We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bobbie Warren a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Bobbie, appreciate you joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

At Nexus Counseling Services, we’ve intentionally built our practice to diverge from the traditional mental health clinic model. While many organizations focus primarily on client volume and rigid structures, we’ve chosen to prioritize our clinicians first, because we believe that when clinicians feel valued, supported, and empowered, they naturally provide the highest quality care to their clients.

What sets us apart is our clinician-first philosophy. Our therapists set their own schedules, choose whether to work in-person or remotely, and have the autonomy to shape their practice in a way that aligns with their strengths and personal lives. This flexibility not only fosters a healthier work-life balance but also cultivates a culture of trust and respect.

We’ve seen firsthand how this approach transforms the therapeutic experience. One of our clinicians, after transitioning from a high-pressure agency setting, shared how the freedom to manage her own hours and work from home reignited her passion for therapy. Her clients noticed the difference too, sessions became more engaging, and outcomes improved.

By investing in our clinicians’ well-being, we’re creating a ripple effect that benefits everyone involved. It’s a model rooted in compassion, sustainability, and excellence, and it’s one we’re proud to champion in our rural community.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Dr. Bobbie Warren, and together with Angie Lawhenore, LPC, we co-founded Nexus Counseling Services in Fountain, Colorado. With decades of combined experience in the mental health field, Angie and I shared a vision: to create a counseling practice that not only serves clients with excellence but also radically supports the clinicians who provide that care.

We’ve both worked in environments where the focus was on numbers, how many clients you could see, how fast you could document, how much revenue you could generate. That model often leads to burnout and disconnection, which ultimately affects the quality of care clients receive. At Nexus, we decided to do things differently.

Our practice offers a wide range of mental health services including individual therapy, couples counseling, trauma-informed care, and EMDR therapy. But what truly sets us apart is our clinician-first philosophy. Our therapists set their own hours, choose whether to work in-person or remotely, and have the freedom to build a practice that reflects their strengths and personal needs. We believe that when clinicians feel valued, supported, and empowered, they show up more fully for their clients, and the results speak for themselves.

We’ve seen clinicians rediscover their passion for therapy after joining Nexus. One therapist shared that after years in a rigid corporate setting, the flexibility and respect she found here allowed her to reconnect with her purpose. Her clients noticed the shift too, sessions became more meaningful, and progress accelerated.

What Angie and I are most proud of is the culture we’ve built. Nexus is more than a counseling center; it’s a community rooted in compassion, authenticity, and sustainability. We’re proud to be a small business that puts people first, and we’re committed to continuing to grow in ways that honor that mission.

To anyone considering Nexus, whether as a client or a clinician, we want you to know that we’re different by design. We’re here to support healing, not just through therapy, but through the way we care for the people who provide it.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Angie Lawhenore, LPC, and I met while working in leadership roles at a non-profit mental health organization. From the beginning, we connected over a shared concern: the clinicians around us were burning out at alarming rates. We saw talented, passionate therapists questioning their career paths, not because they didn’t love the work, but because they were being crushed under the weight of arbitrary KPIs, endless meetings, and a system that seemed to value numbers over people.

We sat through meeting after meeting, advocating for changes that would support the mental health and well-being of our clinicians. But time and again, our voices went unheard. Decisions were made that, in our view, were unethical and unsustainable. It was heartbreaking to watch colleagues break down emotionally, leave the field, or lose their spark, all because they couldn’t meet metrics that had nothing to do with the quality of care they provided.

Out of that shared frustration, a strong and genuine friendship was born. We realized that if we wanted to make a real difference, we’d have to build something new, something that put clinicians first and reimagined what a healthy, ethical, and empowering workplace could look like. That’s how Nexus Counseling Services came to be.

Our bond was forged in the fire of advocacy and shared values, and it continues to be the foundation of everything we do at Nexus. We’re proud to have created a space where clinicians are respected, supported, and given the freedom to thrive, because we know that when they’re taken care of, they can truly take care of their clients.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

At Nexus Counseling Services, our best source of new clients has consistently been word of mouth. We don’t advertise, we have a simple website, and that’s about it. The fact that our clientele continues to grow through referrals from current and former clients speaks volumes about the quality of care we provide.

This organic growth is deeply meaningful to us. It tells us that we’re doing something right, not just clinically, but relationally. When someone trusts us enough to recommend our services to a friend, family member, or colleague, it’s the highest compliment we can receive. It’s also a reflection of the environment we’ve created: one where clinicians feel supported, empowered, and able to show up fully for their clients.

We believe that healing happens in safe, authentic relationships, and that starts with how we treat our team. By prioritizing the mental health of our clinicians, we’re able to foster a culture of care that naturally extends to our clients. The fact that our reputation is built on personal experiences and genuine trust, rather than marketing campaigns, is something we’re incredibly proud of.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nexuscounseling.org
• Instagram: nexus_counseling_services
• Facebook: Nexus Counseling Services, LLC