Our team · Hopkins, Minnesota

Meet the Northwoods Haven Recovery Team

Licensed alcohol and drug counselors and the clinical leadership who built the program. The people who answer the phone are the people who guide your treatment.

Northwoods Haven Recovery is a small outpatient team in Hopkins, Minnesota, serving adults across Minneapolis and the Twin Cities. Every client works with their own licensed alcohol and drug counselor from the assessment through the Relapse Prevention Program, so the person who learns your story is the person who helps you rewrite it. You are more than your diagnosis, and that is how the team treats you.

Not sure where you fit?

Tell us what is going on and a member of the team will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit.

Your team

Our Treatment Team

Licensed alcohol and drug counselors and the clinical leadership who built the program. These are the people who answer the phone and the people who guide your treatment.

Clinical Director

Neal Schmidt, BS, LADC-S

A substance use counselor since 2012. Tailors counseling to the person in front of him, not the diagnosis.

A substance use disorder counselor since 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in Alcohol and Drug Studies from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Neal tailors counseling to the person in front of him, not the diagnosis, and helps clients find and use their own strengths.

Counselor

Emily Hongslo, BS, LADC

Works with people at every stage of change, with an emphasis on client-centered care.

A substance use counselor since 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in counseling, with an emphasis in substance use and chemical dependency, from Grand Canyon University. Emily works with people at every stage of change, with an emphasis on client-centered care.

Substance Use Counselor

Mari Anderson Fairchild, MA, LPCC, LADC

Believes every client deserves to feel seen and heard, and that autonomy is part of the treatment.

A substance use counselor since 2021 and a Mental Health Clinical Trainee, with master’s degrees in Psychological Counseling and Addiction Studies from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Mari believes every client deserves to feel seen and heard, and that autonomy is part of recovery.

Marketing Consultant

Adam Vibe Gunton

Managing Partner of Behavioral Health Partners, bestselling author of From Chains To Saved, TEDx speaker, and a longtime advocate for recovery.

How the team works with you

Treatment here is built with you, not for you. Your counselor is a licensed alcohol and drug counselor (LADC), the Minnesota credential for substance use disorder treatment, and the same counselor stays with you through both levels of care. Group therapy runs with the same cohort each session, so the people around you know your story too.

The team treats co-occurring mental health conditions alongside substance use: trauma and PTSD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and ADHD. Mental health psychoeducation runs through the whole program rather than sitting in one workshop. What the team does not do is prescribe, provide detox, or offer inpatient or residential care; when you need those, the team helps you find them.

How you work your recovery is yours to define. The team is inclusive of every belief system and every recovery approach, teaches you all of your options, and supports the plan you choose. We rise together.

LegitScript Certified

Verified addiction treatment provider

Licensed in Minnesota

Adults 18+, including young adults

Medicaid & commercial plans

BCBS, HealthPartners, UnitedHealthcare, Medica

100% confidential

Every caller leaves with resources

Therapies

Evidence-based addiction therapies, taught as options, not prescriptions.

We’ll walk you through every approach we use and why, then build your plan around the ones that fit your beliefs and your life. No single pathway, no ideology, no judgment.

Cognitive behavioral therapy

Find the thought patterns that drive use, and learn to interrupt them.

Dialectical behavior therapy

Skills for distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and hard relationships.

Acceptance & commitment therapy

Move toward what you actually value, even when it’s uncomfortable.

Motivational interviewing

Your reasons for changing, in your words. Nobody lectures you here.

Individual counseling

Your own licensed counselor, where the plan gets built and adjusted.

Group therapy

Three hours a day with people who know the terrain you’re crossing.

Addiction counseling

One-on-one counseling with your own chemical dependency counselor.

Trauma-informed care

Care that accounts for what happened to you, not what’s wrong with you.

Relapse prevention and aftercare planning run through every level of care rather than sitting off to the side, and whole-person care means mental health psychoeducation happens alongside all of it.

Common questions

Questions about our team

If yours is not here, ask us directly. Every caller leaves with resources.

LegitScript Certified

Verified addiction treatment provider

What is an LADC?

A Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, the Minnesota state license for substance use disorder counselors. LADC-S indicates a supervisor credential. Every counselor who provides treatment at Northwoods Haven Recovery holds this license or works under a licensed supervisor.

Will I have the same counselor the whole time?

Yes. You are assigned your own licensed alcohol and drug counselor at the start, and that counselor stays with you through the Intensive Outpatient Program and the Relapse Prevention Program.

Who does the chemical use assessment?

A licensed alcohol and drug counselor on our team. The assessment establishes your diagnosis and the level of care that fits, here or somewhere better suited to you.

Does the team include medical staff or a psychiatrist?

No. Northwoods Haven Recovery is an outpatient counseling program. We do not prescribe or provide medical care. Medication a medical provider prescribes for you is welcome, and we account for it in your plan.

Does the team treat mental health conditions?

Yes. Co-occurring trauma and PTSD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and ADHD are treated alongside substance use by the same counselors, with mental health psychoeducation running through the whole program.

Can I talk to a counselor before I decide anything?

Yes. Reaching out does not commit you to anything. Call and tell us what is going on, and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit and what the next step would be.

Getting started

How to get started: four steps, no waiting eleven days.

Reaching out doesn’t commit you to anything. It means you asked a question, and we answered it.

Call

We listen to what’s going on and where you are in the process. No script, no pressure.

Chemical use assessment

A comprehensive assessment to determine diagnosis and the level of care that fits.

Referral to the right care

Ideally with us. If another program fits you better, we’ll connect you to it.

Intake

Programming starts immediately after intake. Already have an assessment? Send it over and we’ll review it.

Take the first step

When you're ready, we're here.

Reaching out doesn’t mean you’ve committed to anything. It means you’re asking a question, and we’ll answer it honestly, even if the answer points somewhere else.

100% confidential

Insurance verified fast

No commitment to ask

Outpatient only

Referring professionals

Send a comprehensive assessment, plus treatment plan reviews, discharge summary, med list, and insurance information if applicable. A list, not a portal.

Visit us in Hopkins

Northwoods Haven Recovery

5900 Green Oak Drive, Ste 306
Hopkins, MN 55343