Counseling Services Of Southern Minnesota

Founders of 40-employee St. Peter-based counseling practice rebounded from adversity to persevere.

Photo by Kris Kathmann

Bad news often unravels lives.

Yet it caused this passionate bunch and their co-workers to dream dreams together and plunge headfirst into business ownership. Ultimately, their bad news would precipitate great good and through it hundreds of southern Minnesotans would experience healing from life’s hurts.

“We were absolutely stunned,” said Shelley Germscheid of the bad news she and her co-workers learned in 1996 while working as counselors and therapists for a large St. Peter nonprofit. “We thought our division had been doing wonderfully,” she said. “Our division director was eliminated from her position. Shortly thereafter, in autumn of 1996, the director of the entire company told us they were downsizing and soon would be eliminating the in-home services program altogether.”

At the time, she and fifteen others were employed by the nonprofit’s in-home community services program and as such were responsible for helping shepherd children and families through tumultuous times. The division also provided outpatient mental health services. Germscheid herself had been employed in various roles at the nonprofit since 1985, and truly looked forward each day to working alongside co-workers at 116 South Third. The bad news shook her as an earthquake to the soul.

Sure, the nonprofit offered speedy and guaranteed reassignments to other divisions such as residential and after-care, but Germscheid and nearly all of her co-workers had “been there, done that,” and weren’t at all interested.

“And we never received a straight answer why they eliminated the in-home division, either” said Germscheid, 43, yet mystified and refusing to reveal the nonprofit’s identity. “We tried talking to the director about how we could generate additional revenue, but he basically told us generating more revenue wasn’t the issue.”

The bad news could have done them in. Then one day before what was scheduled as their last, the entire crew met after work at the home of therapist Sheri Tillson. At first, the coffee served wasn’t nearly as hot as the angst and anger tumbling off their lips. The discussion drifted toward starting up their own for-profit business and the dreaming, and sharing of their dreams, felt exhilarating, even intoxicating. In a matter of days, the questions—can we do this? can we make it?—gave way to the more self-assured, “When do we start?” In brief, they had successfully counseled one another from despair to hope, and through the process experienced and conquered as a group the type of crises often affecting many of their present-day clients. It would make them better counselors.

“It was exciting,” Germscheid said of those initial talks. “We talked about running the business the way we envisioned, including deciding on a company name and logo, the color of our individual offices, our specialized services, our administrative policies. We all agreed to come in as shareholders and own it together.”

So the entire in-home program en masse gave three weeks notice and left before the nonprofit could make job reassignments. Resigning the same day and on the same letter, they in January 1997 began Counseling Services of Southern Minnesota in St. Peter. Sheri Tillson was its first president.

Not that surprising to anyone that has started a small business—their intoxicating dreaming soon yielded to an in-your-face reality. Many in the new company had to make tough decisions and great personal sacrifices. For instance, Germscheid had been eight months pregnant with her first child and by leaving early lost out on paid maternity leave. The group needed a building and office furniture and supplies, and that required up-front money. In short measure, a couple of key licensed people left to pursue other options, and eventually so did Tillson. And it also seemed as if the eyes of a few other partners were wandering toward greener pastures.

Referring to the start-up’s early years, Germscheid said, “We were each other’s support. At first, I felt betrayed and sold out by the previous company, but in time I would become thankful—and remain so to this day.”

Of the original fourteen owners, only three remain—as do two original employees. .

One of the original three, Germscheid was raised in Winnebago a year behind River Hills Mall general manager Paul Wilke (Connect Business Magazine, July 2000 cover). Starting at Winona State, she transferred to Minnesota State to earn a bachelor’s in Corrections and Psychology. In 1986, she joined the aforementioned St. Peter nonprofit, working as a residential youth counselor, an after-care counselor for the residential program—i.e. meeting in the community with clients completing an inpatient program—and a residential program youth counselor. Finally, from 1993-96, she was an in-home skills counselor with the nonprofit until that program’s elimination. Counseling Services of Southern Minnesota president since January 2006, she spends roughly fifteen hours weekly on “president” duties and the rest as the intake manager.

The other two original owners are Karre Staloch, vice president and business manager, and Sandra Pettis, administrative assistant and corporate secretary.

A fourth owner, Brenda Todd-Bense, left the nonprofit’s residential division immediately after becoming licensed to join the company in March 1997. She is a licensed clinical social worker and, like Germscheid, has served as company president. (The group internally doesn’t place much importance on being president; the person claiming the title and responsibilities seems to change every few years.) Currently, Todd-Bense serves as director of clinical services.

The fifth partner, Natalee Heisler, arrived later. She is the lead skills counselor and personnel coordinator. Skills counselors are unlicensed with either bachelor or master’s degrees, usually in corrections, education or psychology, and are supervised by a licensed staff member.

Employing licensed individuals, such as Todd-Bense, is crucial if CSSM wants to continue receiving third-party payments from state and private health insurers. These insurers require that a licensed individual oversee counseling performed by unlicensed bachelor’s- and masters-level counselors, which in the company’s case translates to twenty-four employees. Without licensed personnel—it has nine now—the company would lose revenue streams and likely be forced out of business.

Shhh. The employees must keep everything hush-hush.

Said Germscheid, “For instance, I don’t acknowledge clients in public unless they want to acknowledge me. Then I will certainly give them a hello or a smile.” In fact, all of Counseling Service of Southern Minnesota’s forty employees must think twice before talking with clients outside work.

With Germscheid, it hasn’t always been easy. “I was in a town outside Mankato with my husband. We were out for the evening at about ten o’clock. A little boy was standing outside this restaurant and looking in the window. I recognized him from work and knew why he needed counseling. Walking in, he asked me if I could get his dad, who was in the restaurant. It made me uncomfortable. Long story short, I helped him find his dad.”

To insure client confidentiality, counselors among each other use only a client’s initials when discussing cases and treatment options. Of course, clients must sign release forms allowing the sharing of this information—if no release, then no sharing. To meet federal government regulations, the company stores client files behind two sets of lock and key. Also, counselors “lock” their computer screens when walking away from their work area, and shred documents daily.

And to safeguard against being overheard in the next room through the counseling center’s walls? The company mutes the sound of counseling sessions by using a high-tech “Sound Screen,” which emits just enough noise to muffle distinct client words into mere mumblings.

Finally, in-home counselors out in the field must carry confidential client information around in lock-boxes that look like metal briefcases. “Unless we give it to clients directly or mail it with a release, that’s the only way information leaves this building,” said Germscheid.

You’d think the owners would always get along famously well because of their exposure to the latest conflict resolution techniques. But these five are flesh and blood, not unlike you. The fact they own this counseling center and have significant professional experience doesn’t guarantee constant corporate tranquility and unity. It isn’t Nirvana. But they try.

“We’re a wonderful group, with diverse ideas,” said Germscheid. “Sometimes, we get caught up in detail, which drives some partners crazy. Some partners are more meticulous and want to thoroughly look things over. Sometimes, running the company can be frustrating. But being ‘boss’ can be very gratifying, too. We’ve learned how rewarding it can be when our employees complement the management—and without our staff, we couldn’t provide the quality of service we set out to do in those original first meetings.”

At its core, CSSM is not unlike other small, multiple-owner businesses. Typical disagreements can range from choosing the type of entertainment at the annual Christmas party, to deciding whether to switch professional services or purchase land to expand beyond the confining boundaries of their office building.

Germscheid said, “We are in a counseling environment, which is what makes it so ironic when we have struggles. We should always be able to follow through with what we practice. I think one reason why I was elected president is because I’m approachable and very much a team player. I think we’ve evolved as a company from focusing on one person making all the decisions to all partners trying to contribute before making decisions. For that to work, we have to communicate. You need to say what you need to say, be respectful and assertive, take some risks and pick your battles wisely.”

The five owners have talked about constructing a new facility, and to that end recently put down earnest money on a larger plot of land near the local hospital. That aside, many of them still believe the current Third Street location has much better visibility. In its ten years, the company has been at three spots—one was on the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center lower campus. Of course, there will be more discussions, and votes, and issues to hash out before any potential relocation and expansion. Moving to another site will be a bit complicated because the present building and real estate, which used to be owned by the nonprofit, was purchased in 2002 by seven of the original owners under a separate corporation.

Whatever their decision on this or that, it seems the group has made it through too much bad news together—and possess far too many skills—not to succeed. Perhaps they could help many of their clients by pointing to themselves as models of perseverance through tough times.

What They Do

As for services, Counseling Services of Southern Minnesota offers Employee Assistance Program (EAP) counseling, psychological assessments and custody evaluations, group therapy, and individual, family, and couples therapy for all ages.

It also provides in-home skills services and family therapy involving children with mental health diagnoses, such as depression, ADHD, and autism. Play therapy is available for children experiencing abuse or grief. Bachelor’s level counselors help parents understand a child’s disorder, teach parenting techniques, and work on social skills. They even dialog with schools and relay information to parents for trying school-learned techniques at home. The company also has Adult Rehab Mental Health Services for qualifying adults with mental health issues.

Dead Cat Jokes

“It’s important here to have a sense of humor because we see a lot of tragedy. Once, as an in-home counselor working a case with Brenda (Todd-Bense), I was assigned to a mother with children that had experienced a great deal of hardship. One hot summer day, I learned they had lost their family cat. They said it was dead alongside Highway 60. We then came up with the idea of having a goodbye ritual, to help the children through their grief. As the children’s counselor, I was the designated person to scrape this dead cat off the roadside before joining the mother and Brenda in the backyard for a memorial and burial. A week later we learned the cat had showed up alive—and we’d buried the wrong cat. I’ll never forget scraping this dead cat off the road and how much it meant to the children that an adult would take the time to do it. I really hadn’t wanted to deal with that carcass. These are the things that keep us laughing and help us keep our perspective on what is important.” —Shelley Germscheid, president.

Techniques and Training

Counseling Services of Southern Minnesota primarily uses cognitive behavioral techniques to help people through difficult times. Compared to the seductive inner world of Freud, the feel-good reflection of Carl Rogers, and the purely behavioral approach of B. F. Skinner—cognitive behavioral counseling zeroes in on the relationship between how people’s thinking affects their behavior. Counselors at CSSM believe changed thinking patterns lead to changed behavior and feelings.

Brenda Todd-Bense explained: “With the primary mental health issues we deal with, such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, oppositional defiance disorder—research really shows that cognitive behavioral therapy is most effective. For the most part it’s what we use. We sometimes use solution-based counseling in grief situations, and some psychoanalytical techniques to help people understand that things happening in the past can lead to current patterns of functioning in the family or themselves.”

New arriving clients receive a 60-minute or more clinical interview, which includes a mental status examination, with one of nine licensed counselors. If the picture remains fuzzy after that initial assessment, Todd-Bense, who is a licensed independent social worker, won’t hesitate collaborating for psychological testing with a licensed psychologist, in-house or not. The company has three types of licensed employees: licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed independent clinical social workers, and licensed psychologists.

Todd-Bense was raised in Plainview, near Rochester, Minn. She relocated in order to work at St. Peter Regional Treatment Center, and remained twelve years. She earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Minnesota, and then for a St. Peter nonprofit began doing residential treatment counseling for an adolescent sex offender program.

“They began (CSSM) in January 1997, and I jumped on board in March,” she said. “I believed in the dream they had, and about the guiding principles of the services we were going to provide. And I became really excited. I got on board as a therapist, served as president five years, and now am director of clinical services.”

As for “guiding” principles, the company seems to take its ethical responsibilities seriously—as well it should, though not all counseling practices do. Besides the issue of confidentiality, Todd-Bense feels “obligated ethically” to disclose up-front with new clients her educational background, the techniques she will use, and she gives out additional information on cognitive behavioral therapy. “And I’m mandated to explain to clients the risks of my mode of therapy,” she added.

If not careful, counselors using unproven techniques might cause far more harm than good. “For instance, for a long time there were many lawsuits about repressed memory therapy for treatment of sexual abuse,” she said. “It was extremely traumatic for families as a whole regarding the improper use of this technique.”

And using proven techniques is important, for a variety of reasons—for one, many of CSSM’s clients are part of the St. Peter community, a small town where news of a bad technique used would travel fast. Some of their clients are students from Gustavus Adolphus College.

“They’re dealing with many issues, such as transition to independent living, coping with the stresses of college life, eating disorders, relationship difficulties, sexual identity, the whole gamut,” said Todd-Bense. “We’ve worked hard at having a positive relationship with the college. One of our licensed psychologists is also a Gustavus counselor. We tend to be a long-therapy and alternative option for students. If they’re worried about someone seeing them in a counseling center there, they might choose us for privacy. Some of the old stigmas of mental health remain today.”

As for businesspeople—they seek counseling to relieve stress. Since some businessmen feel more comfortable talking over issues with a male counselor, Germscheid, the intake counselor, upon their request will assign the client to one of two male therapists. “Businesspeople talk about stress,” said Todd-Bense. “There are certain techniques we use to help with stress management and relaxation. Again, cognitive behavioral therapy works well with stress management in terms of recognizing how your thoughts can lead to behaviors in which you are experiencing ulcers or panic attacks. Therapy techniques address those issues.”

© 2006 Connect Business Magazine. All Rights Reserved.