Welcome Valan Kornhaus, LPCC, to Dynamic Counseling

We are excited to welcome Valan Kornhaus, LPCC, to the team at Dynamic Counseling in Colorado Springs.

Finding the right therapist is about more than credentials or a list of specialties. Therapy works best when you feel comfortable with the person sitting across from you. You want someone who can understand what you are experiencing, help you make sense of patterns that may be keeping you stuck, and give you practical ways to begin moving forward.

That balance of compassion, curiosity, and practical support is central to Valan’s approach to counseling.

Counseling for Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, and Life Transitions

Valan works with adolescents and adults experiencing a wide range of concerns, including anxiety, depression, trauma, emotional dysregulation, stress, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties, identity concerns, and major life transitions.

Sometimes people come to therapy because something clearly difficult has happened. Other times, there is no single event they can point to. They simply know that life has become harder than it should feel.

You might notice yourself becoming overwhelmed more easily, struggling to quiet your thoughts, feeling disconnected from people you care about, or repeatedly falling into patterns you understand intellectually but cannot seem to change.

Therapy creates space to slow those patterns down and understand what is underneath them.

Rather than asking only, “How do I make this feeling go away?” Valan helps clients become curious about where their responses came from, what purpose they may have served, and what healthier ways of responding might look like now.

A Therapy Approach That Goes Beyond Coping Skills

Coping skills matter. Knowing how to regulate emotions, tolerate distress, communicate effectively, and manage difficult thoughts can make an enormous difference.

But sometimes coping skills alone are not enough.

Many of the patterns we struggle with developed for a reason. Anxiety may have learned to anticipate everything that could go wrong. Avoidance may have developed as protection from painful experiences. Anger may appear when another part of us feels vulnerable. Perfectionism may have once helped us feel safe, successful, or accepted.

Understanding those patterns can create opportunities for deeper and more lasting change.

Valan integrates several evidence-based approaches into therapy, including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Internal Family Systems (IFS). (Dynamic Counseling)

This allows therapy to include both practical skills and deeper exploration.

DBT for Emotional Regulation

Dialectical Behavior Therapy can be especially helpful for people who experience emotions intensely or have difficulty knowing what to do when those emotions become overwhelming.

DBT focuses on developing skills related to emotional regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, and relationships.

The goal is not to stop having difficult emotions. It is to become more capable of experiencing them without allowing those emotions to completely determine what happens next.

Valan also has a particular interest in using DBT with athletes and runners, making this an area of counseling that may be especially helpful for people navigating the emotional and psychological pressures that can accompany athletics, performance, competition, injury, or identity as an athlete. (Dynamic Counseling)

ACT and Learning to Live Alongside Difficult Emotions

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy takes a slightly different approach to emotional health.

We often spend enormous amounts of energy trying not to feel anxious, sad, ashamed, uncertain, or afraid. Unfortunately, the harder we fight certain internal experiences, the more powerful they can become.

ACT helps people develop a different relationship with uncomfortable thoughts and emotions while identifying the values that matter most to them.

Instead of waiting until anxiety disappears before living your life, therapy can help you learn how to move toward the life you want even when anxiety occasionally comes along for the ride.

IFS and Understanding the Parts of Yourself

Valan also incorporates Internal Family Systems into her work.

IFS is based on the idea that we all have different “parts” of ourselves that developed to help us navigate our experiences.

One part may desperately want connection while another pushes people away. One part may want to rest while another insists you should always be productive. One part may understand that you are safe while another continues reacting as though something bad is about to happen.

Rather than treating these parts as problems that need to be eliminated, IFS encourages curiosity about them.

Often, the behaviors we dislike most about ourselves make much more sense once we understand what they have been trying to protect.

Therapy That Meets You Where You Are

There is no single way therapy is supposed to look.

Some clients want concrete tools they can begin practicing immediately. Others need space to understand experiences they have carried for years. Many need both.

Valan takes a collaborative and individualized approach rather than trying to fit every client into the same therapeutic model. Her goal is to create a supportive, nonjudgmental environment where clients can explore difficult experiences while developing the insight and skills necessary to create meaningful change. (Dynamic Counseling)

You also do not need to arrive at therapy knowing exactly what is wrong or what you want to work on.

Sometimes the starting point is simply:

“I know something needs to change.”

That is enough.

Meet Valan Kornhaus, LPCC

Valan earned her Master of Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Colorado Christian University and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of South Carolina. She has also completed training in the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS). (Dynamic Counseling)

At Dynamic Counseling, Valan provides counseling for adolescents and adults and particularly enjoys helping clients understand the patterns beneath anxiety, depression, trauma, emotional struggles, relationship difficulties, and concerns surrounding identity and self-worth.

We are thrilled to have her as part of our growing team.

If you are looking for a therapist in Colorado Springs who combines practical coping strategies with deeper emotional work, you can learn more about Valan and request an appointment through Dynamic Counseling.

Looking for Counseling in Colorado Springs?

Dynamic Counseling provides therapy for children, teens, adults, couples, and families in Colorado Springs. Our clinicians offer a variety of approaches so that clients can find a therapist and style of therapy that fits their individual needs.

Whether you are struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, relationships, emotional regulation, or simply feeling stuck, you do not have to figure everything out before reaching out.

Sometimes therapy begins with simply having a place to start.