About Head First Therapy
My Approach to Mental Health
My work is grounded in a person-centered philosophy, and before any change or growth can occur there has to be a strong therapeutic relationship. In my experience this is the single most important factor in long-term success, and I believe that trust, respect, and comfort should be at the core of any mental health practice. You need to know that you're safe to actually be yourself, say the hard things, and know not receive judgement for any of it.
I'm not here just hand you a diagnosis and some worksheets. I want to understand your experiences, meet you where you are, and help you move toward a life that actually feels meaningful on your terms. I draw from a wide range of evidence-based approaches, and I like to keep things interesting and focused on growth. Therapy doesn't have to look the same every session, and it definitely doesn't have to be boring. But no matter what tools we're using, the goal stays the same: I want you to feel understood and comfortable enough to do the real work.
Interview Questions
What was your path to becoming a mental health provider?
My path into mental health began over 20 years ago when I worked as a camp counselor and tutor. Through those early roles I discovered a genuine love for helping and supporting others, particularly those who may think or learn in unique ways. Something about working with kids who didn’t quite fit the mold stuck with me, and it shaped everything that followed.
I went on to earn my BA in Psychology, then worked as a behavioral health technician and research assistant. Those roles taught me the art of treatment planning and showed me firsthand that good intentions aren’t enough on their own. The best outcomes come from pairing genuine care with proven, evidence-based approaches.
I earned my MSW from Temple University before relocating to Colorado, where I spent almost four years as a school-based therapist while completing the requirements for my clinical license. That setting was transformative. Working with students, families, and school staff deepened my focus on ADHD and gave me a front-row seat to how it affects not just academics but self-esteem, relationships, and emotional wellbeing. It also allowed me to hone my skills with modalities like EMDR and ACT, and reinforced my belief that therapy works best when it meets people where they are.
Every step along the way has reinforced the same thing I learned as a camp counselor: people do their best when they feel genuinely supported, respected, and understood.
What should someone know about working with you?
Therapy should never be cut-and-paste. Every client brings different needs, strengths, and goals, so I place strong emphasis on intake to tailor your experience from the very start. From the initial consultation to the treatment planning process, the focus is always on understanding what matters most to you.
My style is warm, direct, collaborative, and person-centered. I want you to feel respected, comfortable, and safe enough to say the hard things without worrying about judgment. I also believe in being straightforward. If something isn’t working, I’d rather we talk about it and adjust than keep going through the motions.
I draw from a range of evidence-based approaches including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, CBT, DBT, motivational interviewing, and EMDR. But I’m not rigid about any one framework. What we use depends on what fits you best, and that can shift over time. I also like incorporating less traditional methods when they make sense, from gamification to creative exercises to somatic techniques. Therapy doesn’t have to look the same every week, and it doesn’t have to be boring.
Progress looks like increased clarity, practical skill-building, and greater alignment between daily life and personal values, not just symptom reduction. I work with clients ages 8+ on a wide range of presenting problems including depression, anxiety, adjustment and more. But I have a particular passion for working with individuals and families around ADHD symptom management.
How do you continue learning and building new skills?
I’m always learning something new! At any given time I’m typically enrolled in several longer-term trainings, whether that’s live workshops, recorded courses, or multi-session programs. I think staying curious is a big part of being a good therapist, and I genuinely enjoy the process of building new skills and deepening the ones I already have.
I’ve completed over 75 hours of specialized training in ADHD symptom management, as well as trainings in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, motivational interviewing, and mindfulness-based interventions. I’m EMDR-trained through the EMDR Center of the Rockies and participate in monthly supervision groups while working towards my EMDRIA board certification. Right now I’m also working through courses on “Emotional Freedom Technique” (aka “tapping”), and on strengthening my use of mindfulness-based practices in a clinical setting.
Every person’s background and unique personality benefits from an individualized clinical approach, and being able to pull from different modalities allows me to provide the best options for care to the widest range of people. I never want to be the therapist who only has one tool in the bag or who just relies on worksheets and assessment forms. The more I learn, the more flexibility I have to meet each client where they are and offer something that actually fits. Even if that means extra work keeping up with current research and techniques, it’s work I enjoy Psychoeducation is also a big part of my sessions too, so the more I understand about how the brain works and why it does what it does, the better I can help my clients understand themselves.
*The original questions were taken from HelloAlma.com, but here you will find the full answers without Alma's character limitations.
Meet Your Therapist
At no point should therapy ever be focused on the therapist. That time is yours, and the work we do together will always center on your needs, your goals, and your growth. But therapy is still grounded in an interpersonal relationship, and ignoring the human element of that connection can be limiting. Some clients find it helpful to know a little about who they're working with before that first session, so for anyone curious, here's a bit about the person behind Head First Therapy.
My name is Isaac Garfinkle, and I grew up in Philadelphia. I earned my MSW from Temple University before moving to Colorado in 2016 with my wife who's a dentist. We spent the first 6 years in Colorado living in a cabin on the side of the Grand Mesa way outside Grand Junction. It was an amazing experience to live in an area so rural that we were about 45 minutes from the nearest grocery store, and with some of the darkest skies I've ever seen it allowed me to truly explore my passion for astronomy. It was also an absolutely perfect place to ride out the COVID lockdowns that followed, but once our first kid was born we realized a shift back towards other humans and better resources was going to be necessary.
We now have two kids and I still absolutely love being a dad! It has been the most rewarding and most humbling thing I've ever taken on, and it's absolutely changed the way I think about my work with families and young people. I'm also a lover of all animals, with two dogs and a cat right now but in the past I've had a bird, lizards, fish, and a snake.
Beyond just family life and animals (as if these don't occupy enough time on their own), I've always been someone with a lot of hobbies and interests. Astronomy has been the most consistent having started back around 2011, with multiple professional-grade side-quests at this point. Some of my other ongoing hobbies and interests include music production, gardening, 3D printing, and a collection of headphones and audio gear that has never failed to make me smile. I'm also an avid fidget collector, a terrible fisherman, and a lover of (almost) all things outdoors as long as it doesn't involve going downhill at high speeds.
All of this would be far too much to ever personally disclose during sessions, but I feel it's important to share all of this somewhere for people who need this kind of information to connect. The therapeutic relationship is at the core of everything I do, and part of building that relationship is being willing to show up as a real person. If any of this makes that first session feel a little more approachable to even one person, then it's done its job.