The Team
Who We Are
Heidi Nieuwsma, LCSW
Owner/Clinician
Heidi J. Nieuwsma, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker with extensive experience providing mental health services across the lifespan, working with individuals from infancy through older adulthood. Throughout her clinical career, she has served clients from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, and ethnic backgrounds in a variety of settings.
Her clinical experience includes conducting comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments, diagnostic evaluations, crisis intervention, and psychotherapy with individuals, families, and groups. She has provided behavioral health services in community mental health, long-term care, hospice and palliative care, and outreach settings, including crisis response and mental health outreach on Native American Reservations.
Heidi has experience treating a wide range of concerns, including anxiety, depression, trauma, grief and loss, life transitions, marriage and relationship challenges, adjustment disorders, caregiver stress, and serious mental illness. She has worked collaboratively with interdisciplinary teams to develop and implement individualized treatment plans that promote resilience, recovery, and overall well-being.
Her clinical approach is grounded in evidence-based, person-centered care and incorporates a variety of therapeutic modalities tailored to each client's unique needs. Common approaches include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Strengths-Based Therapy, Trauma-Informed Care, Grief Counseling, Person-Centered Therapy, Crisis Intervention, and elements of Family Systems Theory and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) when clinically appropriate.
For clients who desire it, Heidi also offers Christian counseling by thoughtfully integrating biblical principles, faith, and spirituality into the therapeutic process while maintaining evidence-based clinical practice and honoring each client's personal beliefs and values.
Heidi is committed to creating a compassionate, supportive, and collaborative therapeutic environment where clients feel empowered to identify their strengths, navigate life's challenges, and work toward meaningful, lasting change.
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Accepts Blue Cross Blue Shield, Medicaid, Medicaid Expansion, Sanford, and Medallus affiliates
Vernelle Spencer, LCSW
Clinician
Vernelle is a licensed master social worker and mental health therapist dedicated to helping individuals navigate life’s most complex emotional challenges with clarity, confidence, and compassion. With a strong foundation in clinical social work and a deep commitment to client-centered care, Vernelle creates a therapeutic space that is both grounded and empowering.
Known for her approachable, down-to-earth style, Vernelle blends evidence-based practices with authenticity and warmth. She understands that healing is not one-size-fits-all, and she works collaboratively with clients to tailor treatment to their unique experiences, identities, and goals. Her work often focuses on emotional regulations, relationship dynamics, self-esteem, trauma recovery, anxiety, depression, anger management, substance usage, substance recovery, and life transitions.
Vernelle’s therapeutic approach balances professionalism with relatability. Clients appreciate her ability to hold space for difficult conversations while maintaining a calm, supportive presence. She believes that therapy should feel safe, honest, and transformative – not intimidating.
Through her practice, Vernelle is committed to reducing stigma around mental health and helping clients build sustainable tools for resilience, self-awareness, and long-term growth.
Trained in: CBT, DBT, CPT, ACT, MI, IFS, Somatic, EFIT, and Gottman Couples.
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Accepts Blue Cross Blue Shield, Medicaid, Medicaid Expansion, Sanford, and Medallus affiliates
Lisa Holter, LPCC-S, NCC, ACS
Clinician
Lisa is a licensed professional clinical counselor and supervisor in the state of North Dakota with over a decade of experience in counselor education, clinical supervision, and direct practice. She serves as Program Director of a Graduate Counseling Program and completed her PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision in 2025. Her clinical experience is in working with individuals, and couples.
While Lisa has experience working with a wide range of clients, she is especially passionate about serving those in the helping professions: counselors, social workers, educators, healthcare providers, ministry leaders, and caregivers. Helpers often carry tremendous responsibility for others while quietly neglecting their own needs.
Her approach is integrative and reflective. Lisa honors relational depth and meaning-making processes that foster growth. Clients describe her style as warm, grounded and thoughtful. She values both insight and practical application, helping clients understand patterns while also developing concrete strategies for change.
Lisa is particularly interested in:
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Burnout and compassion fatigue
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Identity development
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Imposter syndrome and perfectionism
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Role-related stress
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Leadership strain
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Life transitions and meaning-making
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Boundary development and care-giver sustainability
Her work is guided by the belief that growth requires both safety and challenge. Therapy with Lisa is intentional and collaborative. She works collaboratively with her clients, slowing down when needed, examines patterns carefully, and moves forward with clarity.
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Accepts Medallus affiliates
Katie Krukenberg,
LMSW
Clinician
Katie Krukenberg, LMSW, is a compassionate clinician who is deeply committed to supporting adolescents and their families. A North Dakota native, Katie brings both professional expertise and real-world understanding to her work with teens navigating life’s challenges.
Katie serves as the Program Director and Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Mary, where she mentors and educates future social workers. She earned her Master of Clinical Social Work degree from Florida State University and holds bachelor’s degrees in social work and criminal justice from the University of North Dakota.
Before transitioning to higher education, Katie spent years working directly with children, teens, and families in a variety of settings, including Bismarck Public Schools, Charles Hall Youth Services, and Home on the Range. In these roles, she supported youth facing complex emotional, behavioral, and systemic challenges, giving her a strong foundation in adolescent mental health, trauma-informed care, and systems-based practice.
Katie’s experience extends beyond her professional roles. She and her husband were licensed foster parents for ten years, providing care and stability to children and teens in the child welfare system. This experience deepened her understanding of the unique needs of youth navigating trauma, transitions, and family disruption.
Katie is especially passionate about working with teens as they navigate relationships, build resilience, and develop healthy coping skills. Her approach is relational, strengths-based, and grounded in empathy, helping adolescents feel seen, heard, and empowered.
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Accepts Medallus affiliates
