Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Benson.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My journey into social work goes back to 2000 where I began working with the Indigenous (Native) community in Saint Paul doing family support followed by Children’s Mental Health case management. I pursed my Master’s degree from 2003-2005 in Social Work and was then hired my the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis. I moved to OR and also worked for the VA in two different locations while living on the West Coast for 4 years. After the birth of my son I took some time away as a SAHM then proceeded to pursue private practice as a play therapist and later a somatic and touch practitioner with a focus on complex trauma. I have also worked as an intern and intake specialist in two forensic interview agencies for children.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I would say my career has been eccentric and flowing. Each chapter was built upon the last one and has given me the skills and experience to manage 2 mental health clinics using a dynamic history of working with children and adults in many capacities.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Beginnings and Beyond Counseling?
Beginnings and Beyond Counseling began as Play Therapy Minnesota on 2012. It started out as a solo project that slowly grew from 1 to 3 to now 13 practitioners. During Covid times we expanded exponentially to support the community and because we serve many children and families we were an important resource given the school closures. Our clinic has historically been known as the clinic for play therapy in the Twin Cities and we continue to hold that title and we have expanded to serve teens and adults. I am most proud of our community reputation of providing trauma informed high level therapy and our concentration of registered play therapists.
Our clinic’s practitioners are hand pick by me so I can attest to both the ethics and skill level that everyone comes to the table with. We pride ourselves on the important work that we are fortunate to be doing every day.
What’s next?
My personal goal is to grow my second clinic combining my extensive background in trauma informed somatic touch with Reiki and Sound Healing. I just opened High Vibrations Healing in January of this year!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BeginningsandBeyondMN.com and HighVibrationsHealingMN.com
