Cuddle therapy changed her life. Now she鈥檚 a professional cuddler 鈥� and part of a growing field

In The NoCo

Cuddle therapy changed her life. Now she鈥檚 a professional cuddler 鈥� and part of a growing field

By In The NoCo,

Ariel Lavery, Erin O'Toole, Brad Turner

Published April 11, 2025 at 5:40 AM MDT

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A woman with long blonde hair, wearing a black dress, smiles as she looks at the camera. — Cuddle therapy is a growing field in Colorado. It's still unregulated in the state, which is a concern of professional cuddle therapist Jen Ikuta. "It's vital that we get people trained if they are going to state that they are a professional cuddle therapist," she said.

There are many types of mental health therapy you can access these days: talk therapy, art therapy, even music therapy.

leads sessions in what's called cuddle therapy. It鈥檚 a .

Jen works with clients who want to learn to be more comfortable with another person鈥檚 touch. Many of her clients have experienced physical trauma, and many have autism.

Jen usually works with clients in one-on-one sessions but also organizes what she calls 鈥渃ommunity cuddles鈥� for groups at her Arvada office.

Erin O鈥橳oole talked with her about the emerging field of cuddle therapy and what Jen remembers about her first experience as a cuddle therapy participant.

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In The NoCo

皇冠网址's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.

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Ariel Lavery

Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University鈥檚 NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family鈥檚 financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.

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Erin O'Toole

As the host of 皇冠网址鈥檚 new program and podcast In the NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.

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Brad Turner

Brad Turner is an executive producer in 皇冠网址's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS Newshour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.

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