Colby Christensen, MFTI

My Story

I came to therapy through my own life — not through a straightforward path. Before I ever sat with a client, I spent fifteen years building and running a business. I know what it means to carry pressure that does not go away when you leave the office. I know what it is like to look productive on the outside and feel like you are barely holding it together on the inside.

I also navigated a faith transition inside a marriage. I understand firsthand what it feels like when the beliefs that organized your life and your relationship begin to shift — and what it takes to stay connected to someone you love when you are seeing the world differently than you used to. That experience shaped not just who I am, but how I work with people.

At some point, I recognized that the thing I was most drawn to in all of my experience was people. The conversations that mattered. The moments where someone stopped performing and started being honest. I went back to school for marriage and family therapy because I wanted to do that work on purpose.

I am currently a graduate student intern completing practicum requirements for my Master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at North Central University. I see clients at A Pretty Good Therapist, the practice of Patrick Powers, PhD, LMFT, under his direct supervision in Murray, Utah. I am not independently licensed.

How I Work

I am direct. I am not going to sit quietly for fifty minutes while you describe your week. I am going to ask questions, push on things, and engage with you as a real person. That does not mean I am harsh — it means I respect you enough to be honest.

I draw primarily on Bowen Family Systems Theory, which looks at how the patterns in your family of origin show up in your current relationships and in how you handle stress, anxiety, and differentiation — the ability to stay connected to the people you love while remaining yourself. I also integrate elements of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD, and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples work.

I believe the problems people bring to therapy are almost always relational, even when they look individual. Anxiety does not exist in a vacuum. Neither does OCD, faith deconstruction, or the feeling that your marriage has drifted somewhere unfamiliar. Understanding the system around you is usually the most efficient way to understand what is happening inside you.

What You Can Expect

• A therapist who actually engages with you — not just reflects questions back
• A focus on real, measurable progress rather than indefinite weekly check-ins
• Honesty about what I know, what I do not know, and what might be outside my scope
• Respect for where you are in your relationship with religion, faith, or any belief system
• Sliding scale fees — cost should not be the reason you do not get help

Areas of Focus

These are the areas where I do my most focused work — where I have both clinical training and lived experience that informs how I show up.

Training & Background

Education

Masters-level graduate student in Marriage and Family Therapy at North Central University. Completing practicum requirements toward my graduate degree. Clinical hours are practicum hours required for graduation, not DOPL licensure hours.

Clinical Supervision

Therapeutic Approaches

• Bowen Family Systems Theory — differentiation, triangles, family of origin patterns
• Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) — evidence-based OCD treatment
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) — values-based living, psychological flexibility
• Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) — attachment-based couples work
• Structural Family Therapy — boundaries, hierarchy, family reorganization

Before Therapy

Prior to entering the mental health field, Colby spent fifteen years as a business owner and entrepreneur in Utah. That background — the pressure, the people management, the financial stakes, the relational complexity of running an organization — informs how he works with clients who are navigating high-stakes situations, professional stress, and the particular kind of exhaustion that comes from being responsible for a lot.