We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful James Montgomery. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with James below.
James, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?
As an Active Duty Service Member with over 24 years in the service, I had the opportunity to be put into leadership roles throughout my career. The military is a standards and traditions driven workforce, that thrives on compliance and excellence. What I found in my career is that you can have all of the goals and expectations communicated, but in every goal or expectation is one common flaw, the individual. I was witnessing individuals or even the masses facing consequences related to the goals and objectives, but the consequences were not benefiting anyone. What I realized is that we as humans are doing the best we can to get through life, and in doing so we often make mistakes. They may be small things like being late for work, making an on the job error, or even more difficult things like substance abuse, or criminal charges. By merely focusing the attention on consequences, we don’t fix the problem. I have learned that when we work with an individual by supporting them in overcoming the difficulties faced, we have a secondary benefit of having a more successful work environment. Address the human need, and many things begin to improve and change.
I try really hard to apply this as a business owner, Clinical Director, Father, Dad, Friend, and Human. Meet the needs of the individual, and only then can lasting change happen.
James, 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?
About Me, My Services & Lotus Counseling Services of Utah
My name is James Montgomery, and I am a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) and the founder of Lotus Counseling Services of Utah. My journey into the field of mental health counseling is deeply personal and shaped by my experiences during my 25-year career in the U.S. Army. Throughout my military service, including combat deployments to Iraq and Syria, I saw firsthand the gaps in mental health care available to service members, veterans, and frontline workers. After retiring as a Master Sergeant in 2022, I dedicated my life to closing that gap by providing quality, compassionate, and accessible mental health care.
Our Services & What We Do
At Lotus Counseling Services of Utah, we provide individual therapy, couples counseling, and family therapy tailored to a wide range of mental health challenges, including:
✔ Trauma & PTSD – Helping clients process and heal from past traumas through evidence-based modalities like EMDR, Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), and Cognitive Processing Therapy.
✔ Anxiety & Depression – Equipping clients with the tools to manage distress, develop emotional resilience, and improve daily functioning.
✔ Relationship & Family Counseling – Strengthening relationships through improved communication, conflict resolution, and deeper emotional connection.
✔ Grief & Loss Support – Providing a safe space for those struggling with loss, helping them process emotions and find meaning.
✔ Addiction & Behavioral Challenges – Offering guidance and strategies to overcome destructive habits and build a healthier future.
What sets us apart is our client-centered, trauma-informed approach, ensuring that every person who walks through our doors feels heard, understood, and empowered. We provide a judgment-free, supportive environment where individuals can work through life’s toughest challenges.
What Sets Us Apart?
✅ Specialized Care for Veterans, First Responders & Frontline Workers – As someone who has been in high-stress, high-stakes environments, I understand the unique challenges faced by those in these roles. Our team is specially trained to support individuals in these professions, helping them navigate trauma, burnout, and the mental health struggles that come with their service.
✅ A Team of Passionate & Highly Trained Therapists – We have built a team of exceptional clinicians, each bringing their own specialized expertise to best serve our diverse clientele.
✅ Innovative & Evidence-Based Therapies – We utilize Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), EMDR, ACT, CBT, DBT, and other research-backed techniques to help clients achieve real and lasting change.
What I Am Most Proud Of
The thing I’m most proud of is seeing real transformation in the lives of our clients. Watching someone go from feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or hopeless to finding healing, resilience, and a renewed sense of purpose is why I do this work. I’m also incredibly proud of the team we’ve built at Lotus Counseling Services of Utah, ensuring that no one has to struggle alone.
What I Want People to Know About Us
If you are struggling, you don’t have to do it alone. At Lotus Counseling Services of Utah, we believe in meeting you where you are and walking alongside you in your healing journey. Whether you’re dealing with trauma, relationship struggles, anxiety, depression, or any other mental health challenge, we are here to help.
No matter where you are in life, there is always hope, and healing is possible. If you’re ready to take the first step, we’re ready to walk with you.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
A Moment That Defined My Resilience
Resilience isn’t something you’re born with—it’s something forged in the moments that test you the most. For me, one of those moments came in 2019 while deployed in Syria. I was on a mission when a roadside bomb detonated, leaving me injured and shaken, but alive. In that instant, everything slowed down—the noise, the chaos—yet at the same time, my mind was racing. I had spent my career training for war, leading soldiers, and preparing for moments like this. But nothing prepares you for the aftermath—the physical recovery, the mental toll, and the shift in identity that happens when life forces you to change.
I was awarded the Purple Heart, but the true battle started after I returned home. I carried invisible wounds—the kind that don’t show up on medical reports but linger in the quiet moments when you’re alone with your thoughts. I watched fellow service members struggle, some losing the fight to PTSD, depression, or substance abuse. The system wasn’t built to truly support them—or me.
That was the turning point. Instead of letting my experiences define me as a victim, I chose to use them to drive my purpose. I left the military, earned my Master’s in Mental Health Counseling, and set out to build something better—a place where people like me, and like the men and women I served with, could get the help they deserved. That’s how Lotus Counseling Services of Utah was born.
Why This Story Matters
This experience shaped everything I do today. It’s why I don’t just talk about resilience—I live it. It’s why I make sure that every person who walks through our doors feels heard, understood, and supported. I know what it’s like to feel like you have to fight your battles alone, and I made it my mission to make sure no one else has to.
Resilience isn’t about avoiding the hard times—it’s about what you do when they hit. And for me, turning pain into purpose has been the most important battle I’ve ever won.
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
That’s a powerful question. If I could go back, knowing everything I know now—the struggles, the sacrifices, the weight of the work—I would still choose this path without hesitation.
Would I have chosen an easier road? Maybe. But easy never leads to purpose.
My journey—from my 25 years in the Army, the combat deployments, the injuries, and the mental battles that came after—all shaped the clinician I am today. Every challenge prepared me to understand my clients on a level that textbooks never could. I’ve walked through the fire, and now I get to help others find their way out of it.
The specialty I chose—working with veterans, first responders, frontline workers, and anyone facing trauma and mental health struggles—was never just a career move. It was a calling. And while there are days that are heavy, moments when I carry the weight of my clients’ pain, there’s nothing more fulfilling than seeing someone break through, heal, and rebuild their life.
So, if I had to do it all over again?
I’d still be right here. Doing this work. Helping people find hope, strength, and resilience—just like I had to find for myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lotuscounselingutah.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lotus_utah/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LotusUtah/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-montgomery-a9a70230/
- Twitter: https://x.com/home
