes unaddressed is something deeper: The disruption of identity. Brain[...]
Why do I feel depressed after a stroke?
Many people are surprised by how depressed they feel after a stroke, especially if their physical recovery is going “well.” At Colorado Brain Injury Therapy, we hear this question often — and the answer is both neurological and human. A stroke changes the brain itself. Areas responsible for mood regulation, motivation, emotional processing, and[...]
