I work with people who are ready to stop being their own worst enemy.

If you've landed on this page, something in you is ready for a change. Maybe you've tried to figure it out on your own. Maybe you've even tried therapy before, and it felt like you were just talking without anything actually shifting. Maybe you're just exhausted from watching yourself repeat the same patterns, and you're finally done with it.

That's exactly the person I built this practice for.

I work with adults — who are smart, self-aware, and genuinely stuck. They're not in crisis. They're functional. But underneath the functional exterior is a pattern they can't seem to break, a voice they can't seem to quiet, or a past they can't seem to leave behind. They want a therapist who will get into the real work with them. Not someone who will sit quietly and reflect their words back at them. Someone who will actually push them.

That's what I do.

My Approach — Direct, Warm, and Built for Real Change

I want to be honest with you about what therapy with me looks like — because I think you deserve to know what you're stepping into before you book.

I lead with grace. Always. You will never feel judged in this space, never feel rushed, never feel like you have to be further along than you are. Whatever you've been through, whatever you've done, whatever you're ashamed of — this is a room where you can set that down and be honest, at your own pace, without anyone thinking less of you.

At the same time, I'm not a passive presence. I'm genuinely engaged in your growth — which means I'll offer honest perspective when it's helpful, notice patterns worth naming, and gently challenge you when I believe you're capable of more than you're currently giving yourself credit for. Not to be hard on you. Because I actually believe in what's possible for you.

The therapeutic relationship itself is one of the most powerful tools in the room. Many people tell me that working with someone who genuinely sees them — who is present, honest, and consistently in their corner — is something they haven't experienced before. That relationship is part of the healing. And I take it seriously. A lot of my clients tell me that working with someone who actually believes in them, challenges them, and stays with them through the hard parts is something they've never experienced before. That relationship is part of the healing.

What We'll Actually Be Working On

Most of the people I work with are dealing with some version of the same core struggle: there's a gap between who they are and who they know they're capable of being — and something keeps getting in the way.

That something almost always has a root. And finding that root is where the real work begins.

The patterns you're stuck in didn't develop randomly. They were shaped by experiences you had — often early ones — that taught you things about yourself, about safety, about what you deserve and what's possible for you. Those lessons became beliefs. Those beliefs became patterns. And those patterns have been running quietly in the background ever since.

My job is to help you find those roots, understand them with compassion, and change them. Not manage them. Not cope with them differently. Change them.

We do that through four evidence-based approaches that work together as a complete system:

EMDR Therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) For the memories and experiences that are still quietly driving your present-day patterns. Trauma doesn't just live in your thoughts — it lives in your body and nervous system. EMDR helps your brain safely finish what it started, so those memories lose their emotional charge and stop showing up uninvited in your daily life.

Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) For understanding the different "parts" of you that developed to protect you from pain — the inner critic, the part that shuts down, the self-saboteur that pulls back right when things start to get good. IFS doesn't try to eliminate these parts. It helps them heal, so they can stop working against you and start working with you. For people struggling with self-sabotage and deep negative core beliefs, IFS often reaches places that other approaches can't.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) For the thought patterns and core beliefs that keep reinforcing a story about yourself that isn't true. The critical voice that says you'll fail, that you're not enough, that you don't deserve the things you want — CBT helps you examine where that voice came from, whether it's accurate, and how to replace it with something that actually serves you.

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) For keeping the work moving forward with purpose and momentum. Not every session needs to go deep into the past. SFBT focuses on what's already working, what you want your life to look like, and what concrete steps get you there. It's the forward-facing part of the work — the part that builds toward the life you're actually trying to create.

A Bit About Me

I'm Dax Johnson. I'm a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC, #13937032-6004) licensed in the state of Utah through the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing. I hold a Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Grand Canyon University.

I started Lionheart Counseling LLC because I wanted to build something that reflected what I actually believe about people — that they are worth the work, that healing is genuinely possible, and that the right therapeutic relationship can change everything. One of my favorite metaphors to use inside the therapy work is the idea of Kintsugi, a Japanese art form. We take what we believe to have been broken inside of us, and we find new shapes and meanings for those pieces in a beautiful way that gives meaning to our brokenness and purpose to our story.

Outside the therapy room, I spend my time going on walks with my wife and our Shiba Inu pup, writing and working on various passion projects, playing with our son, and connecting with people in my community to help encourage and build healthy relationships, friendships, marriages, and families. Which means I spend a lot of my life believing in people's potential even when they can't see it themselves. That doesn't stay at the door when I walk into sessions. It's woven into everything I do.

I work with adults in-person at my office in Murray, Utah (Tuesday through Friday) and via telehealth throughout the state of Utah.

What You Can Expect on the Other Side

People who do this work at Lionheart Counseling describe a shift that goes deeper than just feeling better.

The inner critic that's been narrating your life — the one that tells you you'll fail, that you're not enough, that you don't deserve the things you want starts to lose its authority. Not because you've gotten better at ignoring it, but because you finally understand where it came from. And once you understand it, you get to choose whether it still speaks for you.

The self-sabotaging patterns that kept derailing your relationships, your goals, and your sense of self begin to break. You start noticing yourself making different choices. Not because you're forcing it, but because something underneath has genuinely changed.

The trauma that used to feel woven into your identity starts to feel like part of your story instead — something that happened to you, not something that defines you. You get to decide how it fits into who you're becoming. And who you're becoming starts to look a lot more like who you always knew you were capable of being.

You show up differently. In your relationships. In your work. In the way you talk to yourself when no one else is listening. Not because life suddenly got easier but because you're no longer carrying the same weight you walked in with.

That's what this work is for. And it's what I genuinely believe is possible for you.

Is This the Right Fit?

Therapy is personal. Not every therapist is the right fit for every person — and that's okay. Here's an honest picture of who tends to do really well in this space:

You might be a good fit if you're an adult who:

• Is carrying something — self-sabotage, unhealed trauma, negative core beliefs, anxiety, depression — and is ready to actually address it

• Wants a therapist who will be warm, present, and genuinely honest with them

• Is looking for more than symptom management — you want to understand what's underneath

• Is willing to do real work between sessions, not just during them

• Wants to feel genuinely understood before being challenged

• Believes — even a little, even on the hard days — that things can be different

You don't have to be certain. You don't have to be ready in any particular way. You just have to be willing to show up and see what's possible.

Ready to Get Started?

Reaching out takes courage. And if you've made it to the bottom of this page, something in you is already moving toward something different.

I'd love to hear from you.

In-person sessions:

• Tuesday–Friday

• 5296 S Commerce Dr, Suite 206, Murray, UT 84107

Telehealth: Available throughout Utah

(801) 921-7854 | dax@lionheartcounselingllc.com

(Scheduling is currently processed through my partner office, Living Waters Counseling)