Our Philosophy
We all need help sometimes. At times, this help comes from family members, friends, or communities. There are times when we need to seek a different type of help – the kind of help that comes from someone who has your growth, values, and perspective in mind. Someone who can listen without judging, who isn’t trying to convince you to be someone you’re not, who can see your strengths and help you build upon them. Someone who can help you write your own story, and not feel trapped by the one others have written for you. Someone who can teach you tools and strategies to deal with troubling thoughts or feelings. Someone who gets to know you and is able to challenge some of the ways you’ve been looking at things or doing things that aren’t effective for you. Someone who can help you focus on what’s most important to you.
If any of these thoughts or experiences sound familiar to you, you’ve been thinking about seeing what therapy is like, or you’ve been wondering whether to get back into therapy, we’d love to explore this more with you. Let’s talk about what you’re thinking, feeling, and experiencing, and see where we can go together.
Our History
After several years as a clinical director of a large group therapy practice, Dr. Ardern’s eagerness for growth and challenge led her to open the doors of Ardern Psychology in 2017. Since then, the practice has become integral to the lives of many in the Denver West community. As the needs of the community have grown, so has Ardern Psychology, and we welcomed Dr. Heather Steffen and Caitlin Ellis to the practice in 2020, and Aaron Packingham in 2021. We are excited, grateful, and pleased to offer high quality, evidence-based therapy to adults, children, adolescents, couples, and families, in addition to psychological evaluations, clinical supervision, teaching, and consultative services to the community.
What Makes Us So Special?
Heidi, Heather, Caitlin and Aaron bring a combined 40+ years of experience to help you grow, heal, and challenge yourself to move forward in new ways. We’ve experienced many of the losses and struggles that are prompting you to consider therapy, and all of us know intimately the value of looking deeply, challenging the power of avoidance, and cultivating non-judgmental supports in our lives. Our team strives to learn and grow personally and professionally, and we genuinely like each other! This contributes to the best client care since it means we enjoy collaborating with and supporting each other. Our varied educational and professional backgrounds mean that we’re ready to help a wide variety of clients. We’re proud of all the word-of-mouth referrals that come to us from satisfied clients. We’re passionate about what we do, and it shows.