We recently connected with Charity Mills and have shared our conversation below.

Charity, 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

There is greater access to mental health services now than there has ever been historically. More therapists, psychiatrists, wellness coaches, addiction services, and other mental health professionals are offering services via apps and other telehealth options while many insurance companies have increased their mental health services coverage. However, overall mental health continues to substantially decline. Rates of addiction, domestic violence, self-reported feelings of anxiety and depression, overdoses and suicide are on the rise. With all the money that has been thrown toward these issues from well-meaning government and private funding agencies, and the plethora of pharmaceutical options, why does the situation seem to be getting worse instead of better? It is because the mental health crisis is not about lack of funding, pharmaceuticals, or access to talk therapy and other long practiced modalities. It is about the root issue of how people think and why they stay stuck in unhelpful thought patterns. Colorado Teletherapy Services (CTS) and Grow Your Own Thoughts (GYOT) are revolutionizing the approach to mental health by returning to the basics. Humans are wired to survive and the complicating factor in the human experience is not experiences themselves, it is thought. The way we think underlies every behavior that we engage in. This concept is not new. Yet, the way traditional mental health practice approaches thought is to either 1) distract yourself from the thought – consider tapping and other physiological coping mechanisms 2) reframe the thought- put the thought in a different context or 3) cover the thought entirely- the premise of the pharmaceutical industry. What if, instead, we looked at how thoughts are formed and where the power lies that contributes to any of the behavioral outcomes.
Neurological wiring of the brain connects areas of the brain that are tied to emotional responses, the meaning that we give emotions, how we choose to define the experiences connected to those emotions, and then the behavioral outcome. This is where the distortion of using thought starts. If thought is used to only define sensual experiences (emotions and feelings) then it is being misused. Thought instead should be used for sensory purposes, touch, taste, smell, vision and auditory interpretation. Our senses are used for mechanical purposes: building, testing, exploring, guiding, measuring, trial & error, communication, and the like. These ultimately will allow humans to individually move toward what they want in life. The most comprehensive way to achieve this shift in thinking is to change the brain at a physiological level and that is accomplished by using psilocybin in microdoses. When psilocybin is introduced, the small changes that happen from consistent small microdose amounts add up to huge changes in short- and long-term mental health outcomes. New neural connections are created, unhelpful thought loops are broken, distracting inner chatter is muted and a general sense of well-being is established. As the brain is quieted and open to new perspectives and a shift in thinking, an individual can change how they respond to information, and how they view themselves and others. This shift permanently changes their daily lives. Change your thinking, change your life.
The goal of our practice is to educate both clinicians and individuals on the science behind microdosing psilocybin, particularly in conjunction with psychotherapy, and the long-term benefits for mental health. The helpful aspect of microdosing depends on an individual’s dose and is measured by the response and shift in perspective that the individual is finding for themselves. Microdosing is not about what you ‘feel’ it is about what you ‘notice.’ In conjunction with the microdosing, we also have a therapeutic component. It is great that the brain is quieting down and more open to new ways of thinking, but consider how new information is being provided. CTS and GYOT do not give ideas, instead we help clients question their own ideas and beliefs about themselves and their experiences. This is done through both group and individual therapeutic opportunities.
Finally, we are not creating a system for clients to be dependent on us. Instead, we are empowering clients to find their individual microdose, learn how microdosing psilocybin is helpful and have an opportunity to utilize doses that we provide, or learn how to cultivate the psilocybin mushrooms on their own. GYOT has a cultivation division that makes growing your own natural medicine easy and fun, while CTS provides the companion therapeutic component that gives clients space to learn, understand and practice new ways of thinking so they can achieve the life that they want.
We have worked with hundreds of clients who have utilized therapeutic microdosing and gained freedom from pharmaceuticals and other substances, self-defeating belief systems, harmful relationships, paralyzing emotional responses to past experiences, treatment resistant depression, overwhelming anxiety and more. They have moved into healthier relationships with themselves and others, new career opportunities, the ability to be more content in their every day life, freedom of thought, more creativity and focus on a daily basis, enhanced emotional regulation and greater overall satisfaction in their life.
The industry standard way of helping mental health is a slow revolving door of coping mechanisms and incessant talking. At CTS and GYOT we offer therapeutic psilocybin microdosing which enhances how clients heal and grow, creating lasting change.

Charity, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Prior to entering the mental health industry, I spent 15 plus years primarily in other medical related fields including sports medicine, orthopedics and rehabilitation. My focus was sales and client-centered care. Throughout that tenure I held various roles that included regional and national sales positions as well as direct patient care aspects related to various medical devices and services. In every role, my goal was always the same…develop trusting relationships with clients, patients, providers and decision makers and provide exceptional products and services. During this time, I learned more about humankind and what motivates, as well as ails humans, than anything else. No matter the title before or after someone’s name, their economic status or any other societal defining factor, what humans want more than anything else is to believe that they serve an important role on this planet that no one else can fill. They want to know that they matter, they are seen, their pain matters, their accomplishments are significant to others and that they have something to offer. The messages individuals carry around about themselves and all of the aforementioned ideas, come directly from their personal experiences. A baby is not born with any of these ideas, it just shows up ready to fight for survival. Yet from the time it is born, the caretakers start providing definitions. Everything from colors and numbers to trees and animals, to love and rejection, purpose and shame are learned in early formative years. Adults are walking around with scars and ideas buried deep inside that obtrusively impact every area of their lives. Some are motivated to surpass the low expectations from others so significantly that financial success and career titles become their primary focus. For others, acceptance is their primary goal, and they will allow themselves to be taken advantage of and passed by time after time, convincing themselves they are ok as long as they don’t cause any conflict and everyone around them is ‘happy.’ Meanwhile other people will sit back with a fear of failure looming over them and choose to never take a risk that might get them the life they want because the fear of it not working out is a stronger intrinsic driver than the achievement of the goal itself. There are countless other examples of human thought and beliefs that are planted early in life, cultivated throughout the formative years and carried into adulthood but the understanding remains the same. Humans have moved away from natural thriving and toward modified survival. Creating a company that encouraged and facilitated individuals to return to their natural state, viewing themselves, others and their life experiences in new, healthier and more functional ways, became my goal. I knew this meant a life shift for me as well, so I completed my registered psychotherapist certification and then returned to school, finished my bachelor’s in science degree and then my master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling.
Colorado Teletherapy Services (CTS) was launched in 2017 as a 100% online mental health company. I jokingly refer to this time as Telehealth B.C., a few years BEFORE COVID and the recognition that quality health services could be provided via telehealth. This decision was based on the need that existed in the industry at that time to be able to provide mental health services that were not cost or location prohibitive. The co-founder and I also decided that the company would not be aligning with any health insurance companies for reimbursement purposes. Insurance companies dictate a significant portion of care, taking decisions away from the client and the clinician when it comes to personal health choices. This does not serve the best interests of the client. The demographic of individuals served by CTS has included those struggling with concerns ranging from general anxiety and life stressors to treatment resistant depression, addiction, Substance and Alcohol Use Disorders (SUD/AUD), various traumas, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and more. One of the premises of CTS is to maintain a whole-person focus. This means that the clinicians do not lose sight of the fact that physical and psychological health are intertwined and this recognition is sustained when working with clients. CTS has distributor contracts with both a premier health and wellness supplement line with over 300 vitamins, proteins and other general health products and a neuroholistic line that carries supplements specifically geared to cognitive health and offers alternatives to pharmaceuticals. Both of the product lines have extensive scientific research behind them and provide certified clean products, free of fillers and artificial ingredients. However, we recognized that supplements were only going to get people so far with their physical health and talk therapy is only going to get people so far with their mental health. The missing link to true sustained change was right in front of us but also hidden.
It was during this time that more discussion about the ongoing research with psychedelics started to emerge. I was drawn to learning more about what nature provided that could help move people toward long term healing. As registered members of the Nansemond Indian Nation, a federally recognized native American Indian tribe, this use of nature aligned with deeply held beliefs for both myself and the co-founder. Psilocybin has the most research behind it as a truly natural classic psychedelic. It does not need any modification from its natural state to be a tool that enhances human mental health and aspects of physical health. The research is fascinating. Stepping somewhat away from focused research aspects however, we moved to honing in on microdosing. Healing does not happen in a one-and-done moment anywhere in nature. Ingrained belief systems, ideas of the self, painful experiences and unhealthy coping mechanisms all develop over time. To promote the idea that healing is going to happen in one or two big macrodose sessions of psilocybin, or any other psychedelic, strayed from our clinical standard. To be clear, I am not saying that the macrodose experiences cannot provide profound insight and meaningful take-aways. In the appropriate environment, they absolutely have their place and for the clinicians that work in those environments, I have full respect for what they do and the outcomes they see. I am saying that the macrodose model does not fit how we work with clients on a daily basis. Our expertise is in microdosing and how the small doses of psilocybin over extended periods of time contribute to sustained and permanent changes in client lives.
In 2022, Colorado passed legislature allowing for psilocybin use both individually and within clinical environments. The regulations have been established and will likely continue to be modified, and Colorado Teletherapy Services has been working directly with clients who have been utilizing psilocybin for personal use to enhance their mental health since 2022. Clients have been able to titrate off of pharmaceuticals, heal from addiction and trauma, mend relationships, have reduced depression, anxiety and anger, find new hope after suffering from treatment resistant depression for years, live more freely with less stress, connect with their family members and friends, show up more confident and focused at work, and have a better quality of life in general. These are all attributed to chemical changes in the brain and psychological changes in thinking. We have been able to accomplish these things with clients through our therapy services and in conjunction with Colorado’s personal use of psilocybin clause. With microdosing, individuals are using very small amounts of psilocybin that benefit the chemicals in their brain and create lasting change, but do not in any way impair their ability to drive, go to work, take care of responsibilities, etc. Microdosing allows individuals show up enhanced, but not altered.
In 2024 I published the book, Grow Your Own Thoughts: Microdosing With Purpose. This book came from the recognition that microdosing is a very personal journey that has more positive outcomes when accompanied by some guidance. There are a lot of companies that provide various mushroom products and while the benefits of microdosing have become more mainstream, there are some key issues that keep people from achieving the benefits they thought they might. These issues include lack of knowledge about the differences between species and strains of mushrooms, what to look for from a cultivator or manufacturer, how to find or even define a microdose, how often to dose, expected results or things to watch for, establishment of any goals or measurement of benefits and even whether there is any science at all behind the concept of microdosing. My easy to read book answers many of the common questions, delves into some of the science, and provides a 6-week manual for microdosing complete with weekly charts to track dosage and benefits as well as prompts to encourage new ways of thinking. Remember, the goal is not to just to take mushrooms, but to use them as a tool to change perspective and daily thought to ultimately achieve a new way of living.
Also in 2024, we launched Grow Your Own Thoughts (GYOT) as a partner company. This company manages all of the cultivation aspects of the business. We want individuals to have their own connection to the fact the psilocybin mushrooms are nature and you too can grow your own natural medicine. We designed and manufacture the propagators in Colorado Springs, where the company is based. Included in the propagator is organic substrate, non-gmo grain and clean, tested spores, all combined and put together in front of a flow hood, reducing the possibility of contamination. We created a system that is reproducible and provides a clean and substantial harvest while reducing waste and cost affiliated with current mushroom industry norms.
Colorado Teletherapy Services and Grow Your Own Thoughts exist to meet the mental health needs of all humans. We have stepped out of industry norms in both of the industries that we overlap. While we offer clinical counseling, we do not promote that talk or technique therapy alone contribute to long term changes in an individual’s life. The fact that we offer psilocybin cultivation and therapeutic microdosing, does not mean that psilocybin mushrooms alone will provide the entirety of the healing experience, or that we promote all psychedelics. Instead, it is the combination of using specific psilocybin mushrooms with therapeutic intent in microdose amounts combined with shifts in perspective, often gleaned through therapeutic interactions, that lead to long term permanent healing and change. This is the essence of what we do. Give yourself permission to step away from fear and into something that merges nature and science to dissolve unhealthy ways of thinking and move into the life that you actually want.
One of my personal passions is the opportunity to educate others on the science behind the benefits of microdosing psilocybin and why it matters for mental health. You will often find me speaking at seminars, conferences, retreats and expos or in clinician offices, on podcasts, or with the person behind me at the grocery store. I recently went to purchase a pair of shoes and a week later the shoe sales person showed up at the office ready to purchase a Thought Box and get started with our online microdosing groups. Mental health is connected to physical health so the message should not be stuffy and mundane, it should be exciting and freeing. My goal is to enhance curiosity and encourage individuals to take control of their health…naturally.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Reputation really is everything. The internet and the enhancement of social media allows people to share experiences, both helpful and harmful in a split second. These shared experiences are what others rely on when they are seeking products or services. Our reputation is based on the fact that while there are plenty of mushroom cultivators and manufacturers, we are a mental health clinic that offers all of that within a health care framework and we stand by our products and services. The first major difference that sets us apart is the product guarantee, specifically our Thought Box grow kits. We use an organic substrate blend, non-gmo grain and clean, tested spores, never any manure or pesticides. Even though we utilize and offer superior products, our pricing is kept to a reasonable range so it is accessible to all. We guarantee our kits will produce a harvest and are free from contamination. If something goes awry, we replace it. We also provide a robust amount of information on our website and seven days per week access to team members when clients have questions. We are a mental health practice so we place a priority on the cultivation process being engaging and fruitful.
In addition, we maintain a clinical perspective in all we do. CTS has an incredible team of therapists that are people focused and not technique focused. The underlying scientific personal approach to mental health is at the center of our positive outcomes. You will not find us at psychedelic music festivals but you will find us at medical conferences, holistic wellness expos, legal conventions, veterans service centers, other clinician offices and in the community. Our reputation is rooted in our person centered, health education focused, science based, clean product system that has been proven to work and continues to grow through referral business.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

If someone had told me when I was completing my master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling that I would ultimately end up manufacturing a mushroom propagator and cultivating psychedelic mushrooms in our practice, I would have laughed. Honestly, it still makes me smile. When the co-founder and I started discussing adding psilocybin mushrooms to our clinical offerings, it was a result of both following the science of how psilocybin was helpful to mental health and wanting to set our practice apart from the traditional counseling practices. One of the key components to offering a supplement that our clients would be ingesting was product cleanliness and company oversight on how it was being cultivated and manufactured. While there was some historical cultivation knowledge within the company, nobody had mushroom cultivation specific knowledge, so the information gathering journey began.
Initially, we wanted to start by finding a company that had already established themselves within the psilocybin industry and had a reputable product. This took time as well as trial and error. It is during retrospective moments like this that I send out telepathic thank-you’s to the team members who offered to trial various capsules, tea, and chocolate as we worked our way through this process! I didn’t hear many complaints, but I definitely received helpful feedback. Finally, we settled on a company that manufactured the capsules we needed, in the psilocybe cubensis strain that we wanted and cultivated it with the substrate and grain composition that we were seeking. Challenge number one was complete and our knowledge was growing.
We determined that the goal was to bring the cultivation in-house though, and while the clinic was going to provide microdosing supplements within a therapeutic agreement, there were many people who appreciated the renewed opportunity to grow their own natural medicine. The mushroom industry was, and predominantly still is, offering a grow bag system for personal cultivation. A customer will purchase a bag of pasteurized substrate, and a bag of sterilized grain; sometimes these are offered in the same bag. Then the customer will go to another vendor and purchase a syringe of spores. They generally make their decision on the type of spores they purchase based off a name or a picture, not with educated guidance on how to make the decision that aligns with their individual goal for the mushroom use. They inject the spores into the grain, wait about 4 weeks for it to colonize and combine the colonized grain and substrate together then wait another few weeks for mushrooms to start growing. There is a significant amount of waste as well as opportunity for contamination along this process. This often leaves customers feeling frustrated and inadequate, reaching out to companies that have minimal investment in ensuring a positive and fruitful experience for them. We regularly hear stories of people waiting weeks for a response to a question…if they receive any response at all. The public deserves a better option.
Grow Your Own Thoughts was the first company to go from grow bag to grow box. While there are large cultivation containers out there called monotubs, these systems are for substantially large harvests. We wanted to create a personal system that would provide clients the opportunity to grow a meaningful amount of mushrooms for personal use. It was also important that we were able to offer a system that was reusable and cut down on the significant waste created by the grow bag system. As we searched for the appropriate size of propagator, we also found there was a gap in the features that were needed to properly cultivate mushrooms. We needed a propagator with a smooth interior surface, that retained water rather than draining it, had an appropriate air flow vent, and a way to secure the lid to keep a clean environment. While we managed to find something that did work in the interim, it did not have all of the features and was made out of a very rigid material making the lid prone to cracking if careful attention was not paid to padding prior to shipping. We started researching manufacturing companies and having phone calls with them to discuss what our goals were. We finally settled on a local manufacturing company. We chose them because they were willing to take the time to understand the importance of each item on our list and educate us on the various options of materials and prices. Additionally, they were located in our headquarters town and were reasonable with both pricing and timeline for production. Finally, while we would own the molds that were engineered for our products, they would store and maintain them, ensuring they stayed in good working order.
The engineering team listened to our requests and provided the CAD drawings according to our specifications. We learned about injection molding, various types of plastics and plastic materials, the process of creating molds, engraving, polishing, and what the options were for various colored components. Each decision was made with the end user experience in mind. It was an exciting day when the first 3-D model was presented to us. From there we moved to the first round of product being completed and then to the final product being manufactured. The Thought Box, as we call it, had been brought to life.
Our final step in the user experience was to provide all the substrate, grain and spores inside the Thought Box. This means that the customer receives the Thought Box with everything in it and put together in front of a flow hood, reducing the possibility of contamination. The manufacturing process continued through this process of vetting vendors and products for every aspect of the Thought Box from the propagator to the substrate components, the grain varieties and the spores themselves. We have designed a reproducible system from beginning to end.
Manufacturing is not for the faint of heart, but it is a valuable aspect to providing a truly unique product and service. We have learned the value of taking time to ensure things are done correctly and testing aspects along the way. We pay more up front to get quality components rather than just what is the cheapest. This decision has contributed to the positive experience that clients have both during the cultivation process as well as when using their harvest for personal healing. Trusting and mutually respectful relationships with vendors, engineers, the manufacturing team and other partners is vital. Each person has their expertise that adds to the final product outcome. Listening and being willing to take into account ideas that may be new and outside of prior ideas is important. Allowing for contributions that took us outside of our comfort zone brought us to the exciting end goal of creating a system that brings nature and science together to meet the needs of individuals… in a Thought Box.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.GrowYourOwnThoughts.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ColoradoTeletherapyServices
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Colorado-Teletherapy-Services-Grow-Your-Own-Thoughts/61560485354586/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charity-mills-976541122/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GrowYourOwnThoughts
• Other: Additional website: www.ColoradoTeletherapyServices.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colotelesvcs