Therapist
Gilbert Irizarry · LSW
Capitol HillArvadaTelehealth
Gilbert brings a harm reduction approach to substance use, recovery, identity, and the effects of stigma and systemic harm. He offers in-person care in Capitol Hill and Arvada, with weekend availability.
Services in Spanish
- Substance Use and Recovery
- Religious Trauma
- Sexuality/Kink/Alternative Relationships
- Stigma and Systemic Harm
- Identity and Self Exploration
he/him/él
If you’ve found this page, welcome! My name is Gilbert Irizarry, and I’m a licensed social worker in Colorado. My approach to therapy starts with a simple belief: people make sense when we understand what they’ve had to carry and what they’ve had to navigate. I don’t start with “what’s wrong.” I start with context. Your experiences, relationships, culture, identities, and the environments you’ve moved through all shape how you show up in the world. For me, therapy is about understanding those experiences in a way that feels real, meaningful, and useful to you.
My background in social work, public health, harm reduction, and community engagement has shaped how I understand the relationship between individual experiences and the larger systems we navigate. Much of my work has involved supporting people living with chronic health conditions, navigating substance use and recovery, exploring identity, and experiencing the effects of stigma and systemic harm. I have a particular interest in working with youth, LGBTQIA+ individuals, BIPOC communities, people living with HIV, and those navigating religious trauma, kink, and relationships or identities that fall outside traditional expectations. These experiences don’t always exist separately. They often overlap, influence one another, and create challenges that can be difficult to name or navigate. I approach that complexity with curiosity and respect, rather than assumptions.
Harm reduction is also central to how I practice. I believe change doesn’t have to be all or nothing to matter, and progress doesn’t need to follow someone else’s timeline or definition of success. Whether we’re working through substance use, relationships, emotional regulation, identity, or the challenges of living with a chronic health condition, the focus is on what increases your safety, stability, autonomy, and ability to make choices that align with your values. You get to define what meaningful progress looks like. My role is to help you move toward it in ways that are practical, sustainable, and grounded in your life.
Above all, I believe therapy should be a space where you don’t have to explain away your identity, defend your experiences, or leave important parts of yourself at the door. You are the expert on your own life. I’m not here to tell you who you should become or what your life is supposed to look like. I’m here to help you better understand yourself, recognize the strengths and adaptations that have brought you this far, and explore what you might want to carry forward, change, or leave behind. You don’t have to be someone different to begin therapy. We can start with who you are, where you are, and what matters to you.