About Ryan Jaarsma, PsyD

Ryan Jaarsma, PsyD, is the Director of Behavioral Health Education at Southern Colorado Family Medicine. He loves helping people get curious about their emotions, which helps direct people to something they need to pay attention to. Dr. Jaarsma teaches residents motivational interviewing and helps his patients through a combination of therapies.

Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, Dr. Jaarsma received his bachelor’s degree from Calvin University in Michigan and went on to earn his doctorate in clinical psychology from Wheaton College in Illinois. He is currently working on a master’s degree in pharmacology through Fairleigh Dickenson University in New Jersey.

Dr. Jaarsma has worked in a variety of settings including a college counseling center and several different outpatient mental health clinics. He has been training director of a pre-doctoral psychology internship and most recently taught psychiatry residents at the Michigan State program in Grand Rapids. Across these roles he discovered that teaching psychology to physicians and providing psychotherapy to patients are his professional passions.  

Dr. Jaarsma moved to Colorado and joined the Southern Colorado Family Medicine Residency program in 2020. He enjoys the mountains (hiking, off-road driving and skiing) and going to concerts and sporting events.