Ambiguous loss: A type of grief that is present even without death

Ambiguous Loss By Michel Rousseau • JFCS Therapist A large part of my clinical practice as a psychotherapist at Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis focuses on supporting those who are grieving. Even though everyone faces experiences surrounding death and dying at some point in their lives, [...]

988 is the nation’s new Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

988 The future of crisis response By Samantha Shepherd, MSW, LICSW • JFCS Therapist According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in 2020, someone in this country died of suicide every 11 minutes. In addition to this, over 12 million adults seriously considered suicide, with over [...]

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

By Jill Kozberg • JFCS Mental Health and Senior Services Director September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. This is a critical topic for all of us to know about, think about, and talk about. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), suicide affects people of all ages and is co[...]

Play therapy: Communicating with children in the language they speak

By Becca Hotchkiss, LICSW • JFCS Counselor “Birds fly, fish swim, and children play”– Garry Landreth I love this quote by Landreth, founder of the largest play therapy training center in the world, the Center for Play Therapy at the University of North Texas. Most people think of ther[...]

Meet our newest Counselors, Becca Hotchkiss and Samantha Taleff

Becca Hotchkiss, MSW, LICSW (she/her) All of us are faced with experiences in life that are scary and difficult, with which we could use some help. Using warmth, gentleness, and humor, Becca’s goal as a therapist is to create a safe, healing relationship to join you in exploring the p[...]

JFCS Counselor featured in Star Tribune on talking to kids about racism

JFCS Counselor Natalie Quiring-Oleson was prominently featured in the Star Tribune’s Variety section on Saturday, May 15, in an article on how parents can talk to their kids about racism. The Star Tribune contacted her for a Q&A following an article she wrote on this topic last year. In it[...]