That fear makes a lot of sense in a field this regulated. Therapy notes are not medical records; I keep them brief and minimal, not the kind of documentation that ends up in licensing board reviews or hospital credentialing files. Your employer doesn't have access to your therapy, and while there are rare exceptions, licensing boards don't routinely request therapy records; I'll fight any subpoena before handing anything over. The research is clear on what happens when healthcare workers don't address burnout and trauma: more medical errors, more substance use, more people leaving the field, and in the most serious cases, suicide. Avoiding care is rarely the safer choice.

The “right” kind of therapy is a combination of several factors:

• A sense of connection and trust you feel with the therapist and how that ebbs and flows over time. While this generally becomes clear in the first 3-5 sessions, your first impression of the “vibe” of your therapist in the Discovery Call can also help determine this.

• A match between the therapy method offered by the therapist, your current struggles, and your hopes and goals

• Your readiness and willingness to invest time and energy into becoming aware of and starting to make changes in your life. This kind of change can be a difficult leap of faith and sometimes the first few steps are figuring out how to be ready and willing to do that work.

• Timing! Given what else is going on in your life, sometimes it just isn’t the right time for therapy, and sometimes it is.

As those factors work together, you will hopefully begin to see the kind of changes you are looking for. If you aren’t seeing those changes, bring it up with your therapist. They can talk with you about how those factors are working together, which ones might need to be tweaked, and how to do that.

I have both been a healthcare worker (chaplain and mental health therapist) in a variety of care settings, from acute care at Trauma 1 hospitals to memory care and neurology clinics, and everything in between. I have also provided therapy for nurses, doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified nursing assistants, and health unit coordinators in rural and urban settings in both Minnesota and Oregon.

It takes about 15 minutes. I'll ask you a few questions, you'll be able to ask me any if you'd like. I'll share a bit about how I work and then we'll talk about what next steps would make sense. The questions I most commonly ask are: 

• What brings you to seek therapy now, and what are you hoping will be different as a result of our work together?”

• Have you had therapy before? If so, what was helpful or unhelpful about it?

• What ideas do you have about what needs to happen for improvement to occur, and what role do you see me playing in that process?

• Do you prefer someone more structured and directive, or someone who supports you in exploring at your own pace?

After we ask one another questions, we’ll decide if we want to move forward and schedule an intake session. We might decide we need some time to think about whether or not it’s a good fit. We might also decide in the moment it’s not a good fit. This is a normal part of the process, and can feel awkward! If this ends up happening, we’ll talk about what other therapy options might make more sense and I’ll send you some referrals for that kind of care. 

I mainly offer therapy sessions online.

If you are in Minnesota, I can offer walk-and-talk therapy where we hold our session outside as we walk.

I do take some insurances and if I don’t take your insurance, you may still be able to receive partial reimbursement for therapy using your out-of-network benefits.

You can learn more here.

I currently work full-time as a therapist with Lyra Health. If your employer provides Lyra as an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) benefit, you may be able to work with me using those sessions.

Sessions through Rootwise Mental Wellness are currently available during the following times:

• Sundays: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM CST

• Mondays & Tuesdays: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM CST

• Wednesdays: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM CST

I am licensed to provide therapy to clients physically located in Minnesota or Oregon at the time of the session.

Because therapy licensing laws are state-specific, sessions cannot occur if you are physically located outside Minnesota or Oregon, even if you normally reside in one of those states. If you travel out of state, we can resume sessions once you return to MN or OR.

I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW), licensed in Minnesota and Oregon, and have worked in a range of clinical and organizational settings, including the Alzheimer’s Association MN-ND Chapter, the Associated Clinic of Psychology (geriatrics team), and Lyra Health. I am also an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church, a background that continues to inform my attention to meaning, values, grief, and identity.

I hold a Master of Social Work (MSW) from Loyola University Chicago and a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from University of Chicago. My clinical training includes:

• EMDR Basic Training through Connect EMDR

• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) with Kathleen Chard

• Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) through Lyra Health

• Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Residency at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital and Melrose Center

1) Choose tenderness over dominance.

2) Protect what is sacred.

3) Stay awake to reality

4) Positively contribute to people’s lives in a way that I enjoy.

You can learn more in-depth information about the treatments I provide here. In general, I incorporate the following treatment modalities into my work with clients:

• Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)

• Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

• Internal Family Systems (IFS)

• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

• Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)

• Family Systems

• Personality Pathways (Enneagram-informed therapy)

• Trauma and anxiety

• Stress, chronic stress, and burnout

• Health and caregiver-related issues

• Healthcare/medical stress and trauma

• ADHD and executive function skills

Learn more here.

• Healthcare workers

• Caregivers of all kinds

• Career-oriented women

• Adults impacted by trauma, loss, and grief

• Individuals who used to “get by” but it’s no longer working

• People who are spiritual or religious

• D&D players

• Clients who are open to between session practice

At this time, Rootwise Mental Wellness PLLC mental health professionals are not trained to provide services such as:

• legal determinations

• definitive disability determinations

• custody evaluations

• fitness-for-duty evaluations

• emotional support animal (ESA) evaluations or letters

• surgical risk clearance

• gender-affirming surgery readiness evaluations or letters

• advocacy statements unsupported by clinical evidence

If this is something you may end up needing during our work together, I am happy to provide you with referrals to professionals who offer these services.

Moral distress is what happens when you know the right thing to do but can't do it — because of short staffing, policy, limited resources, or a system that won't let you provide the care you believe in. Burnout is more about depletion from sustained stress. Many healthcare workers carry both at once, and being able to name the difference often makes it easier to address directly instead of writing it off as "just being tired."

Yes. EMDR is often associated with a single defining incident, but it's also used for cumulative stress, which is the kind that builds from years of difficult codes, deaths, short-staffed shifts, or moral distress rather than one specific event.

Most of this work draws on EMDR, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Prolonged Exposure (PE). These approaches are built specifically for processing difficult or repeated experiences, rather than general talk therapy alone.