Watercourse Counseling Center (WCC), founded in 1999 as the Mental Health Collective, is a nonprofit agency established to improve the emotional health of our diverse community. We are an accessible mental health resource for our schools and neighborhoods across Minneapolis.
Watercourse Counseling Center operates a community clinic in South Minneapolis. We offer individual, family, and couples counseling for adults and children.
We work with general mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, life transitions, grief and loss, self-care, self-esteem and stress management. We also help clients with addiction and impulse control, parenting and healthy development, relationships, sexuality and sexual orientation, identity, and spiritual connection.
SCHOOL-BASED COUNSELING
Students and families are significantly more likely to access school-based services than they are to complete a referral to an outside agency. In order to make services accessible to children and families in the community, we partner with Minneapolis Public Schools to operate mental health clinics within 12 schools across South and North Minneapolis. These services are designed to support and enhance education outcomes for students at risk.
For individual students and families, we provide individual counseling and play therapy for children with specific mental health needs; parent education, support and counseling; family counseling; and skill building.
For groups of children or parents, we lead skill-building groups, parent training, and classroom presentation.
For teachers and school staff, we offer consultation and training.
Fees and Payment
We will work with you to make sure you can afford the services that you need. We accept most insurance plans and many EAP programs. For those who do not have insurance, we offer a sliding fee option.
Please call your insurance company first to see if therapy is covered, and then us, for information about our sliding fee payment options, as needed.
Services Offered To: Adults Couples Teens
Special Groups: Bilingual
Payment: Sliding Scale Medicare Medicaid
Online Counseling: Yes
Were You Able To Make an Appointment?
One quick last question. Who was seeking counseling today?
Do you know the reason they are not accepting clients?
A community counseling agency is a group therapy practice that offers affordable mental health services. Most are independent non-profit agencies, state agencies, or publicly-funded agencies. A few may restrict who is eligible for services, so it is a good idea to check when you call.
Community counseling agencies are generally more affordable than other therapy providers, but how much more affordable they are will depend on whether you qualify for a discount or sliding scale fee (or if they accept your insurance). Many, but not all, have a policy that they won't turn away anyone due to inability to pay. You should ask about their fees when you first call.
Expect to talk to kind people who want to help you find the care you need. Most community agencies strive to connect you with a live person within 24 hours, if not immediately. If you're asked to hold or leave a message, don't give up; just leave a message and wait. You should hear back pretty quickly.
Most agencies try to set up an initial assessment appointment within a week (some do within 24 hours), though the waitlist to start therapy is usually longer—about a few weeks on average. If you're not eligible or if the agency is not right for you, it's usually still worth it to call or drop in, because staff are knowledgeable about local options and can often refer you to one.
