Community groups at Queer Asterisk are open to everyone, regardless of geographic location and offered by suggested donation of $5-15 per group. Some groups are drop in – you are welcome to join anytime without registering. Other groups require a brief registration process with the facilitator – check out each group flier for details!
Counselor
he/him
My name is Rafi and I am a middle-aged, queer, Jewish, transguy and a parent. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and a graduate of the University of Colorado, Denver. I also have a masters degree in Crisis and Trauma Studies from the University of Tel Aviv, Israel. Originally trained as a couples and family therapist, I tend to view even individuals as a part of a system and understand that people need to be seen as the whole of who they are and where they come from. I enjoy working with individuals of all ages who are at any stage in the process of acknowledging, accepting, and living in their identities. I utilize relevant treatments from multiple theories but lean strongly into attachment theory and internal family systems theory. Being transparent with clients is an important aspect of the therapeutic relationship to me, I do my utmost to be honest and to be aware of how our differences or similarities might be impacting our work together.
Clinical Operations Director
they/them
RP Whitmore-Bard is a Jewish and gender-fluid psychotherapist, educator, facilitator and writer, with deep roots in psychoanalysis and mysticism.
RP earned their Bachelor’s degree in Psychoanalysis and Interdisciplinary Arts at Hampshire College. They studied yoga and natural health extensively at the Kripalu Center, then served as a social worker with Holocaust survivors, before pursuing graduate training in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Naropa University. RP earned their Master’s degree in Contemplative Psychotherapy & Buddhist Psychology, and also trained at the Colorado Analytic Forum of the Lacanian Field.Â
As a volunteer when the organization was being founded in 2016, RP evolved into a richer understanding of their own identity with the support of a loving community at Queer Asterisk. They had always dreamed of running a mental health center where people’s sacred life stories were regarded with dignity over de-humanizing, subjectivity over uniformity, and magic over medicalization.Â
For RP, working at Queer Asterisk — first in Communications, then in Program Management, and now in Client Care and Strategic Operations — is a meaningful reflection of their hope for a more effective mental health care system.Â
RP has provided coaching, case management and counseling services at many organizations over their career, including Ginger.io, Jewish Family Services, Safe Passage Domestic Violence Services, La Luna Center, Eating Recovery Center, and Denver County Human Services. RP has served as Adjunct Faculty and Guest Lecturer at Naropa University, teaching on psychology, culture, and transformation.Â
In addition to their professional training in psychology, RP has received formal and informal mentorship in shamanism, energy healing, and Rites of Passage guide work, which they are honored to regularly offer as a private consultant.Â
A traumatic brain injury survivor and neurodivergent starseed, RP is passionate about centering atypical perception and bringing voice to radical possibility, which guides their ethos at Queer Asterisk every day.
Non-Profit Consultant
they/them
Chris (Maddy) Aguilar-GarcÃa is a Queer Chicanx writer and editor with an extensive career in community minded organizations including LGBTQ and literary nonprofits and libraries. They hold a BA from Antioch University Los Angeles in Liberal Studies with a minor in Queer Studies. In their consultant role Chris supports QA with human resources, operations, and grants.
Creative Director & Clinical Supervisor
all pronouns
Brett Adamek (Freeda Be), MA, LPC is a queer/non-binary transpersonal somatic counselor and embodiment mentor. Freeda received a Master’s in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University and is a co-founder of Queer Asterisk. Freeda supports clients in finding freedom, empowerment and authentic self-expression through increased present-moment awareness of the body and mind. He is passionate about supporting clients of diverse identities and life experiences in discovering liberation in the midst of difficult life circumstances, not in spite of them. As an Asian-American adoptee, Freeda uses his own personal journey of otherness and belonging to support clients in finding home wherever they are.
Executive Director & Clinical Supervisor
xe/xyr/xem
Sorin L. Thomas, MA, LPC, LAC, CGP, Founding and Executive Director of Queer Asterisk Therapeutic Services, is a queer and transgender Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Addictions Counselor, and Certified Group Psychotherapist with over a decade of professional experience in the field of psychology serving queer and transgender individuals and their families. Sorin has a Masters in Somatic Counseling Psychology from Naropa University and post-graduate experience in wilderness therapy, addiction recovery, adolescent and adult residential treatment, community based services, emergency psychiatric services, and hospital settings. In addition to offering queer-affirming counseling and clinical supervision, Sorin offers consultation and diversity, equity, and inclusivity trainings through a queer lens to mental health organizations, addiction recovery centers, social service agencies, hospitals, and schools.