St. Michael's Solutions Counseling Offers Low-Cost and Free Services to Community Members In Need

A new program through Solutions Counseling Services in St. Michael offers access to individual, couples or marital, and family counseling for community members in need.

Sessions are offered at a low-cost rate, or free for community members with no insurance coverage needed. The counseling comes through the center’s interns, who are graduate students in the counseling field. Each session costs a flat rate of $20.

The fee is waived entirely for St. Michael-Albertville School District students who are referred by their schools.

"The program  bridges a gap for people that want services at an affordable rate (similar to a copay) without having to use insurance," said Craig Rens, clinical director at Solutions Counseling Center. "It's a benefit for the intern as they get experience, and a benefit for the client as they get the benefit of the intern and their multiple clinical supervisors providing assistance on the case, and minimal financial burden."

The interns are supervised by the center’s clinical director, as well as their graduate program’s clinical director.

Solutions Counseling is the first and only mental health center in the St. Michael area that serves as a training institution and offers this type of program.

Graduate students come from accredited marriage and family therapy programs from around the state, including from St. Mary’s University and St. Cloud State University.

All graduate-track-counseling-interns have passed a rigorous pre-hire qualification process and background check before they were considered for Solution's practicum and internship program.

The intern training program began in Sept. 2012, when students gained on-site experience.

Prior to taking their own cases, they "shadowed" or sat-in with other licensed staff until the team assessed that they are able to manage independent cases, based on feedback from clients that they have shadowed with or by licensed staff.

"Our interns will also provide services at local schools when asked to help kids whose parents are unable to get them to our clinic due to work schedules or other barriers," Rens added.

To learn more about the interns, visit the Solutions Counseling Services website. Click on the "Clinicians" tab and scroll down to the "Counseling Intern" section.

To schedule an appointment through the program, call 763-515-4563 or 888-863-6360.