Sydney Ardent

Hi there, my name is Sydney. Therapy is an environment that can offer different things to different people. While I can't be all things to all people, my goal is to offer space for therapy to be about the client and what they want. Whether you know what that is already or are hoping to figure it out along the way, therapy with me will offer a place to have challenging conversations, understand your past, play with what the future might hold, and explore your wants and needs and how to meet them.

I offer trauma-informed, client-centered, relational psychodynamic therapy with influences from emotionally focused, attachment, mindfulness, and internal family systems therapies with particular focus on boundary-setting, religious trauma, grief, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflict, exploring gender and sexuality, women's issues, sexual abuse, family of origin trauma, codependency, experiences of anti-fat bias, and body image struggles. I offer a gentle and direct approach grounded in safety and trust. I work from a body liberation, fat-positive, Health At Every Size (HAES), and intuitive eating approach in my work with bodies and disordered eating tendencies. I mostly work individually with women and non-binary folks, but I do work with folks of all genders. My practice is welcoming to folks of all sexual orientations, races, ethnicities, sizes, and backgrounds.

It is my belief that everyone retains capacity for change at every point in their lives. If change is something you are hoping for, I sincerely believe that with what is within your control, change is possible. This belief is accompanied by the ever-present need to rest and be patient with oneself.

I understand the primary mechanism of change in therapy to be the relationship between the therapist and client, and that we can work together towards growth and healing by helping you begin to recognize emotions in your body, coming alongside each other to process through trauma, and ultimately empowering you to understand and care for yourself as a whole being comprised of all of your experiences, sensations, and feelings. I find that therapy is most valuable when it is focused on the specific goals that you bring, and my own hopes for our work together include lowering distress, becoming better acquainted with your own agency, encouraging growth towards self-acceptance, building trust in yourself, and increasing your capacity to love.

Originally from the Midwest, I moved to Seattle to study counseling psychology, where I enjoy the rainy days and the plethora of coffee shops. I feel energized by walking around my neighborhood or starting a new tv show, and consider laughter one of my favorite hobbies.

I received my Master’s of Arts in Counseling Psychology from The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology and am practicing as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate (MC61433915) in Washington State.