Biography and Professional Achievements
Dr. Ryan M. Burkhart is a leader in the Colorado professional counselor community. Dr. Burkhart has been instrumental in establishing a high level of professional counselor practice in Colorado through legislative efforts and advocacy. Dr. Burkhart's legislative efforts helped establish the Licensed Professional Counselor – Candidate, or LPCC, designation in Colorado, renew and strengthen clinical supervision in Colorado, establish minimum qualifications for clinical competency and psychotherapy, pass suicide prevention legislation, and align Colorado's professional counseling profession with national standards of practice.
Dr. Burkhart joined the CCU team in 2014. He is the CACREP Liaison for the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at CCU, leading the department through a successful CACREP-reaccreditation in 2020, earning the program an additional full eight-year reaccreditation.
It is Dr. Burkhart's honor to serve as the Executive Director of the Colorado Counseling Association (CCA), where he collaborates with the CCA Governing Council to represent the more than 10,000 professional counselors in Colorado.
Dr. Burkhart is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado and maintains a small clinical supervision and consultation practice. He has worked with youth in various facets as a Clinical Director of a program for youth with global developmental delays and as a clinician for the Colorado Division of Youth Corrections with youth in custody and youth on parole status. Dr. Burkhart’s research background is on the efficacy of wilderness therapy and its ability to increase executive functioning in the prefrontal cortex, as measured by the BRIEF-SR, compared to inpatient and outpatient adolescent treatment settings.
Dr. Burkhart was a recipient of the Colorado Counseling Association Outstanding Counselor Educator of 2016 Award.
Dr. Burkhart is the proud son of an Indiana farming family. He lives in the greater Denver area with his wife and two (soon to be three) kids. He teaches both in-seat and online courses in the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree.
