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Services

Select a service to learn about.

Individual Counseling

Change Can Be Gorgeous

Change can also be messy and slow.

Individual counseling with us always includes listening carefully to your story, validating your experiences, and empowering your growth. Sometimes you might want to talk through and process what going on; sometimes you might want some direction. We do both and infuse individual therapy with a mixture of calm presence and tailored frameworks/strategies so you can get the most out of your quest for change as possible. We are far more than "Tell me what you're feeling," kinds of therapists (although we have been known to say that!). We're in it with you, helping you craft your healing in a way that feels authentic and leads to the goals you've set for yourself.

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Individual Counseling

Couples Therapy

Couples counseling is for couples who have identified some issues in their relationship (like communication, intimacy, trust, parenting, financial, etc.) and are interested in making changes to how they do things. 

 

We are trained as a family systems therapists and can help couples reconnect, change their communication, and regain trust. We often use our exclusive Relationship Consulting process to help couples identify and prioritize issues they want to work on.

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Couples Therapy
Discernment Counseling
  • You may be thinking, "Hey Jenni -- does TouchingTrees take my insurance?""
    There's a short answer to that question, but I'd like to start with what would probably be your quick second question: "Why not?"
  • "Why don't you take insurance?""
    You know, until I became a mental health practitioner, I had no idea there was a unique relationship between mental health and the insurance process. We all assume that our medical and mental health information is confidential, right? And that's true, except for when we sign that little authorization form that allows our medical providers to communicate with our insurance company. Now, I'm totally okay letting my doctor tell my insurance company that I've got a need for antibiotics -- that way my appointment and my antibiotics will get paid for (or at least applied toward my deductible). Over time, I've become less okay with the idea of insurance companies having information about relationship issues.
  • "What's wrong with insurance companies to have information about my relationship issues?""
    That, by itself, isn't necessarily the problem. The problem is that insurance companies require a diagnosis of a mental disorder in order to process a claim for treatment. If I have an infection, it gets diagnosed and I get treated. However, relationship issues aren't infections. They are specific issues related to how we communicate, trust, attach, decouple, stress each other out, and interact. In order to use insurance, you have to receive a diagnosis of a mental disorder. If you're coming in as a couple in crisis, only one of you gets a diagnosis, which can be a problem because...
  • "Because what if I'm a mess because my spouse is cheating and I show up anxious and depressed?""
    Exactly. In that case, you'd be the one who gets the diagnosis. What I've seen happen are a few things that can be a particular bummer for the individual who gets a diagnosis. A) The couple splits up and the diagnosis is used against the partner who has it... and/or B) The couple splits up and the individual with the diagnosis -- particularly if it's a diagnosis of depression -- has a more difficult time securing life insurance later (sadly, this is a real thing)..., or C) the couple stays together, but one of them has the label of being less mentally secure than the other -- tilting the balance of power in the relationship.
  • "Okay, so you don't take insurance. Why should I come see you then?""
    Thank you for asking! The fact that I DON'T take insurance benefits you in 4 specific ways. ​ a) Your protected health information is ALWAYS private and confidential. With rare exception, an ex can't use a diagnosis against you. From a financial standpoint, you don't have a diagnosis that can cause you to pay higher rates for other types of insurance. b) Your therapy plan is designed to meet your needs and is not dictated by an insurance company's algorithm of how long it "should" take to treat a specific issue. c) My rates are slightly lower because I don't have to split fees with the insurance company. d) You can still submit my fees to your Health Savings Account for reimbursement.
  • "Great, when can I come in for an appointment?""
    Email info@touchingtrees.com or call 612-888-2522 at any time and we'll get back to you within 24-48 hours. We always try to get you in as soon as possible. Please know, though, that sometimes it can take 2-4 weeks for an opening. Thanks in advance for your patience!

Discernment Counseling

The New Approach for Couples on the Brink

For more information, please check out DC at www.discernmentcounseling.com. The following information comes directly from that website.

Discernment counseling is a way for couples to look at their options before making a final decision about divorce. It is most appropriate for couples where one partner wants to preserve and repair the relationship and the other is leaning towards ending it. Research shows that this kind of “mixed agenda” is common among couples approaching divorce, and there is a dearth of special services for them. It’s also a common (and difficult) presentation in couples counseling.

 

Discernment counseling differs from regular marriage counseling in three ways: a) the goal is not to solve problems in the relationship, but to figure out whether the problems can be solved; b) the process involves mainly individual conversations with each partner, since they each have different needs and agendas, and c) it is always short term.

  • You may be thinking, "Hey Jenni -- does TouchingTrees take my insurance?""
    There's a short answer to that question, but I'd like to start with what would probably be your quick second question: "Why not?"
  • "Why don't you take insurance?""
    You know, until I became a mental health practitioner, I had no idea there was a unique relationship between mental health and the insurance process. We all assume that our medical and mental health information is confidential, right? And that's true, except for when we sign that little authorization form that allows our medical providers to communicate with our insurance company. Now, I'm totally okay letting my doctor tell my insurance company that I've got a need for antibiotics -- that way my appointment and my antibiotics will get paid for (or at least applied toward my deductible). Over time, I've become less okay with the idea of insurance companies having information about relationship issues.
  • "What's wrong with insurance companies to have information about my relationship issues?""
    That, by itself, isn't necessarily the problem. The problem is that insurance companies require a diagnosis of a mental disorder in order to process a claim for treatment. If I have an infection, it gets diagnosed and I get treated. However, relationship issues aren't infections. They are specific issues related to how we communicate, trust, attach, decouple, stress each other out, and interact. In order to use insurance, you have to receive a diagnosis of a mental disorder. If you're coming in as a couple in crisis, only one of you gets a diagnosis, which can be a problem because...
  • "Because what if I'm a mess because my spouse is cheating and I show up anxious and depressed?""
    Exactly. In that case, you'd be the one who gets the diagnosis. What I've seen happen are a few things that can be a particular bummer for the individual who gets a diagnosis. A) The couple splits up and the diagnosis is used against the partner who has it... and/or B) The couple splits up and the individual with the diagnosis -- particularly if it's a diagnosis of depression -- has a more difficult time securing life insurance later (sadly, this is a real thing)..., or C) the couple stays together, but one of them has the label of being less mentally secure than the other -- tilting the balance of power in the relationship.
  • "Okay, so you don't take insurance. Why should I come see you then?""
    Thank you for asking! The fact that I DON'T take insurance benefits you in 4 specific ways. ​ a) Your protected health information is ALWAYS private and confidential. With rare exception, an ex can't use a diagnosis against you. From a financial standpoint, you don't have a diagnosis that can cause you to pay higher rates for other types of insurance. b) Your therapy plan is designed to meet your needs and is not dictated by an insurance company's algorithm of how long it "should" take to treat a specific issue. c) My rates are slightly lower because I don't have to split fees with the insurance company. d) You can still submit my fees to your Health Savings Account for reimbursement.
  • "Great, when can I come in for an appointment?""
    Email info@touchingtrees.com or call 612-888-2522 at any time and we'll get back to you within 24-48 hours. We always try to get you in as soon as possible. Please know, though, that sometimes it can take 2-4 weeks for an opening. Thanks in advance for your patience!

Decoupling Counseling

Decoupling Counseling is for couples who have made the decision to permanently separate or divorce.

Decoupling Counseling can make a HUGE difference in your relationship post-breakup.
 

Decoupling Counseling can help couples co-create a narrative of the breakup that doesn't demonize or victimize either party in such a way that it will harm children or other family members. Decoupling Counseling is a unique opportunity to minimize emotional trauma while, at the same time, providing each partner a sturdy base from which to move on.

Decoupling Therapy
Anchor 1

Coaching Services

A Divorce Coach is a specially trained divorce professional who takes you from where you are now, and helps you get to where you want to be once your divorce is over.

 

A Coparenting Coach helps parents learn new strategies for communicating about the children, set new and different boundaries with each other, establish a narrative for the children that helps them preserve their good memories of the family, and create new protocols for working together in the future.

Some of our clinicians can provide coaching services to individuals and couples who have specific issues related to parenting, divorce, post-divorce, and high-conflict relationships. 

  • You may be thinking, "Hey Jenni -- does TouchingTrees take my insurance?""
    There's a short answer to that question, but I'd like to start with what would probably be your quick second question: "Why not?"
  • "Why don't you take insurance?""
    You know, until I became a mental health practitioner, I had no idea there was a unique relationship between mental health and the insurance process. We all assume that our medical and mental health information is confidential, right? And that's true, except for when we sign that little authorization form that allows our medical providers to communicate with our insurance company. Now, I'm totally okay letting my doctor tell my insurance company that I've got a need for antibiotics -- that way my appointment and my antibiotics will get paid for (or at least applied toward my deductible). Over time, I've become less okay with the idea of insurance companies having information about relationship issues.
  • "What's wrong with insurance companies to have information about my relationship issues?""
    That, by itself, isn't necessarily the problem. The problem is that insurance companies require a diagnosis of a mental disorder in order to process a claim for treatment. If I have an infection, it gets diagnosed and I get treated. However, relationship issues aren't infections. They are specific issues related to how we communicate, trust, attach, decouple, stress each other out, and interact. In order to use insurance, you have to receive a diagnosis of a mental disorder. If you're coming in as a couple in crisis, only one of you gets a diagnosis, which can be a problem because...
  • "Because what if I'm a mess because my spouse is cheating and I show up anxious and depressed?""
    Exactly. In that case, you'd be the one who gets the diagnosis. What I've seen happen are a few things that can be a particular bummer for the individual who gets a diagnosis. A) The couple splits up and the diagnosis is used against the partner who has it... and/or B) The couple splits up and the individual with the diagnosis -- particularly if it's a diagnosis of depression -- has a more difficult time securing life insurance later (sadly, this is a real thing)..., or C) the couple stays together, but one of them has the label of being less mentally secure than the other -- tilting the balance of power in the relationship.
  • "Okay, so you don't take insurance. Why should I come see you then?""
    Thank you for asking! The fact that I DON'T take insurance benefits you in 4 specific ways. ​ a) Your protected health information is ALWAYS private and confidential. With rare exception, an ex can't use a diagnosis against you. From a financial standpoint, you don't have a diagnosis that can cause you to pay higher rates for other types of insurance. b) Your therapy plan is designed to meet your needs and is not dictated by an insurance company's algorithm of how long it "should" take to treat a specific issue. c) My rates are slightly lower because I don't have to split fees with the insurance company. d) You can still submit my fees to your Health Savings Account for reimbursement.
  • "Great, when can I come in for an appointment?""
    Email info@touchingtrees.com or call 612-888-2522 at any time and we'll get back to you within 24-48 hours. We always try to get you in as soon as possible. Please know, though, that sometimes it can take 2-4 weeks for an opening. Thanks in advance for your patience!
Coaching

Parent-Child Family Therapy

Family therapy when a parent and one or more children have experienced a change in their relationship has many names. You'll see it called  Reunification Therapy, Parent-Child Relationship Repair, and Resist-Refuse Dynamics Therapy. 

Reunification Therapy is appropriate when a parent and child have not seen each other for a year or more, or maybe have never met. In that therapy, the parent is "reuniting" with a child. Typical situations for reunification therapy are: A parent has been deployed or lived out of state, a parent has been incarcerated, or a parent has, for some other reason, been unable to see or parent the child.

 

Parent-Child Relationship Repair Therapy is appropriate when there has been some form of damage in the parent-child relationship. Sometimes, this damage has occurred because of a parent's actions or inactions. Sometimes this damage occurs when there is a high-conflict divorce has created alliances between the child and only one of the parents.  

Resist-Refuse Dynamics Therapy is appropropriate when the damage to the parent-child relationship has caused the child to "resist" or "refuse" to see the other parent.  

 

In all of these therapies, the focus is on helping the parent regain or repair the connection. This is done through skills-building and expectation-setting with both parents. We also meet with the children and facilitate increased communication and trust-building between the parent/s and the child.

Because this type of therapy is highly specialized and usually requires court-involvement, we have limited availability for new families. Please see the FAQs to the right to learn more about how to get on the waiting list.

  • You may be thinking, "Hey Jenni -- does TouchingTrees take my insurance?""
    There's a short answer to that question, but I'd like to start with what would probably be your quick second question: "Why not?"
  • "Why don't you take insurance?""
    You know, until I became a mental health practitioner, I had no idea there was a unique relationship between mental health and the insurance process. We all assume that our medical and mental health information is confidential, right? And that's true, except for when we sign that little authorization form that allows our medical providers to communicate with our insurance company. Now, I'm totally okay letting my doctor tell my insurance company that I've got a need for antibiotics -- that way my appointment and my antibiotics will get paid for (or at least applied toward my deductible). Over time, I've become less okay with the idea of insurance companies having information about relationship issues.
  • "What's wrong with insurance companies to have information about my relationship issues?""
    That, by itself, isn't necessarily the problem. The problem is that insurance companies require a diagnosis of a mental disorder in order to process a claim for treatment. If I have an infection, it gets diagnosed and I get treated. However, relationship issues aren't infections. They are specific issues related to how we communicate, trust, attach, decouple, stress each other out, and interact. In order to use insurance, you have to receive a diagnosis of a mental disorder. If you're coming in as a couple in crisis, only one of you gets a diagnosis, which can be a problem because...
  • "Because what if I'm a mess because my spouse is cheating and I show up anxious and depressed?""
    Exactly. In that case, you'd be the one who gets the diagnosis. What I've seen happen are a few things that can be a particular bummer for the individual who gets a diagnosis. A) The couple splits up and the diagnosis is used against the partner who has it... and/or B) The couple splits up and the individual with the diagnosis -- particularly if it's a diagnosis of depression -- has a more difficult time securing life insurance later (sadly, this is a real thing)..., or C) the couple stays together, but one of them has the label of being less mentally secure than the other -- tilting the balance of power in the relationship.
  • "Okay, so you don't take insurance. Why should I come see you then?""
    Thank you for asking! The fact that I DON'T take insurance benefits you in 4 specific ways. ​ a) Your protected health information is ALWAYS private and confidential. With rare exception, an ex can't use a diagnosis against you. From a financial standpoint, you don't have a diagnosis that can cause you to pay higher rates for other types of insurance. b) Your therapy plan is designed to meet your needs and is not dictated by an insurance company's algorithm of how long it "should" take to treat a specific issue. c) My rates are slightly lower because I don't have to split fees with the insurance company. d) You can still submit my fees to your Health Savings Account for reimbursement.
  • "Great, when can I come in for an appointment?""
    Email info@touchingtrees.com or call 612-888-2522 at any time and we'll get back to you within 24-48 hours. We always try to get you in as soon as possible. Please know, though, that sometimes it can take 2-4 weeks for an opening. Thanks in advance for your patience!
Coaching
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