Rick Boyes, PhD LCPC
A Professional Counselor Backed by Decades of Experience
Hello, I'm Rick Boyes. I think that counseling is, first of all, a relationship between two people, so I'll tell you a little about myself.
I have been in practice as a licensed counselor for 40 years. I'm certain that I have learned most of what I know from my clients as they have allowed me to be a part of their journeys, but most people are interested in where their therapist went to school, so here is that part as well...
I graduated from Borah High School and immediately entered Boise State University, where I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. I spent the next several years traveling and studying extensively throughout Europe, Mexico, and the United States and then returned to graduate school at Idaho State University. There I earned my master’s degree in counseling, graduating with the highest honors and opened my private practice.
Believing that one never really stops learning, I returned to school to earn my Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education at ISU. I now direct the Clinical Mental Health track in the graduate Counselor Education program at NNU, where I also coordinate the Trauma, Grief, and Crisis area of emphasis and serve as the Clinical Director of our onsite FAMILIES ETC counseling clinic.
Hello, I'm Rick Boyes. I think that counseling is, first of all, a relationship between two people, so I'll tell you a little about myself.
I have been a Licensed Professional Counselor in Boise for 30 years, and in that time, I have accumulated over 34,000 hours of clinical experience. I'm certain that I have learned most of what I know from my clients as they have allowed me to be a part of their journeys, but most people are interested in where their therapist went to school, so here is that part as well...
I graduated from Borah High School and immediately entered Boise State University, where I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. I spent the next several years traveling and studying extensively throughout Europe, Mexico, and the United States and then returned to graduate school at Idaho State University. There I earned my master’s degree in counseling, graduating with the highest honors. Believing that one never really stops learning, I recently returned to school to earn my Ph.D. in counseling and counselor education at Idaho State University. I am currently an assistant professor in the Counselor Education Department at NNU, where I direct the trauma, grief, and crisis area of emphasis in the clinical mental health program.
When I opened my private counseling practice in 1982, I became very adept at helping clients to gain a good understanding of why they were depressed or anxious or why they continued to follow the same unsuccessful patterns in relationships. However, I soon became frustrated with the fact that a good intellectual understanding of the reasons a person had certain symptoms did not necessarily result in those symptoms going away!
Believing there had to be more powerful and shorter-term methods to help people be free of their limitations and suffering and achieve the goals that were important to them, I began the earnest study of Clinical Hypnosis and later EMDR and Internal Family Systems. The excitement I felt about being able to help clients get quickly to the core of issues instead of enduring a long and sometimes discouraging journey through traditional talk therapy, led me to continue my study of advanced interventions with many of the great masters of these powerful approaches to healing.