MinnesotaMendota HeightsTherapy Clinic

Aaron Keehn

Aaron is an operational coach on the franchise team for Ellie. With over 15 years of customer service and fixed operations experience he is eager to connect with Ellie franchisees and provide them with world class support. Aaron is also a senior Non-Commisioned Officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard. He has been deployed twice to southwest Asia. He is married to one of Ellies clinic directors and they have a beautiful grade school aged daughter. Aaron and his family enjoy traveling and being up at their cabin in the summers.

Alaina Larson, MS

Alaina is a former educator who is passionate about building collaborative and trusting relationships. She strives to create a safe environment where people feel seen, heard, and wholeheartedly accepted. Alaina works from a systemic approach to help clients acknowledge the various unique contexts that influence their lives, connect with their strengths, and feel empowered in their journey towards healing. Outside of work, Alaina loves exploring the outdoors (except if it is windy). She is a big fan of hiking, biking, and finding trees to read under. Alaina also enjoys spending time with family, friends, and her two cats, Gus and Tuna.

Ali Kanan, MA, MS, LPCC

Ali’s approach to therapy is integrative. He converges principles and practices from several different schools of thought such as strengths-based, humanistic, experiential, interpersonal, mindfulness, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Ali flexibly modifies his use of questions, responses, and techniques in the “here-and-now” depending on the realities, resources, supports, limitations, values, interests, expectations, and needs presented by a client on a given day. Ali recognizes the chosen methods burrowed from different therapy approaches are far more effective or meaningful after first establishing a collaborative, egalitarian, and supportive therapy relationship. It is important for Ali to be seen and known by his clients as a human being with his own fears, capacities, and imperfections. Ali will work with you as a guiding journeyman and compassionate companion who listens intently and respectfully to your concerns and speaks sincerely and courageously from an equally vulnerable and capable place.

At Ellie, Ali is working with adolescents and adults  He is available for in-person and telehealth psychotherapy appointments. Difficulties with depression/anxiety/ panic; trauma/grief/loss; lived-experiences with stigma/shame/prejudice/or marginalization due to some aspect of one's history, reality, or identity; navigating distress associated with managing work/relational/family dilemmas are just some of problems he has earned the privilege to work with.

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Alyssa Stone, BSW

Alyssa is a passionate, outgoing mental health practitioner. She loves helping people, and uses authenticity and humor to build relationships with everyone around her. Alyssa's previous experience includes being a teacher assistant in a preschool, direct client work with both adults and adolescents in residential treatment, and providing case management services.

Alyssa loves going to the nail shop, spending time with friends and family, and eating tacos. She loves watching crime documentaries, Disney movies and playing Animal Crossing. Alyssa is hoping to go back to school for her Master's in Social Work soon.

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Amanda Spangler, BA

Amy Kalbrener, MA

Amy is an art therapist who is know for her as patience, insight, compassion, and creativity. She uses these skills to work with individuals processing grief, loss, medical diagnosis, trauma, depression, and anxiety. Amy uses art as part of the conversation to create metaphor, express feelings, explore strengths, and find meaning. Amy feels strongly that you do not need to be an artist in order to benefit from art therapy as the process of creating is frequently more rewarding than the finished product. She helps clients find their strengths with encouragement and support while working together with them to identify and work towards their goals.  

Amy believes that every person has the ability to be their best selves and that her role is to help facilitate their journey by providing a safe and creative environment. She is dedicated to finding creative and individualized solutions to meet each client's needs by meeting them where they are in their journey.

Outside of work Amy enjoys reading, playing board games, baking, and creating art whenever possible. She is also always up for going for a walk with her dog, family, or friends.  

Anasas Trottman, AA

Anasas Trottman is a community based mental health practitioner with a passion for helping others reach their full potential in life, while facing personal challenges. She has worked in group homes for over 5 years. She understands that sometimes it's hard to complete tasks, she enjoys providing coaching to meet these goals. She is passionate about helping others achieve their long-term goals. She is understanding, caring and she welcomes everyone with open arms. Outside of work Anasas enjoys spending time with family and friends. She enjoys going on vacations and seeing new places. She enjoys summer days that allow her to spend time at the lake. She also has a sense of humor, and she thinks she is a comedian.

Andrea Drews

Andrea is a Gen X mother and grandmother with over 25 years in billing, claims and collections across various specialties. She loves a challenge and investigating to find the answers to difficult questions. She has a huge heart and is always available to lend a hand to someone in need.

Andrea is happiest when she is able to submit clean claims that are sent to the payer and processed and paid with no issues but when and if needed she prides herself in making the needed updates and corrections and resolving the issue in a timely manner. She also believes that "Live, Laugh, Love" are words to live by.

Angela Holmquist, LGSW

Angela believes in creating a authentic, informal and welcoming space to collaboratively join with individuals to promote personal growth. Angela uses a variety of clinical interventions adapted to best meet the needs of the person including cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, client centered and a strength based approach. Angela values the use of humor, empathy, open mindedness and being fully present with individuals on their journey to increasing emotional well being.

Outside of work, Angela enjoys spending time with family, snuggling her fur babies, doing crafts, playing video games and attending festivals. Angela is child foster care licensed in her community.

What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, more unashamed conversation. ~Glenn Close

Anita Malinskiy

April Gage

April is a high energy extrovert who often spends time talking to everyone around her and learning their stories. She knows the importance of connection and values relationship building. April spent time working as a para in the school district before becoming a stay at home mom to two amazing kids, and returning to work in a Bio-Technology lab during the height of the Covid Pandemic. From there she transferred to a Human Resources role where she was able to gain more administrative experience and support her fellow colleagues with compassion and understanding.

In her free time, April loves to run and cook meals from scratch. She can often be found spending time with her kids, finding a sporting event to attend or watching Christmas Hallmark movies when the time is right.

Ashley Olson

Ashley is a Client Access Specialist with Ellie. This means she wants the utmost satisfaction for Ellie clients. She is passionate about exhibiting fantastic customer service and ensuring clients are scheduled based on the best fit for their individual needs. Prior to working at Ellie, Ashley spent her days at a Special Education school as a Program Assistant for 7 years. She is excited to start her new role at Ellie and join the field of mental health and provide the best services to meet the needs of each individual.
Outside of work, Ashley likes to spend time her husband, two daughters, and her dog. Ashley is an avid hockey fan, and loves to open up a new book to read!

Ashley Solberg, MA, LMFT, CCTP

Ashley has an admirable passion for people. Whether your a client, student, supervisee or peer of hers, she is always willing to help you grow and develop as an individual. She focuses on your strengths and shows you how capable you really are even when you feel completely broken and powerless.

Ashley has worked in the field of trauma for most of her career; specializing in complex trauma and dissociation. Using her clinical training in EMDR, ART, and IFS she is able to assist clients in not only working through their trauma, but helping them understand that they are not powerless, weak, damaged, or unlovable because of their trauma. In order to do this work, Ashley focuses on building a theraputic relationship that feels both authentic and safe. Ashley is not only motivated to help you, she is dedicated to helping you.

When she is not at work, Ashley enjoys spending time with family and friends, doing Pilates & heated Yoga, golfing, listening to live music, going to the horse races all while managing her own personal zoo of one husband, two kids, two rabbits and three dogs at home.

Asma Galab, BA

Asma has attained a BA in Public Health and Psychology from St. Catherine University. She is starting her Master's in clinical social work at the University of Minnesota in the Fall 2022. Asma has worked in behavioral health for many years and held different positions that allowed her to provide quality, culturally-sensitive, and competent services to individuals to achieve a healthy lifestyle. She is passionate about helping individuals to understand their own personal psychology and to live a fulfilled life.

Austin Jacobsen, MA

Austin believes that we are all searching for our own meaning in life, and that we make our own meaning. Stemming from a person-centered standpoint, Austin believes in meeting people where they are, holding space and walking with clients down their own paths as a guest in their personal journey. He combines an Adlerian and existential framework with cognitive behavioral, EMDR, and solution focused techniques to assist clients in making meaningful changes in their lives, tapping into the client’s inner strengths along the way. Austin also uses revolutionary methods incorporating technology and virtual reality into session.

Austin has experience working in mental health as an ARMHS practitioner, lead field supervisor, and treatment director. Austin specializes in working with clients who have experienced trauma, depression, anxiety, and psychosis, as well as helping clients explore and understand their own sexuality and gender identity. He works collaboratively with clients to help them find meaning in their experiences and relationships, while also teaching valuable life skills to help build stability. 

Outside of work Austin loves listening to and playing music, hanging with his animals, and nerd/geek culture. 

Azelie Dugas

Azelie is a hard working compassionate mental health professional who prides herself in creating an accepting, inclusive environment for her clients. Azelie feels lucky to enjoy working in a field that she has so much passion in. Azelie’s past direct client experience in inpatient facilities and crisis clinics makes her feel prepared for almost any situation. Azelie is cool and calm under pressure and is ready to serve her community!

BJ McElrath, MA, LPCC

BJ is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor who takes a compassionate, person-centered approach that is strength based and solution focused. He believes that nurturing a safe place where clients can feel validated and heard is an integral part of the therapeutic process. BJ enjoys working with teens, adults, couples, and families. 

Utilizing a range of techniques, from traditional CBT to narrative, he is passionate about helping families, couples, and individuals work towards living their best story. BJ's experience includes working with those who are struggling with depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, relationship challenges, and stress.  His past stops include working in community-based programs, schools, churches, clinical practice, and leadership in a non-profit mental health setting. 

When he’s not helping people in a counseling setting, BJ loves to spending time with his family, running marathons, and fighting fires at his local fire department as a Firefighter/EMT.

Blaire Selisker

Blaire is a kind-hearted, warm soul who loves helping people. She understands the importance of mental health and the courage it takes to reach out when needing more support. With her empathetic & supportive nature, Blaire is well-suited to help each person find the care they need to begin their own unique healing journey.

When Blaire is not at work, she can be found enjoying the outdoors and spending time with family & friends. She really enjoys nature walks with her son or curling up on the couch and watching Disney movies together. Blaire also likes to partake in different activities during the changing seasons of Minnesota, as each season brings its own traditions and fun that can't be beat.

Breanna Freeborn, MA, LPCC

Breanna is a holistic, integrative therapist who specializes in working with individuals who have experienced trauma, anxiety, and mood disorders. Her primary clinical orientations are psychodynamic (how our past impacts us now), attachment theory (our need for connection and bonds), and existential (concerns about meaning and being human). She often uses "internal family systems", and body-based approaches.

Breanna frequently works with people who are part of the LGBTQ+ community, self-identified creative types or part of “counter-culture.” She also works with self-identified rule-followers, perfectionistic, and feel stuck or rigid in the way they are living. Beyond working with adults, Breanna is trained in play therapy, and loves working with children and caregivers through creative means with a compassionate stance. 

Outside of Ellie, Breanna also provides psychedelic-assisted therapy for adults in a clinical setting and is passionate about this work. 

Breanna strikes a balance between using holistic approaches while incorporating neuroscience and psychoeducation to empower clients. She believes there is no "one-size-fits-all" and is highly collaborative with clients. She respects each person's inner wisdom and capacity to heal from within. 

Personally, Breanna loves being a mom and connecting with loved ones. She enjoys nature, music, and art, and thinks humans are fascinating!

Brianna Dennis, BS

Brittany Johnson, MA, LADC

Clients can expect a welcoming environment. Therapy is not an easy task by any means. Therefore, creating a space that is accepting, patient, and safe is my goal. Therapy is where healing takes place. I believe therapy is a collaborative process and want my clients to feel comfortable, respected, and dignified in exploring the benefits of allowing oneself to be vulnerable. You deserve to prioritize your mental health and reach your full potential. Allow me to support you along the way.

When working with children, I think it is important to incorporate the family systems approach to therapy. I believe in order to truly foster change within the system each family member deserves their voice to be heard. This approach helps each member understand their role in the system while working to be on the same team. In addition, I am drawn to a strengths-based approach in helping clients recognize what they have overcome and utilize their own inner strengths in other areas of their lives.

I am interested in incorporating creative techniques into the therapeutic environment to ease any uncomfortable feelings that may arise when engaging in therapy. This technique helps make therapy unique to the individual and offers an outlet to express feelings in a way most natural to them.

My areas of interest involve working with children, adolescents, and adults who have experienced trauma. I am passionate about working with foster youth and youth involved in the criminal justice system. My area of interest and experience include anxiety, depression, ASD, PTSD, ADHD, and ODD.

I have worked with children, adolescents and adults who struggle with mental health issues and substance use issues. I have worked in residential and outpatient treatment settings. I have experience working with people of diverse cultural backgrounds and LGBTQIA+ youth. Additionally, I have worked with adolescents and adults involved in the criminal justice system.

Cai Selmo, Registered Behavior Technician

Cai is a community based skills worker that is passionate about making therapy fun and accessible. She has worked with children for many years and most recently spent time as an ABA therapist to support children with autism. Cai incorporates flexibility, creativity, and playfulness into her practice while also being a strong advocate for her clients.

Outside of work Cai enjoys cooking, watching the Marvel cinematic universe, and being on the lake :)

Caryn Scholl

Caryn is an insurance verification specialist with a passion to help people and a serious addiction to coffee. She comes to Ellie with several years experience in mental health benefits and new client intake. Caryn loves problem solving and finding creative solutions to problems. She will work hard to provide accurate benefit information for all Ellie clients.

Devin Schallert-Thomas, MA

Ed Frickson, MS, LP

Ella Ramos, BA

Ella is a personable Mental Health Practitioner who uses a non-judgmental, holistic approach to connect with clients.  Ella strives to create a safe environment for people to process the pieces of their world that need extra care. Ella's extensive experience with the foster care system has shaped her worldview. She focuses on counseling from a place of empathy, and creating a protective barrier of support around growing children and families.

Ella is passionate about maternal mental health, developing self identity, and serving parents who are seeking to strengthen their parental skills and relationships with their children. Ella is devoted to utilizing cultural enrichment,  developing racial identity, and healing places of trauma within the BIPOC community.

Outside of work, Ella likes to travel, try new recipes (mainly various tacos), catch up on her tv shows and enjoy time with her family.

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Emily Haider, BA

Emily believes in meeting you where you are at in your journey through life. She primarily utilizes a strengths and values based approach to incorporate your unique strengths, passions, and values to help you achieve your goals. You can expect sessions to be client-centered, creative, and fun. Emily primarily uses a Cognitive/Dialectical Behavioral approach to build skills that target cognitive distortions and build coping and distress tolerance skills to assist in removing the barriers that are keeping you from achieving your goals. Emily also utilizes aspects of Attachment Theory, Psychodynamic, Polyvagal, existential, and Trauma-informed care modalities.  Emily is passionate about working with individuals with experiences with trauma, anxiety, depression, anger, and other behavior related concerns. Emily works with individuals of all ages and stages of life. 

In her free time, Emily enjoys hiking, kayaking, art, music, gaming, crochet, and experiencing the diversity of the Twin Cities. Emily is currently enrolled in the Counseling and Psychological Services Master's program at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and is expected to graduate in early 2022. Emily will be seeking LPCC licensure.

Emily Schackmuth, BA, MA

Emily is a humorous, yet passionate therapist who strives to create a space for her clients to better understand themselves so them can finally fricking thrive. Whether its processing current issues, learning new coping skills, or doing deep work of healing past wounds, she will meet you where you’re at. Emily will challenge you, and teach you practical tools you can use to get unstuck and get.thriving. Emily uses humor and creativity in her practice because she knows getting through hard sh&% won’t work without a joke/meme or four. She brings a sense of quirkyness in the therapy rooms to build authentic connections with her clients of all ages. 

Emily graduated with her Master's in counseling and is working towards being independently licensed with her (LPCC). Emily has previous experience working in local day treatments, school settings across metro districts, and college campuses. Emily has been in the mental health field since 2012, and she specializes in seeing children and teens, and also has a niche for working with maternal mental health. Emily’s therapeutic approach is from a strength-based, culturally attentive lenses that is experiential and collaborative with clients.

Erika Teachout, MS

Erika is an authentic, honest solution focused provider. She believes in the importance of meeting each client where they are free of judgement and with an unconditional positive regard. Erika entered this field in hopes of helping individuals increase their happiness and satisfaction. She understands how important it is for people to feel heard, understood and feel comfortable enough to share their thoughts with another person and builds relationships with her clients where they feel safe being themselves.

Erika uses a variety of therapeutic approaches but leans toward acceptance and commitment and reality based approaches. She has worked in a variety of positions helping people with mental and physical health concerns. Most recently she worked as an outpatient therapist, community based practitioner and provided in-home therapy and skills work to children in her community. She is looking forward to providing individual therapy to individuals 12 and older at Ellie.

When Erika is not working she is often spending time with her husband and children or with her nose in one book or another. Erika enjoys learning about and caring for indoor and outdoor plants and is often called the plant lady.

Erin Opoku, MA, LMFT

Gina Young, LICSW

Gina is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker who is trained in Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) with children and adults and is also trained in Child Parent Psychotherapy. Gina has a passion for working with people across the age span and has speciality experience working with children ages 2-18 years old. Gina believes therapy is for everyone and that working with children means working with the entire family system. Gina is dedicated to working with individuals that have been impacted by trauma.

Outside of work Gina loves people, nature, hiking, yoga, dogs, baking, travel, books, being curious and learning.

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Gracelyn Price-Murphy, BA

Gracelyn (Grace) is a Community Based Provider who enjoys using humor and patience to meet Client's where they're at, in order to achieve goals tailored to each individual Client. Grace strives to work "with" her Clients and not "for" them, in an attempt to remain as person centered as possible. She studied Social Work in her first 4 years of college before eventually graduating with a BA in Individualized Studies, and has held onto those learnings and applies them to her everyday work with Clients. Grace also has experience working for SPPS for many years, with children of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. You can expect a provider who is very understanding and empathetic, and who will really commit with her Clients to achieve their goals when choosing Grace.

Outside of work, Grace can be found with her FIVE children, watching her favorite shows (including Grey’s Anatomy, and corny singing competitions), frequenting Starbucks, and eating all the chips and queso her little heart desires!

Haley Guetter, MS, LMFT

Clients working with Haley can expect an authentic, experiential, open, and collaborative experience to the therapeutic process. Clinically, Haley's approach to healing and change exists within a relational and experiential framework. Curiosity, humor, compassion, and creativity are common mechanisms that accompany her as she walks alongside her clients as they repair relational wounds and rewrite their personal narratives by expanding and deepening their understanding and experience of one's self, others, and this world within the refuge of the therapeutic space and secure attachments. By providing this framework, growth and healing begin to really take root when emotions are brought to full expression, fears are voiced, truths are heard, and people are seen and loved for exactly who they are in the here-and-now.

Haley works with teens(15+), adults, older adults, couples, and families including those in the LGBTQ+ community and of diverse cultural/ethnic/religious backgrounds.

Clinical Interests: grief and loss, death and dying, anxiety, depression, perceived lack of meaning/purpose, spiritual searching, aging, isolation/loneliness, unresolved relational/familial conflict, disconnection, or other relational/familial discord situations, marital issues, difficulty with life transitions, life-work balance related stressors, low self-esteem and self-identity issues.

Some of Haley’s favorite things: trees, her doggo, coffee, art, and exploring new places.

Heather Dyer

Heather is aspiring to become a Therapist who specializes in Somatic Experiencing and modalities alike. Her passion for witnessing/participating in heavy/deep layers melting off of people, allowing them to be aligned with their true self, experiencing and expressing their unique human experience freely, is what drives her ambition. She is passionate about healthy communication and connection.

Heather has been a Massage Therapist and Energy Practitioner since 2012 which has led her into the entrepreneurial world where she finds her passion and hobby has led her into pursuing a deeper, more meaningful all-the-time job.

She views being a Client Access Specialist with Ellie as a wonderful opportunity to contribute to her life's work as a person of service, and it's given her an opportunity to surround herself with like minded people, who's passion inspire her everyday. She will begin her University studies soon to become a Licensed Therapist herself.

Outside of work, you can find her doing all things 'Mom', as she is raising 4 kiddos and has 2 cats. She enjoys nature and physical activity immensely and even considers is a necessity for to feel peace in her body so she can show up for others consistently.

Holley Gruenwald

Holley is a detail oriented professional who takes great pride in the job she does. She knows the in's and out's of dealing with the insurance payers and enjoys working with them daily to ensure practices are given fair rates. She remains professional but tenacious when it comes to negotiation with any of the insurance companies.

She comes to Ellie with a great deal of experience in Credentialing, Contracting and Provider Licensure for large and smaller groups.

Holley is a very friendly and compassionate person. She thrives when handling deadlines and being able to help other people learn.

Her attention to detail and her organization skills have allowed her to excel in her career and there is no doubt that she will be a wonderful addition to our team.

Jayden Gerak, BS

Jayden is currently pursuing a Master's degree at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in Infant and Early Childhood Mental health and a Licensed Practitioner Clinical Counseling licensing.  Jayden is passionate about her clients and incorporates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Mindfulness techniques into her sessions. Jayden enjoys providing psycho-education on daily living skills that can be generalized outside of session. Prior to joining Ellie, Jayden worked at Fraser Autism Clinic providing ABA therapy to children. She has a passion for creating equal opportunities for all individuals no matter their background. 

Outside of work Jayden enjoys spending time with her friends and family. She enjoys exercising, hiking, and spending any free time she has traveling and climbing mountains!

Jazzmyn Nielsen, BA

Jazzmyn is a Mental Health Practitioner that works from a systemic viewpoint to help clients recognize the effects of their relationships and society. She keeps her clients at the center of the therapeutic work and likes to use humor in her work. Jazzmyn is passionate about helping her clients build confidence in themselves and helping clients recognize the importance of self compassion. She knows how difficult it can be to reach out for help, so she meets her clients with patience and understanding. The ability to listen, validate a client's feelings and respond authentically allows her to connect with clients at their own pace. 

Outside of work, Jazzmyn can be found with her two German Shepard Dogs, spending time in nature, enjoying a good book or watching Marvel movies!

Jen Rynes, BA

Jen is an empathetic mental health practitioner that is currently pursuing her master degree in clinical mental health counseling. She has experience working with children and adults with a variety of different mental health diagnoses. She understands that reaching out for support can be difficult and, for this reason, Jen treats everyone with compassion and kindness. She is excited to work in the community based setting. :)

Jennie Karnish, MS, LPCC, LMHC

Jennifer Gay, APRN, CNP, PMHNP-BC

Jess Manashil

Jess is a progressive individual who uses her interpersonal skills and creativity to find the best provider for a prospective client. As someone who thrives off of one on one interactions, Jess will make it her mission to make you feel comfortable and heard. Her past roles include Hearing Case Manager at a social security and disability law firm as well as being an Executive Assistant to an RN. She worked directly with clients in both of these roles. Jess finds the joy in most things but music, the outdoors, and spending time with loved ones rank in her top three. Jess' ability to connect with others and passion for this type of work give her the tools she needs to help give the clients what they need.

Jodi Kariott

Jodi is a caring person who has dealt with a few mental health tragedies in her life. She has been caring for her husband who has been fighting mental health issues for many years. She is very understanding and very encouraging to talk to. She will help you find the best resources that apply to a specific need. She will love to help you any way she can. She takes the time to listen and just let you talk.

Outside of work, she loves to spend her time diamond painting. She finds it very relaxing. She also likes to cuddle up with her cats and snuggle.

Josie Neveu, MA

Josie is a warm and welcoming individual. Josie likes to use a holistic approach when helping clients because she believes that there are many factors that go into having positive mental health.  

Josie is a pre-licensed  practitioner perusing her LPCC. Josie uses a Solution Focused Approach with her clients, Mindful Cognitive therapy and intertwines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with her technique.

Josie has experience with adults from a variety of different cultures. In her previous work she provided mental health support, career counseling, and helped her clients get connected with community resources.

Mental health support should not be something to worry about, Josie is here to help you feel calm, welcomed, and supported during your journey.

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Julia Galloway

Julia considers herself a good listener. She brings all her passion to her work in Audio Production. When she was young, playing hockey and listening to her "Beats" was her favorite thing to do. She will always be, "a rink rat" and loves watching the Wild play.  She loves listening to music! All genres, but likes Alternative, Country and Hip hop best. Her friend group would probably say she talks a lot and she feels everything very deeply.

Julia is the youngest in her family of 4 sibs. She can be found on the lake in the summer waterskiing or lounging in her hammock. She loves to spend time with her people, going on adventures and going long boarding.

Even though Jules is the baby of her family, she has always had a great sense of humor and common sense. She is methodical in her approach to tasks but will work until the job is done.

Fun fact, Julia's mom also works at Ellie!

Julie Peterson, MA, LADC

Julie is an energetic therapist who believes we are all equipped with tools to navigate through life's twists and turns; sometimes we just need a guide to help us use them along the way. Julie primarily utilizes a solution-focused approach to therapy, as well as motivational interviewing and DBT interventions.

Julie started her career focusing on Addictions Counseling before finishing her Masters in Counseling Psychology. Julie is currently working toward her Professional Clinical Counseling Licensure. Her previous experience includes Community Based Mental Health Skills Work, Hospital-Based Brief Intervention Counseling, as well as Outpatient Counseling for adults and teens.

Julie is a firm believer of healing with humor. You can expect a few lame jokes to come up here and there.

When she is not at work, you could expect to find Julie watching pro-wrestling, gaming, doing an escape room with friends, and other "nerd stuff." Julie also spends as much free time as she can playing with her “kids”: fur babies and human children alike.

Justin Gerstner, MD

Kasi Misseldine, BA

Kasi is passionate about nurturing supportive, collaborative, and authentic relationships with clients. They use creativity and adaptability to help clients express themselves and move toward their own unique needs and goals. Kasi is an Art Therapist in training, and believes in the power of art making as a way to encourage clients to express themselves, explore different parts of their identity, work through conflicts, and decrease stress (among many other wonderful benefits!).  Kasi believes that each client is the expert on their own life, and is committed to providing services that are culturally sensitive and relevant to each individual.

When she’s not working, Kasi enjoys walking her dog, reading, playing music, making art, and going to water aerobics.

Katie Score, LMFT

Katie is a positive, creative, and light-hearted therapist that believes every client can experience healing and personal growth. She is passionate about working with clients that are truly ready to explore what is holding them back, what is keeping then from being the person they want to be, or from living the life that they want to live.  She shows considerable compassion and kindness to her clients, acknowledging their experiences and hearing their personal stories.   

Katie deeply respects her role as a therapist and the responsibility she has to provide ethical and beneficial assistance to her clients as they work towards achieving their individual therapeutic goals. She is honest, caring, and will often use humor or sarcasm to help lighten the dark that exists in life. She takes a realistic and direct approach, which at times requires her to gently challenge clients to help encourage their personal awareness and growth. She is not afraid to “tell it how it is,” or to “give it to you straight,” because she deeply respects her clients, she sees their potential, and wants to empower and hold them accountable, so they too can discover just what amazing things they are capable of! 

Kayla Norcross

Kayla is an energetic and friendly soul that is excited to support the Ellie Fam within the HR team. She understands the importance of mental health and treats everyone she interacts with kindness and smiles. She loves to make people laugh and smile.
Her previous experience is from international logistics in sales, but her passion is HR.

Kayla is known for her love of Disney and health/fitness. She has a heart for helping people become the best version of themselves which makes her a perfect addition to the Ellie Team! Kayla can be found quoting her favorite TV show friends and can spot out any Disney movie within the first 3 seconds (yes that is the part with the Disney castle). She is so excited to join the Ellie Fam and bring her unbelievably positive vibe with her!

Kevin Kim, MA

Kevin is a mental health professional who truly loves what he does! “The greatest passion in my career includes helping my clients make peace with their thoughts through counseling and also help them feel better about themselves.” As a therapist, Kevin enjoys guiding clients through their personal challenges, easing emotional burdens, and helping them overcome their mental health to achieve a healthier mind.

Kevin’s therapy approach includes person-centered as he believes in letting clients take the lead within their recovery journey and helping his clients reach their full potential by supporting them through their recovery journey. In Kevin’s practice, he specializes providing services to children, adolescents, and adult clients who have experienced depression, anxiety, PTSD, autism, low self-esteem, etc.

Kevin has previous working experience in the mental health field as a CTSS skills worker, ARMHS practitioner, and child development specialist.

Outside of work, Kevin enjoys playing sports, especially basketball, baseball, and football. Kevin also enjoys spending time with his wife and traveling around the world.

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Kyle Johnston, LPCC

Authenticity fosters the growth of yourself and others around you. Kyle believes a trusting respectful relationship with someone who is true to themselves can help an individual grow and develop in ways that they never thought possible. These relationships allow people to challenge themselves in ways that can be difficult. Kyle seeks to be his authentic self and in doing so brings this same philosophy to his therapy practice by providing warmth, respect, guidance, wit, humor, and brutal honesty to his clients.

Kyle's approach is person centered, seeking to provide warmth and respect along with gentle challenges to help clients identify their personal struggles and develop ways that they can change and grow. Kyle utilizes an eclectic variety of techniques, ranging from traditional CBT to early memory recall to help each client discover their own unique solution to their struggles.

Kyle enjoy's working with individual, couples, teenagers, children, and families. 

Kyle has experience in working with individuals who have experienced anxiety, depression, grief, relationship obstacles, trauma, anger, serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI), ADHD, and OCD. Kyle is driven to help clients develop healthy relationships that can allow them to overcome any obstacle that they might experience.

Kyle Rosenquist, BA

Letisha Harris Miller, MS

Letisha Harris Miller is a mental health practitioner with a passion for helping others see their full potential and value even with challenges they have face. She has experience with family, individual and play therapy. She has a compassionate and understanding heart and a love for all types of people that makes her a joy to work with.

Letisha enjoys working with a wide range of ages specifically youth. She is versed in behavioral management, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness based cognitive therapy. She not only loves helping others she has fun doing so; it all seems to come so naturally for her.

When Letisha is not helping others through work she enjoys traveling with her family and friends, learning about African American history. She also loves to enjoy a good meal and try new foods. She also can be found reading a good book or visiting a good dessert bar on any given day.

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Liz Braun, MSN, CNP, PMHNP-BC

LJ Taugher, MA

LJ has a passion for helping people find their voice, be heard, and explore how they best engage in the world. LJ strongly believes in understanding how each person approaches life based on their own unique lived experiences. Doing so helps to build a plan with a person that is tailored to who a person is and where they want to head.

LJ approaches working with people from the perspective that there are key aspects that make therapy therapy but how we do those is up to the person LJ is working with. LJ believes each person’s story is unique and so how we work together to overcome challenges needs to be shaped for the person to be of the most use.

Professional interests of LJ’s are the integration of technology into psychotherapy, Geek Therapy (bringing video games, D & D, sci-fi, anime, etc into therapy), and the overlap between psychology and linguistics. LJ co-teaches a course on emerging trends in psychotherapy in the master’s in counseling program at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota -Twin Cities. LJ is the lead researcher on a study titled “Linguistic rules of discourse in multicultural counseling: When meaning falls apart” investigating the role of culturally appropriate linguistic characteristics in miscommunications during psychotherapy. Also, LJ has returned to school to pursue a doctoral degree in counseling psychology (PsyD).

In his free time, LJ loves playing video games with a preference of RPGs, fantasy-based FPS, platformers, and puzzles. In the past few years LJ has taken up weightlifting and CrossFit. LJ also enjoys traveling with his spouse to go hiking and having friends over for dinners. When not reading for school LJ likes cozy mystery novels.

Maddie Sandeen, LPCC

Maddie is a welcoming and compassionate therapist who has a passion for working with children aged four and up, adolescents, and adults. Maddie works to provide clients and their families a space where they are supported, nurtured, and free to express themselves. 

Maddie utilizes Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Experiential Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Play Therapy, Sand Tray Therapy, and Strengths Based Therapy in her sessions. Maddie works with presenting concerns related to trauma, anxiety, grief and loss, depression, life transitions, self-esteem, anger, and parenting concerns. Maddie has worked extensively with children who have experienced trauma, incorporating both non-directive and directive play therapy, as well as trauma specific treatment modalities to best meet the client's therapeutic needs. Maddie has experience working in office, school-based therapy, and adolescent residential treatment. 

Mariah Abbott, MA

Mariah is a friendly and easy going medication management assistant, who is passionate about the mental health and wellbeing of others. She believes that mental health is a HUGE part of health care, that does not always get the attention that is needed. Prior to working with Ellie, her role in her previous position included supporting children and their families as they navigated through mental health crises, as well as assist providers with medication management. Mariah strives to be your biggest advocate and genuinely loves to see people become their best selves. Mariah is determined to help create an environment that is welcoming and accepting.

Outside of work, Mariah enjoys spending time with her outdoorsy husband, her sweet 1 year old, and her spunky boxer dog (Suzi).

Marsyl Warren

Marsyl is a seasoned billing professional who loves problem solving and navigating solutions for more efficient workflow. She likes helping clients understand their statements and simplifying the sometimes confusing insurance processes and terminology into understandable concepts.

Matt Johnson, LPCC

Megan Gooden

Concise communicator.

Megan Muraca, BA

Clients seeing Megan can expect an empathetic, and authentic approach. They will be greeted with a warm, welcoming smile. She believes in the importance of meeting each individual where they are at and adapting to their needs.

Megan likes to work collaboratively with her clients using a client centered approach and believes in letting clients take the lead within each session. Her goal is to help clients reach their full potential and to support them through that journey. She enjoys adding creative aspects to therapy in order to meet each individual’s unique needs. Megan enjoys incorporating the outdoors, movement, play, and humor within therapy.

Outside of work Megan enjoys spending time with her puppy, family, and friends. She loves hiking, skiing, and crafting!

Melinda Sengsavang, MA

Clients seeing Melinda for therapy can expect a calm presence that is supportive, gentle and encouraging by providing a safe space to just “be” during your time together.  She works intuitively and is responsive to flowing in the moment with you to join together and find the courage to take the next step.  You are not alone and it is a profound aspect to healing and growth to feel secure and connected and that is her primary goal as you move toward accomplishing your identified goals.

Melinda’s ideal clients are adults 20+, specializing in women’s concerns including anxiety and depression, CPTSD, trauma, chronic pain, recovery/sobriety support, grief/loss, faith and spirituality, challenging relationships, caregiver stress, stress management and career/work stress and life transitions.

Melinda’s specialties are interpersonal boundaries work, developmental trauma and shame, grief/loss.

Melinda’s therapeutic techniques are based on somatic and neuroscience (polyvagal theory) informed approaches for stress and trauma care as well as understanding relationship with self and others while integrating applied Adlerian theory that encourages creativity and community as central aspects of emotional and mental well-being. She often utilizes temperament theory as an avenue to cultivate self-awareness in the therapeutic process.

Michaela Hagel

Michaela joined Ellie with multiple years of experience working with people through large corporations, as well as individuals in a customer support representative roll. In her collegiate career she completed social work courses and is a firm believer there should be no judgement in anyone's journey. With her fun personality and easy to approach attitude, she can make quick connections with both clients & coworkers. She also works hard to find a resolution that fits each individual's needs. She handles each scenario differently, as there is no "one size fits all" approach.

Outside of work Michaela enjoys spending time with her two cat kids, her dog brother, & her two human nieces. One thing Michaela enjoys is traveling, and hopes to visit Bora Bora one day. She knows how important mental health is and takes it upon herself to make sure self-care is in her daily routine.

Miranda Barker, MSW, LICSW

Miranda specializes in working with people who have been touched by trauma, adoption, or foster care (birth parents, adoptees, kids in foster care, etc). She typically works with kids, adolescents, and college students. Prior to joining Ellie, Miranda spent several years in the non-profit adoption field and then as a child protection investigator and case manager.

Miranda is trained in Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET; a type of a trauma therapy) and she loves using modalities like Solution-Focused Therapy and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT). She is also in the process of becoming a certified financial therapist because she's somewhat of a personal finance nerd.

As the Director of Content, Miranda gets to use her creativity and passion to manage our Ellie blog, create helpful social media posts, produce stunning videos for our Ellie app, and daydream about the next Ellie project.

When she's not at work, Miranda can be found hiking with her blue heeler, doing some sort of house project with her husband, or working towards visiting all 63 National Parks in the US.

Natalie Carstenbrock, APRN, PMHNP-BC, FNP-BC

Nic Brave, MBA, MS, LPCC

Nic is a flexible, understanding, straightforward, counselor and leader. He stresses the importance of relationships and communication. Nic is a persistently curious individual who loves to hear the stories and desires of others. In doing so, he seeks to help others better understand themselves and find practical ways to improve their relationships, interactions, and overall functioning.

Nic uses this same approach in his efforts to expand the utilization of mental health treatment within the broader community. He feels that taking care of one's mental health is just as important as one regular check-up at the doctor. He hopes to continue to decrease the stigma of mental health services and expand them into the fabric of everyday life.

Outside of work, Nic enjoys spending time with friends. He really enjoys music, home projects, the outdoors, golf, and cooking. Nic also admittedly spends a bit too much time on movies, television, and video games.

Nika Khadem, BS

Nika is a community-based skills worker who values both empathy and humor when it comes to working with clients. Passionate about providing a warm and welcoming space wherein a collaborative therapeutic relationship can be established, Nika employs a person-centered approach to therapy, focusing care on the needs of the client.

Nika believes that no individual is fully formed, rather each individual is a work in progress, alive with possibilities. As such, Nika strives to help clients realize their potential, and experience growth and success.

Prior to joining Ellie, Nika spent several years working with children of varying backgrounds in clinical, daycare, and school-based settings. Most recently, Nika worked at an autism clinic providing ABA therapy to children diagnosed with ASD.

Nika is currently pursuing LPCC licensure alongside a Master’s degree in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health through the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development.

Outside of work, Nika can be found trying out different places to eat, re-watching her favorite comfort shows, and spending time outdoors with her two dogs, Bux and Teddy.

Noah Gerber, BA

Noah is a mental health practitioner who is passionate about helping clients manifest their best selves through motivation, organization, and perseverance. Clients can always expect a friendly and non-judgemental person who will always treat you politely and with dignity. Noah’s approach is very calm and patient, as someone who is here to help you and to make you feel as comfortable as possible while taking steps towards progress. He loves working with adults and kids alike, and worked with kids for many years prior to joining Ellie.

In his free time, Noah enjoys playing soccer, listening to music, and getting out into nature for a walk, hike, or bike ride. Noah loves animals and meeting clients' pets, and is fluent in Spanish and French. 

Paige Aanestad, BA

Paige’s therapeutic approach is based on the belief that individuals are in charge of their own lives. Her goal as a practitioner is to provide a safe environment where clients can explore their primary interests, develop goals, and determine strengths as they move forward towards their aspirations. Paige understands that life is messy and no single approach is right for every individual so she focuses on building relationships to understand client wants and needs.

Prior to joining Ellie, Paige provided services to youth and adolescents on the Autism spectrum both in home and in clinic settings. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Social Work in order to become a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker.

Outside of work, Paige enjoys listening to true crime podcasts, reading fantasy novels, and watching horror movies. She can always be found in a local coffee shop drinking way too much caffeine. Once she is awake, she also loves spending time with her friends and family!

Raelyn Spears, BA

Raelyn is a current Master's in Counseling student at the University of St. Thomas. She is passionate about helping individuals to find their authentic self. Raelyn has worked as a behavior modification assistant and is known to develop unique connections with each of her clients.  She is known as empathetic, fun-loving and a connector. Raelyn is excited to join Ellie and use her passions for helping others, improving mental health, and making an impact in the community. When not working, Raelyn likes to engage in an array of diverse activities. Some of these activities include playing the piano, golfing, fishing, traveling, and glassblowing. Her favorite activity is spending time on a lake with friends and family.

Rebecca Mitchell, MA, LMFT, LADC

Rebecca’s goal in every session is to make you feel comfortable to work through any current challenges and to help you achieve the changes needed to move forward. Her approach to therapy is to have honest and open conversation, grounded in collaboration in a fun and inviting environment. When interacting with children Rebecca likes to use games, crafts, etc. to interact with the child while working on treatment plan goals.

Rebecca started in the chemical dependency field in 2012 wanting to help individuals struggling with addiction. It was during this time that she decided to expand her knowledge in the mental health field to include family systems. Rebecca has worked in diverse settings as an LADC which include: residential, outpatient, group therapy, and medication management.

Since moving to an outpatient setting Rebecca has extensive experience in working with individuals and families that are affected by trauma, addiction, anxiety, impulse control, anger, and depression. Rebecca’s techniques are grounded in marriage and family therapy, bringing a systemic based lens, allowing her to consider the client’s environment, relationships, and other influences impact their experience.

Outside of work Rebecca loves to read, watch movies (huge Harry Potter fan), and spend time with family.

Sara Livingston-Burke, MA, LPCC

Sara is a mental health professional who has spent several years teaching clients skills-based work through the ARMHS and In Home Therapy program as well as helping her clients discover their best selves through a client-centered approach in a therapeutic setting. Sara views herself as a guest in her client’s personal journey that helps her clients identify where they are at in life currently and where they would like to go in the future. Sara coaches and encourages her clients through their emotional journeys, and helps her clients to identify what they are wanting out of life.

Sara specializes in working with individuals struggling with depression, anxiety, Trauma/PTSD, and children/adolescents. She works with clients to help them find a sense of safety, security, and belonging through their connections to others. Sara practices as an Adlerian therapist with CBT techniques. Sara also works with individuals in the ARMHS program by teaching coping skills, daily routines/activities, medication management, and healthy living activities. Sara also has experience working in domestic violence shelters.

Sarah Borger, MA, LPCC

Sarah believes that people don’t come to therapy with their problems, but with their solutions. Sometimes the solutions we’ve created to survive, push through, protect, avoid, or heal aren’t working for us any longer. Each person is the expert of their own experience; Sarah's goal is to walk alongside people to provide insight, empathy, and strategies that support people on their journeys to expand what next steps are possible.

Sarah provides therapy for a wide range of issues, specializing in working through trauma, sexual abuse/assault, relationship violence, anxiety, depression, LGBTQ+ identity development, self-esteem, and life transitions. Sarah is trained in Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) and also utilizes mindfulness, narrative, cognitive-behavioral, and solution-focused strategies in sessions. Sarah's approach is trauma-informed and social justice-centered. Compassion, collaboration, and a sense of humor are integral pieces of her therapeutic practice.

Sarah is passionate about providing strengths-based therapy and support groups for adolescents and adults from all walks of life, and has worked in clinical, educational, and community-based settings. When not in the office, she can be found on a yoga mat, playing piano, or enjoying time with her two zany rescue dogs.

Sarah Bourassa, MEd, LPCC

Sarah Naggatz

Sara is a dedicated and caring individual whose passion is to make the client experience as smooth as possible. She enjoys working behind the scenes as an insurance verification specialist and aims to be the person clients and colleagues can come to when they have insurance questions.

Outside of work Sara enjoys traveling with her family, being a cat-mom to her orange cat Moof, and loves to bake delicious treats. Sara also loves to watch and participate in sporting events and has a friendly competition with her husband who is a diehard Packer fan while she cheers on the Vikings.

Shae Walker

Shae is someone who knows that everyone has their own story - one that is unlike any story ever told; each chapter a new journey. She understands that sometimes a new chapter can feel scary and that asking for help along the way can feel the same. With this in mind, she makes sure that anyone reaching out for support knows that the amount of bravery it took to do so does not go unrecognized.

Shae meets every inquiry with an open mind, a listening ear, and a warm heart. She is happy to be able to help those on their mental health journey, and is determined to match each individual with the best provider for them.

When she is not working, Shae is dedicated to being the best cat-mom there is. She can also be found casually listening to true crime podcasts while cooking, plucking away at her guitar, watching the same 3 shows over and over again, or looking for new crystals to add to her collection (as if she needs more).

Sia Khang, BA

Sia is an individual who is passionate about helping other’s. She understands that there is a strong stigma around therapy, that it is only for those who “needs help”. But that isn’t the case, she believes that therapy is a powerful and universal tool for everyone and hopes to be able to help close that gap. Sia’s goal is to be able to help others build a meaningful and positive relationship with themselves and others. She tailors her approach to every individual and family to ensure continuous progress and success.  

Outside of work she enjoys making memories with her family and friends, as well as traveling the world, networking, and continuously finding ways to challenge herself.

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Stephanie Wisner

Steph is a highly motivated person that has been working in the Payroll, Benefits, and HR world for close to 20 years. She strives to ensure that all staff have a good payroll and benefits experience and tries hard to make sure questions get answered as soon as possible.
Outside of work, Steph loves animals, she has a wild turkey named Carl that she feeds everyday and other numerous wild critters that she has names for. She also loves Star Wars and trying new things even when her confidence is not there!

Stephen “Titoe” Titoe, B.E.S., M.S., & Post-Master (Cert.).

Titoe, as he wants to be called, is a Mental Health Practitioner & has been working in this field for nearly 15 consecutive years. He brings with him vast experience that meets the needs of clients above and beyond by connecting them (clients) with community available resources.

Titoe respects people from all walks of life and truly believes in diversity. As a result, he always surrounds and finds himself working with people across all aisles within & outside the mental health world.

Titoe believes that client-centered is paramount as he prioritizes it by doing everything within his means to address clients' needs and wants 98% of the time based on clients' consistency and commitment in the ARMHS program.

If Titoe can't find a solution to your needs and wants, he always makes a referrals and/or asks fellow coworkers for ideas in order to help you meet your goal.

Finally, Titoe graduated from St. Cloud State University 2008 w/ Bachelor's degree in Social Science. He then enrolled at Capella University from 2008-2011, where he earned his Master's degree in Criminal Justice. Later, he enrolled again at Capella University from 2012-2013, where he earned his Post-Master's Certificate in Education, for College Teaching.

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Tadaci Johnson

Tadaci is a billing specialist with 20 plus years experience in clinic and hospital billing. She is outgoing and fun to work with. She also loves helping people in need and has volunteered her time to youth in her community. She is a football fanatic and football mom and loves spending time with family and friends watching the games during the season. Her favorite time of year is summer because of the weather and all kinds of fun outside activities including but not limited to BBQ's.

Terri Bly, PsyD, LP

Terri is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist with over 15 years of experience. Terri encourages her client to pursue an intentional, values-driven life, while helping them discover the tools they need to overcome obstacles that arise along the way. Trained in EMDR, Terri takes a trauma-informed approach when working with clients who feel stuck in the past and want to stop getting triggered in the present. Terri also incorporates mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and CBT into her practice, while maintaining a strengths-based perspective. Terri is a firm believer in the mind-body connection to health, helping clients implement lifestyle changes to feel and function better (translation: she is going to ask you about sleep, diet and exercise, probably more than once).

Terri works with adolescents (13+) and adults, and has experience with a wide range of issues, including trauma, depression, anxiety, ADHD, grief and loss, coping with physical health problems, parenting, marital/relationship difficulties, divorce and co-parenting.

Terri is also a core member of Ellie’s Creative Team, where she gets to flex her creative muscles writing and filming videos on various mental health topics, recording podcasts, and looking for any and all opportunities to put her theatre degree to good use.

Tori Wiseman

Tori is an empathetic Mental Health Practitioner that believes in meeting people where they are at and helping them build on skills to encourage and empower them. She is a great listener and works to build strong connections.

She spends her free time playing Animal Crossing and Pokémon on the Switch. She also enjoys being in nature and hanging out with her cat. Going to farmers markets and shopping with friends are also favorite activities of hers.

Tori has previously worked with survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault in a non-profit, as well as memory care residents in a nursing home. She graduated from Inver Hills Community College in 2019 with her degree in Psychology. In 2021, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stout with her degree in Human Development and Family Studies.

Tosha Jones, MSW, LGSW, RYT

Tosha is a tenacious, adventurous and honest provider who works collaboratively with clients to build skills in self compassion, assertive communication, develop healthy boundaries, increase tolerance to stressors and develop capacity to grow towards their potential. She believes that with the right awareness and skills we can achieve things we never thought possible. Tosha is also a Registered 200 hour Yoga Instructor who believes that movement is a great way to build the brain body connection, get in touch with our emotions, process trauma and heal.

In her free time Tosha enjoys hiking, biking, rock and ice climbing, camping, yoga, playing fetch with her German Shepherd, Kaia, drinking coffee, running around the lakes and reading.

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Tracy Blad, MA, LMFT-S, SEP

Tracy holds a strong passion for growth and learning on all levels of her life. This has provided her with a variety of opportunities to create effective ways in building strong, trusting relationships with clients. Her passion for curiosity has allowed for experiences in various mental health settings including private practice, community mental health, and active military bases. Her journey of learning has also resulted in being proficiently trained in non-directive, experiential play therapy and somatic experiencing.

Some of Tracy's biggest motivators as a mental health provider is to help others feel less intimidated by mental health, and empowered enough to take control of their lives. She also believes collaboration and communication are foundational in creating success within any mental health setting. Similarly, as she does with clients, she looks forward to helping franchisees utilize their preexisting strengths to help create environments that are positive for both clients and providers.

Outside of work Tracy enjoys spending time with her husband and their two rescue pups, being with family and friends, trying new local restaurants, traveling, cooking/baking, random fitness challenges, and anything to do with being outside.

Twilight Florido-Bergad, DNP, APRN, CNP, PMHNP-BC

Twilight is a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner who provides psychiatric assessments and medication management to persons 18 and over. She understands that each patient's situation and needs are unique and is motivated to learn about yours. She will partner with you to learn about your experiences, help identify your goals, discuss treatment options that may work for you, and come up with a plan together.

Twilight's clinical interests include mood and anxiety disorders, borderline personality disorder, and trauma. She is particularly interested in perinatal/postpartum mood and anxiety disorders is passionate about maternal mental health care.

Outside of work, Twilight enjoys being out in nature, hiking, and camping. She also loves being mediocre at things like crafting, skiing and mountain biking.

Zane Rosen, BA

Zane is a compassionate ARMHS practitioner that believes that we are all capable of growth, but comes to an understanding that we all have unique experiences. Combining authenticity, humor, and genuine regard for his clients, Zane creates strong relationships with his clients to feel safe to grow in the ways that feel appropriate for them. With a few years in the community mental health based services field, Zane understands the socioeconomic factors that come into play for access to mental health resources, goals, and more. Zane has been determined to help others to the best of his ability for the last few years and is focused on that for the rest of his life, eventually hoping to become a psychotherapist and licensed alcohol and drug counselor. Zane's neurodivergence creates a separate insight from the neurotypical world that helps him adjust with clients that fit that profile as well to feel heard, understood, and seen by a clinician.

Outside of work, Zane enjoys photography, videogames, sports, movies, and spending time with any cats and dogs if possible!

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Zarlasht Shinwari, MSW

Zarlasht is an empathetic practioner who believes that we are all searching for purpose in our lives. She believes in a client-centered approach to her work by encouraging them to trust their intuition and nurture helpful relationships in their lives. She believes that we carry the answers that were searching for and a nonjudgmental ear can help us get there.
Zarlasht tailors her supoprt to the unique values of her clients, always keeping them at the center of the therapeutic work.
While Zarlasht is well-versed in a variety of self-help methods, she tends to recognize that we are all interconnected with each other and with the various systems around us. She is passionate about helping people recognize how they are influenced by bio/psycho/social/spiritual aspects of their lives. She believes that we can find protective factors in these areas that align with our values. One of the greatest joys in her work is facilitating people feeling empowered by their choices, confident in themselves, and nurtured by their relationships.

In her free time, Zarlasht loves to take out time for thrilling workouts at her CrossFit gym. Cook for her family and nurture her personal relationships that fuel her sense of well-being.

Alicia Exsted, MA, LPCC

Liz Banovetz, LMFT