Wild Tree; Nine Years and Growing
When I opened the first Wild Tree Psychotherapy office on Grand Avenue in Saint Paul, MN in 2015, I was taking both a personal and a professional leap of faith. I was trusting that the vision I had, one of creating a warm, welcoming, home-like space where healing and connection was abundant, was within reach and that the St. Paul community was in need of, and ready for, mental health counseling services focused on trauma healing. Wild Tree took a targeted approach to demedicalize the mental health therapy experience. We deliberately chose not to utilize a front desk in order to encourage clients to experience a space of autonomy and anxiety-reduction when attending a mental health therapy appointment. We created offices that felt cozy and safe, not sterile and impersonal. And over the past decade we have built an incredibly caring, skilled and committed team of clinicians with diverse specialties including trauma treatment, perinatal mental health, early childhood mental health, couple and relationship counseling, LGBTQIA+ inclusive care, and family therapy.
In 2015 and today, St. Paul has had a thriving recovery community as well as many others who were ready to face mental health challenges head on and I am proud to have a mental health clinic whose foundation was built in the Twin Cities and whose focus is on supporting the emotional wellbeing of the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota. In 2016 we expanded to White Bear Lake, MN where our mental health counseling services were welcomed by the community. It was important to me to bring therapy to the community in which I was living and to offer support to both urban and suburban households. Barriers to mental health recovery do not discriminate by geographic area! In 2021 we opened our Eagan, MN location and in spring of 2024 our fourth location, in beautiful Hastings, MN is opening. I am honored to serve these communities and further honored to work alongside Wild Tree clinicians who have demonstrated such commitment to both personal and professional growth over the years.
Wild Tree has organically grown into what it is today; four locations with almost 40 clinicians. Every time we have expanded to add another location or hired another skilled clinician it has come from a place of seeing the needs of the community and responding accordingly. With locations in St. Paul, White Bear Lake, Eagan and most recently, Hastings, MN we pride ourselves in walking the path towards healing with our clients. Just as we aim to support our clients’ mental health goals, we value the wellbeing of our staff alike. The core values of Wild Tree Wellness include focusing on mind-body holistic approaches to therapy with a trauma lens. We see the person as a whole and pay attention to what’s happened to them that’s shifted the way they see the world and function in relationships. We value work-life balance and actively support our clinicians in preventing burnout. And we value community connections and personal and professional growth initiatives to contribute towards greater wellbeing of our Minnesota community as a whole.
There is so much gratitude and awe I hold in my heart as I reflect on the past nine years. And cheers to the next nine years!