Every clinician an innovator, making healing new for every client, everywhere.

Dr. Crystal Brashear is a counselor educator, clinical supervisor, and clinician who trusts in the creative power each person carries to grow in awareness and self-compassion. She serves as an Associate Professor at Colorado Christian University and co-founded Innovare Institute to bring that same creativity to practicing counselors.

Students, supervisees, and clients know her for her cognitive flexibility: she meets the here-and-now needs of each person as they emerge. She has spoken at state, national, and international counseling conferences on creativity in counseling, trauma-informed care, and cultural competency. Her book chapters address trauma-informed care, creative supervision, innovation in counselor education, and non-suicidal self-injury, and her peer-reviewed articles cover crisis intervention competency and creative supervision during practicum and internship.

In 2021 she received the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) Counseling Vision and Innovation Award. In every setting, Dr. Brashear honors each person's courageous choices as she partners with them toward greater wellness.

Dr. Nancy Thomas is a counselor educator, clinical supervisor, and trauma clinician who believes creativity breaks down barriers to healing and professional growth. She is Program Director and Associate Professor of the CACREP-accredited Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Colorado Christian University and a licensed professional counselor and clinical supervisor.

As an Indian American, Dr. Thomas is passionate about the mental health needs of communities where stigma keeps people from seeking help. Her research gives voice to those often overlooked, including how South Asian communities understand trauma, how BIPOC adults experience telehealth, and what shapes the well-being of emerging adults. In her clinical work, she walks alongside people living with the long-term effects of trauma, using EMDR and creative interventions.

She has authored book chapters and peer-reviewed articles and presented at more than 30 state, national, and international conferences, including the Texas Counseling Association, the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, and the European Branch of the American Counseling Association, as well as at the Dallas FBI office. She received the Association for Humanistic Counseling's Humanistic and Social Justice Award in 2021.