Conor McCarthy, MSW, LSW

Therapy for Young Adults Struggling with Anxiety and Problematic Alcohol Use in Denver

A man with brown hair and a beard smiles while leaning on a wooden railing near water, with a boat in the background.


You Don’t Have to Figure This Out Alone

Young adulthood can feel relentless. Balancing work, school, relationships, and identity questions is a lot. When anxiety drives overthinking, avoidance, or self-doubt, alcohol can quietly become a coping strategy.

You might be thinking:

  • I’m not an alcoholic, but I don’t like how much I’m drinking.

  • I feel anxious all the time.

  • Everyone else seems ahead of me.

  • I should be able to handle this.

Therapy is a place to slow down and examine what’s happening beneath the surface, without shame, rigid labels, or pressure.

My Approach

I work primarily with young adults and college-aged clients navigating anxiety, life transitions, and problematic alcohol use.

My style is relational, direct, and grounded in Narrative Therapy. Together, we’ll look at the stories shaping how you see yourself — especially the ones rooted in anxiety, comparison, or coping through substances — and begin to revise them with clarity and intention.

If you’re sober-curious, cutting back, or unsure what change looks like, we can explore that at your pace. You do not have to commit to total abstinence to begin.

Areas of Focus

  • Anxiety and overthinking

  • Social and performance anxiety

  • Problematic alcohol use and sober-curious exploration

  • Life transitions (college, early career, identity shifts)

  • Depression and emotional numbness

I also work with older adults navigating major life changes and meaning-making in later chapters.

What Therapy Can Offer

Therapy isn’t about fixing you. It’s about helping you understand what’s driving your stress and choices, and creating space for something more sustainable.

You don’t need a crisis to begin. You only need curiosity about whether things could feel different.

In-Person and Virtual Therapy in Denver

I offer daytime and evening appointments, both in-person in Denver and virtually across Colorado.

If this sounds like the kind of support you’ve been looking for, I invite you to reach out.

Hi, I’m Conor.

If you’re a young adult in Denver feeling overwhelmed by anxiety or questioning your relationship with alcohol, you’re not alone.

Maybe you’re high-functioning on the outside — working, studying, keeping up socially — but internally you feel restless, overextended, or unsure how you got here.

Anxiety might feel like constant background noise. Drinking may have started as social or stress relief, but now it feels harder to control or step away from.

You don’t have to hit rock bottom to want something different.

Schedule an initial call

My Clients

  • Adults (18+)

  • Older Adults (65+)

  • Daytime & Evening Availability

  • In-Person & Virtual Sessions

Schedule an initial call with conor

Contact Information

Phone: 303-335-0017⁩
Email: conor(at)petalandpeak.com


Book an initial call

Education & Credentials

  • Bachelor of Arts in English with a Minor in
    Irish Studies, University of Notre Dame

  • Master of Social Work, University of Denver,
    Graduate School of Social Work

  • Licensed Social Worker, Colorado

  • Licensed Social Worker, Connecticut

  • Clinical Supervisor: Bethany Raab, LCSW, ACS

Specialty Areas

Financial Details

Private Pay Fee

Insurance Accepted

  • Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield

  • CHP+ through Colorado Access

  • Cigna

  • Colorado Access Medicaid

  • Colorado Community Health Alliance (CCHA) Medicaid

  • Denver Health Medicaid

  • Kaiser

  • Northeast Health Partners Medicaid 

  • Rocky Mountain Health Plans Medicaid

  • UMR

  • United Healthcare (including Medicare Advantage)