Addiction and Mental Health Counseling Services
Counseling services in Minnesota from NorthStar Regional are for anyone who needs regular time with someone trained to help. Licensed alcohol and drug counselors handle substance use counseling, and mental health professionals handle everything that comes alongside. Sessions run individually, in groups, or with family, at our Shakopee clinic or by secure video statewide. Because we are a full treatment system, every level of care is one conversation away if a program fits better. We accept Medical Assistance (Medicaid) and most major insurers, and no established diagnosis is needed to contact us.
Counseling at a glance
No established diagnosis needed to contact us
Many people need an hour a week with someone trained to help
Outpatient Mental Health Clinic | Shakopee
Our mental health clinic on Marschall Road. Group therapy options in the southwest metro.
Every level of care
Individual and group counseling are the working core of each program we run.
Telehealth statewide
Secure video sessions anywhere in Minnesota.
Licensed Treatment Programs
Founded 2015
Addiction and mental health care in one system
Multiple Campuses
Across the Twin Cities metro
MN Department of Health: Licensed
MN Department of Human Services: Licensed
Understanding this service
Who Counseling Is For
Some people need a program. Many people need regular sessions with someone trained to help. NorthStar Regional’s counseling services exist for that whole range. That means the person working through depression or a divorce, the couple who can no longer talk to each other, and the family adjusting to a loved one’s recovery. It also means the person in long-term sobriety who wants a check-in before a hard season.
Because we’re a treatment system, not a stand-alone office, our counseling has range. Licensed alcohol and drug counselors handle addiction counseling. Mental health professionals handle everything that comes with it. Group options break the isolation. If a program turns out to be the better answer, each level of care is one talk away.
Is this right for you?
When to Consider Counseling
Not every struggle needs a program. These are signs that regular counseling may help.
Functioning Outside, Unraveling Inside
The job gets done and the kids get fed, but the effort of holding it all together is wearing you down.
When “I’m fine” Has Stopped Being True
The low mood, the worry, the flatness: months now. Things that don’t resolve on their own are things counseling exists for.
Substances Are Creeping into the Coping
Maybe one drink at night has turned into two, or the prescription doesn’t last the month anymore. Nothing has fallen apart yet. That’s exactly the point. Counseling works best right here, before it does.
The Same Fight Keeps Happening
Couples and families fall into patterns. If you can all recite the argument from memory, having a counselor in the room changes how it goes. Couples sessions depend on availability and clinical fit.
A Program Ended and Life Is the Next Test
Treatment taught you the skills. Ongoing counseling is where you practice them in real life. It is the natural next step, not a step backward.
You've Been the Strong One Too Long
Everyone leans on you, and you never get a break. One hour a week that is only yours is not an indulgence. It is what keeps you going.
If even a few of these sound like you, that is reason enough to call. You don’t need to be certain, and you don’t need a diagnosis. A comprehensive assessment will sort out where this fits in your care. Reading this for someone you love? Start with our guide for parents or our guide for spouses and partners.
How It Helps
Counseling for Addiction and Mental Health
Addiction counseling and mental health counseling can be part of one plan here, so the drinking and the depression it was medicating can be addressed together.
For Addiction
Each substance we treat has its own page. It covers care from the first assessment through sober living.
For Mental Health
At designated NorthStar Regional programs, we treat these conditions and addiction together as co-occurring care, in one plan. If you only need mental health treatment, our outpatient clinic in Shakopee can help. You don’t need a substance use diagnosis to be seen there.
What to expect
What to Expect in Your First Sessions
Scheduling, a real conversation, and a rhythm that fits your week.
Getting Scheduled
Call the clinic, tell us what you’re looking for, and we verify coverage and match you to a counselor. Intake forms can be done ahead online.
A Conversation
What brought you in, what you want different, and what working together looks like. You’ll know by the end whether the fit feels right.
Your Rhythm
Weekly or biweekly, in office or by video, individual or with the people you’re working things out with. Adjusted as life moves.
Where You'll Find It at NorthStar Regional
Where Counseling Happens
One clinic, each program, and any screen in Minnesota.
The clinic
Outpatient Mental Health Clinic | Shakopee
This clinic on Marschall Road treats mental health only. It offers group therapy for people across the southwest metro.
Inside programs
Every Level of Care
Every program we run includes individual and group counseling. You get both, whatever level of care you start in.
Treatment Options
Explore Our Addiction and Mental Health Therapies and Services
Recovery rarely rests on one method. Below are the addiction and mental health therapies and services at NorthStar Regional. Each has its own page. Your comprehensive assessment, the full evaluation that sets your plan, decides which mix of therapies your plan starts with.
The therapies
The standalone services
Who's behind the work
About NorthStar Regional
NorthStar Regional is Minnesota’s treatment system built around access: alcohol and drug treatment centers and mental health care across multiple Twin Cities metro locations. Founded in 2015, we provide one connected continuum: detox (withdrawal management), residential, outpatient, mental health, and a sober housing pathway. Separate men’s and women’s campuses, co-occurring care at designated programs, and no faith requirement set us apart. We accept Medical Assistance (Medicaid) and most major insurers, and if you are uninsured, our admissions team helps you through enrollment. A person can walk in with nothing and leave with everything they need to build a life.
Paying for Care
Insurance and Payment Options
Our team helps review your benefits and handles the paperwork with you. If you have no insurance, we help walk you through enrolling for benefits. County case managers, probation officers, hospitals, and crisis teams send clients to us because, in their words, we just get it done.
Insurance and State Funding
Commercial plans, Medical Assistance (Medicaid), county placements, and private pay. We verify benefits and handle the paperwork with you.
We Are Here to Help
We help review your benefits, find your right starting point, and schedule you for the same day or the next whenever possible. Then we pick you up anywhere in the Twin Cities metro.
How Admission Works
What Happens From Your First Call to Your First Night
You did the hard part when you picked up the phone. Here is exactly what happens next, so nothing about day one is a mystery.
You Call and a Real Person Answers
A real person answers, usually within seconds, and asks one short question: substance use, or mental health? There is no phone tree, and you don’t have to tell your life story. We ask only what we need and handle the rest.
We Help with the Details
Our team helps review your benefits, and a short screening covers withdrawal risk, medical needs, and mental health, so you land at the right level of care. Then we schedule you, same day or next day whenever possible.
We Pick You Up
You get reminder calls and texts before pickup. For residential, your admissions coordinator and your driver also call you together, so you know who’s coming, what car to look for, and when to expect them. Many of our drivers are in long-term recovery themselves, and yours will help with your bags.
A Real Person Meets You When You Arrive
Your driver walks you inside and introduces you by name to the team member waiting for you. Your intake team completes your application with you. If you’re hungry, there’s a meal waiting. From there, treatment starts, and we help take care of the logistics along the way.
“The client has done the hard work by picking up the phone. We will carry them the rest of the way.”
Sarah Roy, Executive Vice President
Reviews from Google
Why Clients Choose NorthStar Regional
Don’t just take our word for it. Here is what alumni say about their time in treatment.
Keep reading
Related Articles and Resources
Resources
Before You Call
How admissions works, guides for families, and the forms you can complete early. More resources are linked throughout the site, or contact admissions and we’ll send anything by email.
Questions we hear every day
Common Questions About Counseling
What counseling services does NorthStar Regional offer?
Individual counseling, group counseling, family counseling, grief counseling, and anger and emotional regulation counseling, with couples and marriage counseling when available and clinically appropriate. You can get them at our outpatient clinic in Shakopee or inside our treatment programs. Telehealth brings them anywhere in Minnesota.
Do you offer addiction counseling near Minneapolis?
Yes. Addiction counseling is part of each NorthStar Regional program across the Twin Cities metro. You can also get outpatient addiction counseling at our Shakopee clinic, about 35 minutes from downtown Minneapolis. Or you can do it by telehealth from home.
Do I need a substance use diagnosis for counseling?
No. Mental health counseling is offered on its own at our outpatient clinic in Shakopee. Anyone can be seen for depression, anxiety, grief, or relationship problems. Or for life just feeling too heavy right now.
What's the difference between counseling and a program?
A program is structured treatment with a schedule and stages; counseling is ongoing sessions that fit inside a normal week. Plenty of people need only counseling. The assessment tells you which one fits.
Group or individual: which is better?
They do different work. Individual counseling goes deep on your specific situation. Group counseling helps you feel less alone and shows you that other people have gotten through the same thoughts and problems you have. Most treatment plans use both.
Who are the counselors?
Psychologists, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, and licensed alcohol and drug counselors.
Can counseling be done by telehealth?
Yes. Secure video sessions from any place in Minnesota. They work for individual and family sessions, and for couples sessions when available and clinically appropriate.
Will insurance cover counseling?
Coverage depends on your plan, the service, eligibility, and authorization requirements. Our team helps review your benefits and available payment options. Benefits verification is not a guarantee of payment.
Admissions
Make the First Call and We'll Take It from There
Confidential, no obligation, and answered by someone who knows what you’re facing and cares to listen.