About
My Story
While formally I'm Dr. Elisabeth Nesbit Wagner, everyone just calls me Betsy, and I like that much better! I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado with nearly 20 years clinical experience. I offer mental health counseling, clinical supervision, speaking engagements, and business consulting services. My goal is to provide a safe and supportive environment for my clients to explore their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. Having spent over 10 years as a counseling professor I bring a focus on psycho-education and empowerment to the counseling relationship, believing it's my job to work myself out of a job by equipping you with the tools, insight, and resources you need to begin practicing to become the person you're meant to be. My training and experience in the ethical integration of faith and spirituality into the counseling process is something I am also able to provide for clients looking to approach counseling more holistically.
More About Betsy...
I grew up in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, and attended college at the University of Northern Iowa where I earned my Bachelor's degree in Interpersonal Communication, with a minor in French. I spent a delightful semester abroad in Angers, France which sparked my interest in cross-cultural communication.
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In 2004 I graduated from Denver Seminary with a Master's degree in Community Counseling. Following my Master’s program I traveled to Kyiv, Ukraine where I served as a counselor, counselor educator, and program coordinator at REALIS Christian Center. My main responsibilities while in Kyiv included team building, staff training, vision casting, curriculum writing, internship design and evaluation, clinical counseling and supervision, and community outreach. I have the joy of returning to Kiev every few years to teach and counsel.
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​After returning to the States, I followed the passions that had stirred in me while in Ukraine for higher education, and moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas to begin my doctoral work. During and after the completion of my PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision at the University of Arkansas, I taught Family & Human Services as well as graduate Counseling at John Brown University. During this time I also maintained a private counseling practice in Fayetteville, Arkansas. While at JBU, I had the joy of teaching courses in family communication, group theory, intercultural communication, spiritual formation, evangelical theology, and family law.
I then served on the faculty of Denver Seminary from 2011-2020, earning my tenure and advancing to the rank of Associate Professor of Counseling and the Academic Chair of the counseling division. I taught courses in counseling skills, counseling theories, career development, and the integration of counseling and spirituality.
I currently work full-time as the Director of Member Care for a missionary organization based in Denver. Additionally, I maintain a small private practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor seeing clients and supervising LPCCs in the Denver area and maintain a private practice in the Denver area. In my free time I enjoy yoga and pilates, crocheting, cooking gluten-free dishes, motorcycle rides with my husband, walks with our dogs Iggy & Jake, and relaxing with friends.