NEW ULM — A 2012 New Ulm High School graduate who moved back home with her family from South Dakota recently opened a downtown mental health clinic.

Mental health therapist Alicia Meinzer opened Rising Hope Counseling, LLC at 519 1st South Street last October.

The business space was updated and modified for mental health services use.

Meinzer said business has been good.

“My schedule filled very quickly. I have a few more available spots before I start a wait list,” she added.

Meinzer said she is currently seeing individuals, couples and families as young as age four on up to people in their senior years.

“Right now, I’m most often helping people deal with anxiety and stressors of daily life,” she said.

“Much of what I do is talk therapy.” Meinzer said.

“We offer EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing). Rising Hope feels that this helps people deal with processing previous stressful events and could happen in the future,” she added.

A more recent type of therapy, EMDR focuses on the brain’s ability to constantly learn, taking past experiences, and updating them with present information.

Past emotionally-charged experiences often interfere with the updating process. EMDR breaks through that interference and helps people let go of the past and update their experiences for a healthier present perspective.

Meinzer also uses other therapeutic approaches including cognitive behavioral therapy, client-centered therapy, dialectical behavior (talk) therapy (DBT) and evidence-based practices to best connect and help clients.

With experience providing mental health therapy in outpatient, inpatient, school and home-based settings, she has training and clinical experience with those struggling with depression anxiety, suicidal, grief/loss, parent/child relationship struggles, conflict management, family communication adjustment disorders to life stressors, personality disorders, anger/aggression management and more.

Other therapy used deals with parental burnout cycles and self-soothing with the five senses.

Self-soothing techniques include listening to relaxing music, singing to yourself, talking to someone you trust, using your favorite lotion, smelling flowers, breathing fresh air, asking someone for a hug, self hand massage, looking at nature, reading a book and looking at happy pictures.

Meinzer earned bachelor’s degree in social work at the University of South Dakota in 2018 and became a licensed clinical social worker. She later received her Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP) certification, clinical social worker and private independent practice licenses.

Since moving to New Ulm, she has become active in community networking including New Ulm Area Chamber of Commerce welcoming visits and related events.

Meinzer said she will be part of the New Ulm Home Show and a local student job fair.

“We invite students to check us out,” she added. “There is definitely a need for social workers here. At the same time, it’s something we enjoy doing.”

Meinzer said she offers tele-health services, enabling her to see individuals from Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota, as she has licenses in all three states.

Rising Hope founder and CEO Jill Janecke said it’s exciting to get people involved in a variety of therapeutic methods.

“Talk therapy is super important, but what we have found is it’s exciting to give people an experience in therapy and for them to understand what experiences their emotions and reactions come from,” said Janecke.

“A lot of our clinicians are trained to be able to go to deeper feelings and experiences, especially in this fast-paced world today and be able to heal from it inside out. That’s what makes Rising Hope unique, focusing on relationships and family foundations, adapt and heal from it,” she added.

Meinzer said she enjoys spending time with her family, especially being outside in fresh air.

Rising Hope Counseling operates more than 20 clinics in Minnesota, South Dakota and Iowa.

The company provides counseling and psychiatric medication management services to couples, children and families. It says therapy is an opportunity to learn more about yourself and find and use an individuals unique, innate strengths to enhance their quality of life.

For more information, visit https://risinghope.com/.