Our history

OUR JOURNEY

35+ Years of Accessible mental health Care

From a single idea in 1989 to a Denver institution, our story is one of steady, commitment to the belief that care should reach everyone who needs it.

Building a Foundation for Accessible Care

In 1989, three people in Denver — Tom, Brian, and Joan — saw a gap that mattered: too many people who needed mental health care simply couldn't afford it. Maria Droste Counseling Center began as their answer to that gap, built on a simple conviction that good care shouldn't be a luxury.


The idea grew quickly. In 1990, Children First opened its doors at two Denver-area school sites, meeting kids where they already were. By 1991, the organization had formally incorporated as a nonprofit, giving shape and staying power to what had started as a shared commitment.


Training the next generation of clinicians became part of the mission early on, graduate interns learning their craft while helping widen the circle of people who could be served. In 1993, Maria Droste found a permanent home at 1355 S. Colorado Boulevard, a place to root its counseling, community, and training programs for years to come.

Growing Our Services

A new decade brought new needs, and Maria Droste grew to meet them. In 2000, the Survivors Mental Health Program began offering specialized care to survivors of trauma and abuse, work that asked for both clinical skill and deep patience. In the years that followed, the organization kept its outpatient counseling accessible while deepening the training model that had quietly become one of its defining strengths.


It was a period of steady building, laying the groundwork for something larger: care that was affordable, rooted in community, and always training the professionals who would carry it forward.

Expanding Beyond Our Walls

In 2015, the Integrated Behavioral Health Program carried Maria Droste's work into underserved communities across Colorado, one more step toward meeting people where they actually are, not where it's easiest to find them.


Then 2020 arrived, and everything about how care could be delivered changed overnight. The pandemic pushed MDCC into telehealth faster than anyone had planned, and virtual counseling became a lifeline, letting clients keep their appointments from home and opening the door to people well beyond the Denver metro area.


The method had shifted, but the purpose hadn't moved an inch: fewer barriers between people and the support they need.

Discounts for new customers

Today, Maria Droste shows up in more places than ever: in our Denver counseling center, through telehealth, in schools, and in community settings across the state. Our programs keep evolving with the needs around us, but they stand on the same belief that has never wavered: what's in your bank account should never decide what's possible for your mind.


Alongside that work, our clinical training program continues to shape the next generation of mental health professionals, ready to offer care that is both excellent and culturally responsive. Bringing accessible counseling and clinical training together lets us do two things at once, meet today's need and strengthen Colorado's behavioral health workforce for tomorrow.


More than 35 years after three people decided that care shouldn't depend on wealth, the tools have changed again and again. The purpose hasn't moved at all.

Portfolio

Snapshots of Our History

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The Story Behind Our Name

Maria Droste Counseling Center carries the name of Maria Droste zu Vischering (1863–1899), known also as Sister Mary of the Divine Heart. A member of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, she gave her life to serving people facing poverty, hardship, and isolation.


Her approach was simple and enduring: meet people where they are, and respond with dignity and compassion. That spirit shaped the name and early vision of Maria Droste Counseling Center. Historical records also trace MDCC's roots to a Maria Droste counseling organization in New York, where one of our founders completed a doctoral internship before coming to Colorado.


While her legacy inspired our name, today, Maria Droste Counseling Center is a fully independent, secular nonprofit. We have no religious affiliation, no religious mission, and no religious programming.