meet our Founder and Therapist

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Meet Birdsong's founder and therapist Denise Duke, LCSW (formerly Denise Hansen). Denise founded Birdsong Counseling in 2024, paying homage to the distinctive gift birds have of sharing their unique and beautiful songs when feeling safe in their environment. Several studies, like one published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, have correlated hearing bird’s sounds and interactions in nature with stress recovery and other mental health benefits. 

With a lifelong passion for healthy relationships and emotional health, Denise pursued a decades long dream of becoming a therapist in 2020 when she earned her MSW from Brigham Young University. She is a published peer-reviewed author who studied mindfulness and its positive impact on couples in conflict. 

Over the last 7 years, Denise has dedicated her time, energy, and passion for mental health and relationships to work with clients in a variety of settings. Her professional clinical experience includes previous work for Wasatch Behavioral Health on Utah’s Prevention and Recovery from Early Psychosis (PREP) team, for LDS Family Services both in Utah and the Bay Area, as a development counselor in a non-profit job training program, and in a group therapy practice. 

Denise believes in the power of personal accountability and self-compassion. She is dedicated to providing a safe and empathic space for her clients on their healing journey. She has completed multiple trauma treatment trainings and is also trained in a variety of methods to treat anxiety, depression, stress, trauma, and relationship challenges. She expertly utilizes evidence-based treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Mindfulness based treatments, Emotionally Focused Individual  and Couples Therapy, EMDR, and others to identify and treat the root of clients’ distress and empower them with curiosity, care, and compassion. 

Denise loves her family and enjoys travelling with her husband, being in nature, interior design, good food, and shopping at Trader Joes when it's accessible!