Career Counseling Therapists in Minneapolis, MN

Peak’s dedication to inclusivity begins with all of the members on our Team. Our diverse backgrounds, world-views, experiences and clinical interests have led us to do this important work, together. Our dedication to inclusivity extend beyond the radical acceptance of race, nationality, sexuality, gender, ability, education, religion, culture, socioeconomic status, education and more. Our dedication to this work also means that we never stop learning or looking for new and different ways to be more inclusive, informed and knowledgable to better serve our clients.

I help people become more fully themselves by reconnecting them with their strengths and discovering root causes. Finding a therapist can be intimidating and discouraging. But, it's worth it. If you're keeping it together on the outside but feeling burned out, tired, anxious, or apathetic; or if you feel off but you're not sure why; you're in the right place. My style blends candor with warmth, insight with empathy, existential ponderings with practical strategies, and humor with compassion.

My clinical interests are currently within the realms of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance/Commitment Therapy, and Solution-Focused Therapy. I have experience in utilizing Dialectic Behavior Training (DBT) approaches and continue to study and implement DBT. I am interested in providing group therapy, couples’ therapy, and individual therapy. I specialize in working with couples (polyamorous couples as well).

Welcome! My name is Arielle, I also go by AJ, and I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with an MSW from the University of MN. My approach to therapy is rooted in intersectional feminism, racial equity, and queer and trans liberation. I am excited to work with individuals of all gender and sexual identities. As a queer, gender-expansive person, I am especially passionate about working with folks from the LGBTQIA2S+ community, particularly those who identify as bi+, pansexual, trans, nonbinary, and/or minoritized/invisible in our community. I bring an interpersonal, trauma-informed, strengths-based lens to this work.

I welcome clients from all spheres of life & lived realities. I am currently accepting clients for individual, couples (including poly/non-monogamy), & group therapy. Most of my professional experience has been with communities that are underrepresented, under supported, economically limited, identify as BIPOC, neurodivergent, and/or LGBTQIA+. As a gay nonbinary person, I am especially passionate about working with folks from the queer community.

Psychotherapy is a collaborative treatment based on the relationship between you and Dr. Sandra Smith-Hanen. Dr. Sandra will help you to navigate life’s challenges in a supportive environment. It is her goal to help you to verbalize openly in a nonjudgmental atmosphere. Together you will work collaboratively to determine, adapt and develop a new mindset and behavioral actions to help you develop the needs and goals you want.

I work with clients dealing with loss and transition and those struggling with anxiety and depression. I help my clients learn to be more present in their lives. This reduces irritability, reactivity, and the feeling of being overwhelmed or preoccupied. Together, we work to increase awareness of where they hold tension in their bodies and what triggers this tension. Often, we identify the emotions that are underneath the anxiety and they begin to heal by learning to accept and “sit with” these difficult feelings with compassion. This allows more ease in interpersonal interactions, conflict resolution and more joy in life.

I am dedicated to human sustainability. I have an expansive, holistic, and inclusive perspective of humanity and the lived human experience. As a Licensed Psychologist since 1993, I have worked with individuals, couples, families, groups, and organizations motivated to experience well-being, improved relationships, inner peace, efficacy, empowerment, and flourishing. In response to life’s challenges, suffering, and transitions, therapy can offer powerful, transformative healing and forward movement. I strive to create emotional safety for our work together, offering my wholeness of presence to meet your own.

I strive to bring unconditional positive regard, empathy, and cultural responsiveness to meet you where you are and walk in this journey of discovery, growth, and healing with you. I believe in the power of a strong therapeutic relationship, insight, and therapeutic tools and skills to actualize positive, productive change in your life. I will honor you as the expert of your own life and value your autonomy in counseling direction, decision-making, and taking action. Practicing from a strengths-based, trauma-informed, and client-centered approach, I work with primarily adults.

There is tremendous freedom in letting go and liberating yourself from things that create blockages and discontent in your life. Now is the time to look within yourself for increased happiness and joy! My goal when I work with clients is to promote love, connection and harmony both on an individual level and in your relationships with others. I help women recover and heal from narcissistic relationships that they have left. I also support all my clients in joyfully healing from anxiety, depression, life transitions and relationship issues utilizing holistic healing modalities to address every angle of your spirit.

Immediate availability for in-person and telehealth. I am open to working with adults navigating queer identity, relationship dynamics, substance use and abuse, grief and ambiguous loss, anxiety/OCD, depression, and trauma. My collaborative therapeutic style is tailored to the unique needs of each client, with elements of mindfulness-based interventions, narrative therapy, somatic experiencing, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Asking for help is a vulnerable task, and my aim is to provide deeply compassionate, patient, non-judgmental care as a result.

Are you currently going through significant changes in life, finding yourself feeling complacent and unable to take the steps to achieve your goals? Or maybe you have past trauma that seems to keep coming up that is impacting your current relationships? Therapy is about self- discovery, personal growth and healing. I prioritize collaborating with my clients to build a trusting, nonjudgmental, laid-back relationship that allows me to provide validation, introspection, while also keeping it real and challenging you to do the deeper work that often constitutes healing.

My passion is helping individuals, couples and families live the lives they deserve. I am a straightforward, innovative therapist with an outstanding track record for helping my clients live healthy productive lives. My personal commitment to you as your therapist is to provide counseling and psychoeducation using Cognitive Behavior Therapy to promote healthy thinking and positive outcomes. I am a firm believer that in order to change behavior we have to gain insight into underlying beliefs that have developed over time through experiences.

In my lifetime, I have learned the value of letting go of habits that harm me and developing perspectives that open me to love and hope. I enjoy exploring therapy in partnership with people who are going through difficult and challenging times. I believe that by working together lasting change can be realized. My experience has brought me expertise in grief and loss, parenting, aging, anxiety, depression, professional challenges and interpersonal conflicts. I am a good listener, hold much compassion and have a sense of humor about life.

Life offers us various challenges. Sometimes these challenges come in the form of a life transition, an interpersonal conflict, or a persistent mental health concern. Therapy offers us an opportunity to explore these challenges and move through them in an intentional manner.

If you're navigating work-life balance, stressors, and likely facing the ongoing challenges compounded by the pandemic, I am here to come alongside you as you seek healing, health and wellness. I have a special interest in serving adult-aged clients in the BIPOC community. Whether you are in college, graduate school, or a working professional, I'm taking new clients in Uptown (& telehealth) at this time. Maybe you are finding yourself at a crossroads, facing a major (or minor) life change. Therapy with me will be holistic, person-centered, integrating your story as you slow down, seek clarity and pursue a conscious, welcomed change.

Are you feeling disconnected from your partner? Facing sexual challenges that seem insurmountable? I work with individuals and couples facing sexual and relationship issues. Therapy provides people an opportunity to learn about their feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and to develop healthier skills for coping with difficulties and painful experiences. I work mostly with emotional and physical disconnection, parenting style conflicts, life transitions, loss of sex drive, and differing libidos. I am a Certified Sex Therapist by AASECT.

I use games, geek culture, and storytelling to help adults and teens build social skills, confidence, and connection. I offer individual and group therapy for those struggling to feel effective in navigating life challenges and in having relationships with themselves and others. I offer therapeutically applied role-playing game (TA-RPG) group therapy which uses Dungeons & Dragons to help those who feel socially anxious, isolated, lonely, or confused about what gets in the way of them building lasting relationships. Individual therapy services are tailored to your clinical, cultural, and geek needs. Offered virtually. Private pay.

Liz’s approach to mental health takes into account individual concerns as well as a systemic awareness of her clients’ backgrounds, relationships, lifestyles, cultures and values. Liz enjoys working with clients with a variety of mental health needs and backgrounds. She considers herself to be a culturally/racially sensitive therapist, LGBTQIA friendly, and practices from a non-judgmental, authentic and open-minded perspective.