MEET MAURAHello and Welcome.
My Name is Maura Nolan.
I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Natural Medicine Facilitator based in the American Southwest.
My path to this work is both personal and professional, shaped by years as a therapist, time spent in the natural world, and my own experiences with psilocybin.
A Door Into Healing
I work with individuals, couples, and small groups looking for a deeper connection to themselves and a door into healing. For ten years I have practiced as a therapist, trained in EMDR, IFS, and somatic work, and spent years in wilderness therapy learning alongside my clients in the natural world.
If you've landed here, something may be quietly pulling you toward this work. I invite you to follow that feeling.
My Background, Education, and Experience
My Background, Education, and Experience
I have practiced as a therapist for over a decade and am licensed in New York, Colorado, and Utah. After graduating from New York University, I worked in a variety of clinical settings, including inpatient, outpatient, partial hospital, group practice, and correctional care.
My training includes Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy through the Albert Ellis Institute, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing through EMDR of the Rockies, Post-Traumatic Somatic Growth Therapy with Ruby Jo Walker, LCSW, and continued study in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Internal Family Systems, addiction work, and family systems.
I have worked with people across ages, backgrounds, identities, and life experiences, including pre-teens, teens, young adults, adults, couples, parents, and families. Family work is one of my deepest loves.
Graduated with a BA in psychology and minor in forensic studies from Loyola University Maryland in 2015; Graduated with a MA in Mental Health Counseling and Wellness from NYU in 2017.
Licensed Counselor in NY, CO, and UT
Licensed Natural Medicine Facilitator in CO
Trained in psychedelic assisted therapy from integrative psychiatric institute (completed in Fall of ‘23)
EMDR Certified through EMDR of the Rockies
REBT trained and certified
Trained in post-traumatic somatic growth
How I Came to This Work
Psychedelics began shaping my life long before I understood their potential. My first mushroom experiences were challenging, but they revealed parts of myself I had been avoiding. After years of carrying emotional weight that therapy alone hadn't resolved, I experienced a profound sense of release and clarity. I saw how disconnected I had become from my own values, from nature, and from the life I wanted to live.
Those experiences changed the course of my life. I left a career that no longer aligned with who I was, spent several months traveling through the American Southwest, and eventually found my way to Durango, Colorado, where I joined the team at Open Sky Wilderness Therapy. There, I met people approaching this work with deep intention and began integrating my own experiences while exploring what it might look like to support others on their healing journeys.
That path led me to study the science behind psychedelic medicine, including psilocybin, ibogaine, MDMA, ketamine, and ayahuasca. I completed year-long training in psychedelic-assisted therapy through the Integrative Psychiatry Institute in Boulder and participated in therapeutic mushroom experiences in Oregon as both a participant and an observer/co-facilitator. Those experiences deepened my conviction that this work, when practiced ethically and with care, has the potential to catalyze profound healing.
Today, I bring both professional training and lived experience to my work. Psychedelic medicine has deepened my relationship with grief, trauma, chronic pain, love, and self-compassion, and it continues to remind me that healing is rarely linear. I've trained alongside therapists, nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, physicians, and social workers, all united by a commitment to expanding safe, evidence-informed approaches to mental health. My role is not to tell clients what their experiences mean, but to create a grounded, supportive space where they can discover their own wisdom.
APPROACH AND PHILOSOPHY
How I Hold This Work
My approach is trauma-informed, relationship-centered, and grounded. I support clients through preparation, administration, and integration with care, respect, and attention to safety.
During administration, my role is to provide a calm, grounded presence and help create a safe, supportive environment while allowing your own inner healer to guide the experience.
I also believe in the healing power of the natural world. Elements of nature, such as earth, fire, air, water, music, candlelight, leaves, or natural textures, may be brought into the space as part of creating a setting that feels intentional and connected.
What Grounds My Work
These are the values I return to in this work. They shape how I hold the space, how I understand the medicine, and how I support each person in trusting their own inner healer.
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I believe the most meaningful insights come from within you. My role is to support you in trusting your own experience and innate capable to navigate what arises during a medicine session.
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People often arrive to medicine work feeling disconnected in some way Medicine work can help us bypass defenses, navigate internalized wounds from new perspectives, and reconnect with our meaning and purpose in this life.
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It takes bravery to step into this kind of inner work. Whether you are facing something difficult or opening to the unknown, courage is an essential part of the process.
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I create a safe, supportive environment for you to explore the challenging, mystical, and empowering experiences that occur under the medicine. My role is to witness you during our administration and integration sessions, as you reflect on what these moments may be showing you.
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Nature is healing. We will find ways to bring the elements into the room to support you in your journey.
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Integrity means honoring the depth of this work, approaching the medicine with respect, and listening to your intuition and inner healer.
“My hope is that people are able to tap into the medicine even when they are outside of the journey space. There are powerful lessons available through the safe use of psilocybin, and I believe it's a gift to experience.”
- Maura Nolan, MA, NMIT, LPC
Owner and Licensed Natural Medicine Facilitator, Southwest Healing Center
