Tarah Groettum

Hello, my name is Tarah Groettum. I have a LONG story as many do, but mine brings some light to my professional career and why I connect so well with clients, families and those I serve. They say to best connect with those you serve is to have experience walking in their shoes. Well, I have not walked in your shoes, but I may have some life experiences more similar to yours than you think... As a young teen I struggled to find an adult I could trust enough to tell my story to. I struggled to find the guidance, support, and insight from those around me, which lead me to believe that I could only do things on my own, trust and depend on myself. This now supports me in meeting children and adolescents where they are; in addition to making the connection needed to properly support and understand them. Life then threw me a curve ball when I gave birth to my daughter in 2000, 3 days before I graduated high school, which is when I found the love and purpose for my life that I had been longing for. At this time, I experienced single parenting, working three part time jobs, attending college full time; all while trying to understand my daughter's reasons for big reactions and meltdowns. During this time there were also years of ongoing medical appointments, numerous sets of ear tubes, hearing aids (off and on), and etc. trying to find the answers or reasons for my daughter’s discomfort being displayed in several ways. It was not until my daughter turned 9 years old that she was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at that time, which was a “forever" changing experience for everyone involved. Now take a step back to 2007 for a moment. I graduated with my bachelor’s in psychology, 2 weeks later married my high school sweetheart, followed by the birth of our son in 2008. Our son was non-verbal for the first four and a half years of his life. Our son was also diagnosed with autism when he was 4 years old. However, this experience (similar to my daughter’s) required MANY hours of medical exams, assessments, phone calls and emails on my part to advocate for him across settings. Professionals at that time referred to his situation as “learned behaviors” or learned helplessness” due to having an older sibling with autism. After MANY hours and sessions of therapy (speech, occupational, behavioral); enrollment in the birth to three program, ECSE program and finally implementation of my own “personalized” homemade programing at the time (based on my research and knowledge of ABA; our son was able to communicate verbally by the age of 4 and a half. After years of experience and therapies with autism at this point and a bachelor's in psychology; I decided that it only made sense to obtain my master's in counseling, specialization in autism and the rest has led me to today. Bears Counseling PLLC is a Private Practice owned and operated solely by Tarah Groettum. My mission is to be contracted with as many insurances as possible, to better serve as many families and individuals as possible throughout the state of MN who are needing services regarding psychoeducation, support, referrals and resources related to the autism diagnosis, adoption, kinship care or foster care. Too many families and individuals are currently on waitlists in these focus areas with minimal support, if any. My goal is to decrease these waitlists and increase support and services now. I am currently offering ONLY video/telehealth sessions and services through Simple Practice EHR platform. M, W and Th 8am-5pm; Tu 8am-1pm and F 1pm-5pm. Simple Practice EHR platform is HIPAA compliant and offers many client user friendly features, such as encrypted and protected electronic documentation exchange, document uploads to your personal file/chart, scheduling option, self-pay options, text/email exchange, direct insurance billing and more. I have over 9 years professional experience. My experience ranges from infant and early childhood mental health, outpatient mental health, day treatment, ABA therapy, autism (ASD) family therapy, (ASD) individual therapy, (ASD) group therapy, adoption, foster, attachment, to trauma therapy. I have a vast majority of skill sets; however, autism, groups, kinship care, adoption, and trauma are my specialty focus areas. I believe that behaviors are trying to tell us something and we need to get to the very root to identify the answer and create words. I work on building healthy relationships, closing gaps in communication patterns, increasing understanding and support for all involved. My approach to therapy is rooted in empathy, compassion, dedication and authenticity. I strive to create a safe, supportive and trusting environment where my clients will feel comfortable, heard and understood; while exploring their thoughts, feelings, and most "raw" aspects of themselves. I meet each individual where they are and walk beside them on their journey to meet their personal goal(s) to ensure they do not feel alone. I believe the individual leads the sessions, determines what they want and need from each session and goal creation. It is a team effort, but one I am here to support and engage others if wanted/needed. I can help by having personal and professional experience in my specialty areas, such as Autism, foster/kinship care, and FASD. I bring to the table not only research-based knowledge, training and experience, but real-life experience as well. Therefore, I can relate and/or provide support, resources and referrals to many experiencing these situations. I follow the individual’s lead, which means I meet them where they are at. If the individual wants to get right to the deep things I am more than willing to go there with them; but if they want to get to know me and spend time building trust and rapport first, then we do that. I work with what the individual is comfortable with in every case and situation. My approach to therapy is rooted in empathy, compassion, dedication and authenticity. I meet individuals where they are at the beginning of every session, which means there may be a specific style or approach to therapy that will best fit during one session and maybe not again. Therefore, I use the approach that is needed, when it is needed, to best fit the current situation, concern, or hurtle.