Patch is a small group of family therapists working with 12-to-19-year-olds and their parents on what's actually happening at home: anxiety, school, ADHD, big feelings, slammed doors.
the first call is just a chat — no forms, no commitment, no homework
Some sessions we draw. Some we walk around the lake. Some we sit with music on and figure out one thing that would make this week less terrible. You pick what we work on. What you say here mostly stays here — the fine print is on the yellow note below.
We'll hand you the adolescent-brain cheat sheet, build a plan for the hard evenings, and tell you the truth kindly. You're part of the treatment, not a spectator in the waiting room.
most families use two or three of these — we'll tell you which.
Anxiety, low mood, school stress, identity, friendships, the internet. CBT and DBT skills, plenty of listening, and zero worksheets nobody asked for.
We slow the fights down, translate between generations, and leave with one thing each person will do differently before next week.
Executive-function coaching, 504 and IEP prep, letters the school actually reads, and a homework system that survives a Thursday.
Scripts for the hard conversations, limits that hold, and permission to stop negotiating at 11pm. Video sessions at lunch are popular.
Six to eight teens, DBT-based. Distress tolerance, real friendships, saying no, and a rotating snack committee that takes itself seriously.
Brief anxiety and ADHD screening, a second set of eyes on a plan that isn't working, and honest referrals when we're not the right fit.
Most families go from first call to first session in under two weeks. Here is what those two weeks look like.
Usually with a parent, sometimes with a teen who's 16+. You tell us what's going on. We tell you honestly whether we're the right people, and who to call if we're not.
Teen and parents in the room for the first 20 minutes, then the teen on their own. We finish with everyone back together so nobody drives home wondering.
Literally. One page: goals in the teen's words, what parents will hear about, how often we meet, and when we check whether it's working.
Dana started Patch in 2019 after eleven years in school-based mental health, because the families she met at 3pm on a Tuesday deserved somewhere that felt like a living room and not a lobby. Priya and Jonah joined in 2022 and 2024. Between us we've raised, taught, coached or been a difficult teenager, and we bring all of it.
“Teenagers can smell a script from across the room. So we don't use one.”
— Dana
All three of us are licensed in Minnesota, trained in family systems and DBT, and supervised by each other every Friday over bad coffee.
Family systems, parent coaching, the teens who "don't do therapy." Former school counselor, current mom of two teenagers, so nothing you say will shock her.
Exposure work for anxiety and OCD, delivered gently and with a lot of drawing. Runs the Tuesday skills group and is the reason there are snacks.
ADHD, executive function, and the college-or-not question. Diagnosed at 19 himself; keeps a working list of every 504 accommodation that actually helped.
Trust is the whole treatment. So we make the confidentiality rules explicit, in the room, with everyone listening, and we write them into the plan.
Session content stays between teen and therapist: friends, crushes, mistakes, the argument in the car on the way here.
Risk of serious harm to the teen or someone else, or abuse, means parents (and sometimes others) are told. We say so before, not after.
Monthly parent check-ins cover themes and progress on the plan, not transcripts. Teens know what will be shared, and usually help write it.
Minnesota lets some minors consent to certain mental-health care on their own. We'll explain how the rules apply to your family in the free call.
we keep a few sliding-scale spots open every month — just ask.
Start with a parent-only session; about half our families did. We'll give you a way to pitch it that doesn't sound like punishment, and any of us will do a 10-minute "come see the weird office" video call with your teen before anyone commits to anything.
Headlines, not transcripts. Safety concerns, always. The yellow note above is the actual agreement, and we go over it with everyone in the first session so it never feels like a surprise.
Most families see us weekly for three to four months, then taper to every other week. School-year timing matters more than you'd think. ADHD and executive-function support is often ongoing but lighter, like a tune-up each semester.
No, we're therapists. We work closely with pediatricians and two psychiatric nurse practitioners in the neighborhood, and we'll coordinate (with your permission) if medication comes up.
Yes, for anyone physically in Minnesota at the time of the session. Most teens prefer in person after the first visit; most parent-coaching sessions happen on video over a lunch break.
Call or text 988, or go to the nearest emergency room. We're not a crisis service, but every client leaves the first month with a written safety plan, and we return messages within one business day.
didn't see yours? ask on the call — nothing is a weird question.
One page, folded in half, printable. The things we end up saying in every parent session, so you can have them before you need them.
A script for the drive home, and the one question that reliably gets more than "fine."
Read issue 01 →The agreement template, plus exactly what to do the first night it breaks (it will).
Read issue 02 →And the one response that keeps the door open instead of closing it for the night.
Read issue 03 →Tell us a little and we'll call you back within one business day, usually the same afternoon. No intake packet until you decide we're a fit.