Dr. Cannon’s Journey
From Cambridge, to San Francisco, to Denver…
Back in the 1980’s, my time in Cambridge at the Harvard Business School taught me to be a practical and effective problem solver. (OPM, Class of 1987). As I transitioned from the business world to mental health, the education I received in human sexuality while studying in San Francisco laid the foundation for my understanding of, and my relentless curiosity about the human sexual experience.
While going to graduate school in San Francisco, I earned my Master’s degree in Public Health (MPH). With my master’s degree in hand, I came back to Colorado to do my clinical training in Marriage & Family Therapy and get licensed in Colorado as a Marriage & Family Therapist. With the help of an amazing faculty and team of mentors/supervisors, the clinical training program I went through for three years at Denver Family Institute (DFI) is where I learned to be a therapist. Seeing clients from all walks of life at DFI’s low cost clinic provided me with intensive experience doing individual therapy, couples counseling and family therapy. At DFI we were exposed to a multitude of therapy models and approaches. DFI is where I learned to be strength based and solution focused.
Principles of Positive Psychology greatly influences my approach to therapy and to life. I strive to look at all situations from a sex positive, non-shaming, non-judgmental lens. All this combines to help my clients because I take a strength based approach to all matters related to sex, intimacy & relationships. I see strengths in people, not pathology. My lens is colored with hope for each and every person that walks in my door.
I am grateful to have had a successful business career however something was always missing for me. That something was my deep desire to help people who had been sexually, emotionally, and or physically abused that led me to become a sex therapist. As it turns out, today about half of my clients have a history of abuse, trauma and or bullying.
It was in San Francisco where I attended graduate school and studied the vast breadth and depths of the human sexual and gender experience. My Ph.D. is in Human Sexuality while my clinical training is in Marriage & Family Therapy. In addition to completing a two year post-graduate certification program in Marriage & Family Therapy, I also have post-graduate certification in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender family systems.
I work with any matter related to sex and intimacy, as well as gender identity. Specializing in human sexuality and relationships allows me to be fully immersed in the field and the nuances of sex therapy. Being current on the newest and most effective treatment options and protocols is important and because I see similar cases repeatedly, it is likely this won’t be my first time helping somebody with a concern similar to yours.
Most of my clients have seen multiple therapists before arriving in my Cherry Creek office. Specializing has played a critical role in my ability to help many people solve what had previously been unsolvable problems for them. I truly believe that there is always hope no matter how bleak things may seem, how long the problem has been going on, or how many times you have tried. Regardless of the your goals for therapy, my intention is to help you create sustainable change using processes that are based on sound counseling principles.
The majority of my new clients are from referrals. The referral source is generally from other professionals I have collaborated with previously, as well as current and former clients.
