Therapy Services

EMDR or Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is in advanced therapeutic technique used to address any type of traumatic experience that affects a person. Through generous donations and grants, every therapist at Ardent Grove undergoes training and certification for EMDR therapy. EMDR can benefit anyone at any age and can help heal or process a single experience to significant, repeated traumas. You don't have to sit with your discomfort and pain, recovery is possible. EMDR can also help move past fears, such as public speaking and aid in sports performance. Contact us below to learn more.    

Grief and loss is all around us. Whether a death-related loss or not, at Ardent Grove we understand the many layers and complexities of loss. While grief and loss can take a toll on our mental health and resemble many other mental health disorders, the treatment is also very different from other mental health needs. Grieving is not something that needs to be fixed. Many people are surprised and even ashamed to admit the many differing emotions arising out of their grief. You may feel that you are “going crazy” or that “you are a bad person” for having the feelings you are having in your grief. There are lots of “shoulds” and “supposed tos” in our world that keep grieving people stuck. Our therapists can help hold space for your many emotions and help you to make sense of what is coming up in your own grief processing. They can help you to get the support and resources that you need to make it through this challenging time while feeling less isolated and alone.   

 Pregnancy and the start of parenthood, whether this is your first or third child, is an important time in our lives. Not only for the ongoing health and well-being of mothers, but also for the family as a whole. Women, partners, and siblings in the family benefit from identification of stressors or symptoms and support around managing feelings and moods with a new baby. Especially in the postpartum period, but also during the fertility journey and pregnancy when so much changes for everyone involved, therapeutic support helps the whole family thrive. This may include:

• helping manage stressors and emotions during and after pregnancy
• navigating changes in relationships
• introducing baby to sibling(s)
• postpartum depression/anxiety or other mood related issues
• birth trauma and recovery
• adapting to new parenthood

The therapists at Ardent Grove are passionate about supporting mothers, birthing people, and families make the transition to new parenthood and are honored to support all those we serve through this journey. 

Infants are born with a natural desire for connection with their caregivers. This connection serves as the basis for the infant's mental health, or emotional and social well-being. A child's mental health has a significant impact on healthy development, and infants rely on their caregivers to help them thrive, learn, and grow. If an infant experiences poor sleep patterns, persistent crying, restlessness or fear, the family can benefit from addressing these concerns from a mental health perspective. If you as a caregiver are struggling to feel connection with your infant, are overwhelmed by parenthood, or have experienced trauma throughout pregnancy or parenting, we can support you and your infant together through trauma-informed, relationship-based interventions. We can help caregivers and their babies build a strong foundation for the child's life and help strengthen the connection between an infant and their caregivers.    During the toddler and preschool stages, therapy has two main components - incorporating play-based therapy interventions and providing support and skills to caregivers.  A child in the early childhood period does not engage in traditional "talk therapy" like adults do, they play!  Play-based therapy includes play, art, and other creative forms of expression and emotion regulation. Play-based therapy allows the therapist and caregivers to step into the child’s world and help them process their experiences and emotions in a way that is appropriate for their age.  During the course of early childhood therapy both children and caregivers are able to heal from past experiences and learn new skills to take on life’s challenges in the future. 

Child therapy creates a safe and comfortable space for children to explore their emotions through play, art, and other creative activities.  Play is an essential part of child therapy because play is a child’s first language.  Play-based therapy with children can help a child learn skills to regulate emotions or get along better with others.  Therapy can help children manage changes in their family such as divorce, grief and loss, or processing traumatic memories.  Research shows that addressing these issues while they are happening, rather than waiting until a child is older, benefits the child immensely. By providing an open, trusting environment, therapists at the Ardent Grove Clinic are able to provide individualized support to children, fostering healthy changes and growth.  Therapy gives children the tools needed to address the present concerns and the confidence to address future challenges as needed.  Through fun, creative means a therapist will help the child work through the past and teach new coping skills to regulate emotions and get along better with others.  The therapist will encourage children and their caregivers to practice these coping skills outside of the therapy room.   

Parent Coaching provides support to caregivers (parents, grandparents, foster parents, or anyone who cares for a child!) who are looking for guidance with managing their child's behavior and mental health symptoms.  A therapist can provide parent coaching on issues such as emotion regulation, discipline, fostering healthy relationships, and much more.  Parent coaching involves meeting with a therapist to discuss the current challenges with parenting.  The therapist will aid the caregivers in finding ways to provide support, comfort, and security to their children through evidence-based parenting strategies.  This can involve getting the caregiver connected with their own therapy services, providing tips and tricks to manage the child’s behavior, or helping the caregiver learn how to engage in play-based strategies in the therapy office and at home.  Parent coaching can be done on it's own or in addition to child therapy.    

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Neurofeedback for relaxation training.

The American Pediatric Academy has endorsed Neurofeedback as a “Level 1/Best Support” treatment for children with ADHD.

Neurofeedback training for the brain is similar to physical training for the body. Much of our suffering comes from pervasive, recurring thoughts and feelings in which our minds become emotionally stranded or cognitively “stuck.” Neurofeedback monitors your brain waves and provides “feedback” to your central nervous system about what it has just done. When the software detects a tremor in your brain wave pattern (indicative of a chaotic or unstable brain wave pattern), it sends an audible signal that encourages the brain to “reset” and self-correct.

Neurofeedback prompts the brain to draw from its existing resources and pull itself out of these mental “ruts.” The result can be a more open and positive mindset in which obstacles are more manageable and problems more resolvable.

Many people describe the effects of Neurofeedback as similar to the impact of a consistent meditation or mindfulness practice: a pervasive sense of calm and focus.

The training system we use, NeurOptimal® Neurofeedback, is a 100% non-invasive, drug-free brain training system that helps the central nervous system (CNS) make the best use of your brain’s natural resources. It has no known side effects.

Because Neurofeedback helps the central nervous system improve regulation and work more efficiently, people who train their brains may notice positive impacts in a wide variety of seemingly unrelated areas of life including:

Improvement in Physical, Cognitive & Emotional Challenges

Early research indicates people who train with Neurofeedback may experience reductions in symptoms associated with ADHD, PTSD, Anxiety, Depression and Sleep Disorders. People also commonly report reduced chronic pain, improved sleep, reduced gastrointestinal distress, improved focus, a general sense of calm and well-being, and many other positive impacts.

Brain Fitness/Age Remediation

Just as physical exercise benefits the body, Neurofeedback training keeps the brain fit and resilient. Along with healthy lifestyle choices, Neurofeedback may help mediate the cognitive decline that naturally occurs as we age.

Peak Physical/Mental Performance

Athletes, performers, and public speakers appreciate the improved mental focus and physical performance Neurofeedback can provide. A growing number of Olympic and professional athletes use Neurofeedback to help them achieve their critical mental edge.

Improved Academic Performance

Because Neurofeedback training may enhance concentration and mental focus, students use Neurofeedback as a tool to improve their performance in school.

General Wellness

Neurofeedback encourages an overall positive mental outlook and a deeper understanding of the mind/body connection. Neurofeedback training can be an excellent supplement to a healthy diet and exercise routine.

Biofeedback has been around for almost 40 years, but the scarcity of a practical delivery system inhibited its use. In the past, a Neurofeedback interface would require a room full of computers and technicians. Today, we can use simple, interactive software that harnesses this powerful technology in a program called NeurOptimal®.

We extensively researched the different neurofeedback systems and chose to use NeurOptimal® neurofeedback for ourselves and our clients.

Learn Why:

1. NeurOptimal® was designed to work best with your individual brain. It does not attempt to “fix” predetermined conditions or pin down specific problems. This was a limitation in many earlier neurofeedback systems. Often, resolving one issue in one area could cause problems elsewhere. The heart of the NeurOptimal® system -Dynamical Neurofeedback®- is a proprietary technology based in neuroscience and specifically designed with the naturally non-linear function of the human brain in mind. NeurOptimal® is built to harness the incredibly dynamic nature of your brain in a way other systems cannot match. As a result, this neurofeedback system can effectively address many complaints without specifically “targeting” them from the outset of the training.

2. NeurOptimal® neurofeedback is extremely safe. Research shows your brain “knows best”; therefore, the NeurOptimal® brain training system does not force or “push” the brain in any direction. Dynamical Neurofeedback® provides your brain with the information it needs to correct itself and function optimally. NeurOptimal® enables your own brain’s natural process of self-correction.

3. NeurOptimal® requires no effort on the user’s part. Some brain training systems need the user to “interact” by playing games or solving puzzles during sessions. This additional level of interaction is unnecessary with the NeurOptimal® neurofeedback system. During a training session, you can relax and enjoy.

Before getting started, one of our Neurofeedback trainers will meet with you one-on-one to answer your questions and determine if Neurofeedback may be a good fit for you. We may have you fill out a survey listing the complaints and challenges that have brought you into our office, or we will talk about what you hope to achieve with Neurofeedback training.

When you come for your first Neurofeedback session, you relax in a quiet and comfortable space. Your trainer will attach special sensors to your head to feed your brain wave patterns into the NeurOptimal® program’s software.

A neurofeedback training session is relaxing and enjoyable and lasts about 45 minutes. As the session starts, you will hear the music play and can also choose to watch relaxing geometric images gently morph across a screen, or you may relax and close your eyes if you prefer. You will hear occasional “skips” or interruptions in the music – this signal prompts your brain to “reset” and optimize itself.

You will most likely feel less stressed and more mentally clear at the end of a session. You will unlikely experience any negative after-effects as NeurOptimal® does not artificially “push” the brain in any specific direction and has no known side effects. Many users experience deeper sleep and vivid dreams after their first session.

*Thanks to the Catalyst Center for this overview!

Sandtray therapy is a non-intrusive and primarily nonverbal form of psychotherapy. It allows individuals to work through emotional and spiritual issues, and to grow through developmental roadblocks by naturally engaging their inner lives. As founder Dora M. Kalff said, sandtray can also become a way of life, facilitating an unfolding of profound meaning that deepens the personality. Sandtray therapy provides the space, freedom, safety and opportunity to work with the psyche’s capacity to heal itself and to move to a new stage of life. Because sandtray is primarily nonverbal and heals on a deep level, it has great success with children and adults alike. 

Sandtray therapy has a deep and permanent healing effect for two reasons. First, solutions arise organically out of the individual, and second, the sandtray process involves the whole person — body, mind, soul, and spirit. To learn more, visit the Colorado Sandplay Therapy Association.