Hello, I’m Cierra.
I work with people whose lives have been changed by serious illness, medical crisis, caregiving, and loss.
Much of my work takes place after the immediate urgency of a medical experience has begun to settle, when there may finally be room to consider questions that were difficult to ask while simply getting through it.
What happened to me?
How has it changed me?
What am I still carrying?
How do I want to live now?
I believe these questions deserve time, curiosity, and compassionate attention. My role is to help you explore what has changed, recognize what matters, and consider how you want to live now.
Cierra McNamara, MSW, LSW, IPCC
What You Can Expect From Me
I'm comfortable with conversations that don't have easy answers.
In our work together you can show up with all the questions, contradictions, emotions, and difficulties that you’ve been holding. You can be grateful to be alive and furious about what happened. You can love someone who is ill and resent what their illness has required of you. You can hope for the future and be frightened of it.
I won't ask you to find a silver lining, reach acceptance on someone else's timeline, or turn suffering into a lesson.
My role is to bring curiosity, steadiness and compassion to our conversations; help you notice patterns and possibilities you may not see on your own; and create space for you to decide what meaning, priorities and choices are genuinely yours.
Why This Work Matters To Me
People sometimes assume that working with serious illness, grief, and loss must be depressing.
That hasn't been my experience.
I've found these conversations can bring us into contact with some of life's most important questions – about connection, uncertainty, identity, love, responsibility, and what matters most.
I've long been drawn to contemplative practices and the questions people have asked across generations: How do we live with uncertainty? What gives life meaning? How do we meet suffering without becoming entirely defined by it?
My work has taught me that people don't need to arrive at the same answers.
Sometimes the most meaningful change is a greater ability to recognize our own experience, hold its contradictions, and respond with more awareness and choice.
I'm continually moved by the many ways people navigate circumstances they never would have chosen. I consider it a privilege to accompany them as they explore what living well might mean now.
The Experiences That Shape My Work
My professional path has included oncology massage therapy, mindfulness instruction, palliative care social work, and mental health counseling.
Each has deepened my understanding of how physical experiences, emotions, relationships, and meaning influence one another.
Working with people affected by cancer and serious illness has also given me familiarity with the healthcare system, the uncertainties of treatment and recovery, and the ways medical experiences continue to shape life beyond appointments and hospital stays.
Today, I bring these experiences together in a counseling practice centered on the whole person – not simply a diagnosis, a role, or a particular kind of loss.
Beyond the Counseling Room
I believe communities also need places where serious illness, grief, mortality, and the uncertainties of living can be discussed openly.
My work includes grief education and support through HeartLight Center, Death Cafés and death education programs at Park Hill Library, and other community conversations about caregiving, loss, and living well when life changes.
These activities are different expressions of the same belief: difficult experiences deserve language, attention, and room for honest conversation.
When I’m Not Working
You can find me paddle boarding with my husband, watching Italian TV shows, and cheering for my favorite professional triathletes.
If You're Considering Counseling
Finding the right counselor isn’t always easy. Yes, you want to consider a therapist’s credentials and therapeutic approaches. But you also want to feel comfortable talking with this person. The best way to gauge whether you feel comfortable with a counselor is to begin the conversation.
If my perspective resonates with you, I invite you to reach out.
I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation to hear a little about what brings you here, answer your questions, and consider whether working together might be a good fit.
I offer counseling in Centennial, Colorado, with telehealth appointments available throughout the state.