Therapeutic Services | Minnesota | Adoption

Phone: 218-828-2027
Fax: 218-829-1473

"Pinehaven was the best choice we made! There were not only for the kids but they made sure we as foster parents had every resource available to us. It’s truly wonderful to have them with us throughout the whole process of adopting our 3 wonderful children. We cannot say enough good things about this group of people. I tell anyone interested in becoming a foster or adoptive family about Pinehaven."
Foster Parents

"An excellent job of communicating with me as needed."
Probation Agent

"Very professional, helpful, caring and competent."
Social Worker

"You are my go to agency, you care and are responsive."
Social Worker

"Excellent, Stable, Open to creativity and thinking outside the box."
Social Worker

"Pinehaven has been more than helpful with transportation, placements, staffings and individual planning."
Social Worker

"Case manager is very involved with the youth and the homes that they supervise and does an excellent job advocating for youth and providing support for foster parents. Very professional."
Probation Agent

"I always enjoy working with this agency."
Guardian Ad Litem

"Very calm, caring and sensitive to the needs of the young people in foster care."
Guardian Ad Litem

"Wonderful to work with."
Social Worker

"You guys do an excellent job."
Probation Agent

"Pinehaven did an excellent job with a very complicated case."
Social Worker

"Pinehaven is a very good organization."
Social Worker

"Excellent support services to foster parents."
Social Worker

"Knowledgeable and goes the extra mile."
Social Worker

"Truly enjoyed working with Pinehaven and would look to their homes for future placements."
ICWA Worker

"Your program is wonderful and fills a need that we are feeling more and more with the transition of youth."
Social Worker

"Thanks for the great work in difficult situations."
Social Worker

"This was my first placement at Pinehaven and my experience was EXCELLENT!!"
Social Worker

"Our current experience with Pinehaven has been wonderful! Our worker has been very competent, compassionate and supportive. She’s easy to work with and makes herself available to us, whenever we need her. I know she cares about our entire family, not only our foster child. Our adoption will be final soon and we will miss her!"
Foster Parent

"Working with Pinehaven has been a wonderful experience. From the very beginning, the licensing process was organized and timely, with assistance as needed along the way. My husband and I found that working with the case manager was a pleasure, it was very easy to ask questions, get outside ideas and/or assistance, and we always felt supported. Overall, our first experience getting licensed and being a foster family was extremely positive, thanks to Pinehaven and the resources and staff they have available."
Foster Parent

"Our family’s heart is in foster care. We have found a great partner in Pinehaven Youth & Family Services, Inc. to be a support to families and kids through difficult times in their lives."
Foster Parent

"I licensed with Pinehaven through a mutual friend and finding out that my life philosophy and experiences were conducive with Pinehaven. The real world is where we all need to live in and get prepared for. Many of the adolescents that reside in my home have a disillusioned view of life and the world…. This needs to be addressed realistically. The support that Pinehaven offers to me is the reason I stay with the agency. The case manager offers services that allow me to work with the adolescents in a constructive and realistic way. I am able to access the staff when needed. They are there for meetings and support. Pinehaven is person centered in all areas; and live that belief. I am proud to say that my licensing agency is Pinehaven Youth and Family Services, Inc."
Foster Parent

Creating environments that foster healing and healthy development which support success for youth, individuals and families.

Therapists at Pinehaven Youth and Family Services, Inc. are trained and experienced in working with Children, Youth, and Adults. Individuals throughout their life are in relationships, as couples, peers or families, and have experiences that they may need support through a consistent therapeutic relationship to manage. Children may struggle with expressing themselves and need assistance with gaining the skills to assist themselves and become happy, healthy and successful members of their family and community. Youth may struggle with identifying and developing coping strategies, along with necessary skills to build and maintain self-esteem or self-regulating behaviors. It is common for emotional, behavioral, or spiritual issues to become problematic when clients have experienced abuse, neglect, abandonment or compound trauma. Our therapists holistically assist each individual, couple, or family with positive experiences to facilitate growth and development that can lead to life-long success emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.

Our Therapists

Kelly Walters, MS
Pinehaven is happy to introduce Kelly Walters, MS, a mental health practitioner at Pinehaven Youth and Family Services. Kelly joined our team in August of 2015 and is currently working out of the St. Cloud and Baxter Offices.

Driven by a dream to work in a field that helped and cared for people emotionally, physically, and mentally Kelly received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, Morris graduating with high distinction. During her time at the University, Kelly was active in working with children. She served as the President of Big Friend Little Friend where she reached out to work with under privileged children to provide them with positive role models in their lives. Kelly was also part of the Psi Chi Honors association.

During her undergraduate experience, Kelly was a sexual assault and domestic violence advocate through a shelter called Someplace Safe. Through this experience Kelly worked with law enforcement, the legal system, and several organizations to help provide support to women and children who had been victimized and left without a home. Kelly’s passion for improving the mental health of survivors continues to grow.

Kelly obtained her Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Saint Cloud State University. This program focuses on the healing of families as a whole in order to help support individuals mental health. Kelly was recently awarded the “Now is the Time-Minority-Youth” fellowship through the National Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. This fellowship provides Kelly with the opportunity to attend several discussion forums, presentations, and conferences regarding important issues in the field of marriage and family therapy.

To date Kelly has participated in the following academic trainings; trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy, sibling violence, Child Resiliency, and the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale.

Prior to coming to Pinehaven, Kelly spent two years working with children at the Boys and Girls Club of Central Minnesota where her passion for children's mental health issues grew. Trainings to date include managing behavioral issues in children, sexual assault advocacy, managing sibling violence, raising resilient children, and domestic violence advocacy.