Dan Wilson, LICSW

Dan Wilson has served as the Executive Director for the Northwestern Mental Health Center since August of 1986.  Prior to that time, he was the Executive Director of the Polk County Developmental Achievement Center from 1981 to 1986, during which time he also taught two semesters of Social Work Administration at the University of North Dakota.  He served as the Assistant Director for the Northwestern Mental Health Center from 1973 to 1978 working  closely with Developmental Achievement Centers as well as with the development of ICF/MR facilities in the region.  From 1978 to 1981 he served as the Assistant Director for Mental Health, focusing on the development of the Community Support Program and Northwestern Apartments.Mr. Wilson holds a Master's degree in Social Work from the Tulane University School of Social Work in New Orleans attending under a fellowship with the National Institute of Mental Health.  He received a Bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis in 1967, during which time he also worked for Northeast Neighborhood Services, a youth and family services organization.  He served in the United States Peace Corps in Montevideo, Uruguay from 1969 to 1972 providing rehabilitation services at the Escuela Taller de Recuperacion Ocupacional                                                                         

Kathy Anderson, A.S.

Kathy Anderson has served as Financial Director since April 1997.  She joined the Center in November 1988 as Bookkeeper / Statitician.                                                                        

Don Christie, M.Ed., M.A., LICSW

Don Christie is the Clinical Director of the Outpatient Program at the Northwestern Mental Health Center.  He is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and holds a Master of Arts Degree in Mental Health Counseling from North Dakota State University, and a Master of Education Degree in Educational Psychology from California State University in Northridge.  He has worked as a psychotherapist for 24 years and his current practice focuses primarily on adult mental health issues including relationship counseling.  Don has special interest in the joining of spiritual, philosophical and phase of life problems with more traditional mental health issues.  He also has extensive experience in chemical dependency and domestic abuse issues.

Don lives in Crookston, and has worked at the Mental Health Center for 14 years.  He has two adult daughters and five grandchildren.  He enjoys listening to and playing music (piano and guitar), reading, writing, motorcycling, canoeing, and exploring spiritual issues.

Brenda Anderson, MSW, LICSW

Brenda Anderson is the Director of the Children and Family Services Division at Northwestern Mental Health Center. She also serves as the Polk County Children’s Mental Health Collaborative Coordinator. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Social Work from the University of North Dakota.  She is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and a Mental Health Professional in the state of MN. Brenda has been working for Northwestern Mental Health Center since 1996.

Brenda provides leadership and program management for in-home family therapy services, school-based mental health services, care coordination, fidelity wraparound, family group decision making, functional family therapy, Photovoice and mobile crisis services.  She provides clinical supervision to mental health practitioners and provides consultation to partner agencies regarding children’s mental health assessment and intervention.  Aside from her administrative responsibilities she provides individual and family therapy services.  She is trained in Functional Family Therapy and in the American Association for Suicidology’s “Recognizing and Responding to Suicide Risk: Essential Skills for Clinicians."

Brenda has specialized knowledge and proven experience in Rural/Frontier Mental Health models, practices and efficacies; building and maintaining relationships with consumers and key stakeholders in helping children and adults with behavioral health issues thrive in the region; healthcare reform integrating behavioral and primary health care services; children’s behavioral health social marketing and de-stigmatization strategies; implementing children’s mental health evidenced-based practices  in a sparsely populated region.  She has presented at local, state and national conferences.

Brenda has specialized training and experience in budget management and completed the Behavioral Health Middle Management Academy training.  Brenda serves as a member of the Northwestern Mental Health Center’s grant writing team and has authored or co-authored over twenty federal and state proposals which have been awarded to the Center or partner agencies benefitting children with behavioral health issues and their families.  Brenda serves as a member of both Northwestern Mental Health Center’s management and mobile crisis teams.

Michal Jorgens, Psy.D., LP

Dr Michal Jorgens is the Residential Program Director at the Northwestern Mental Health Center and Program Director of the Northwest Apartments in Crookston, Minnesota. Dr. Michal Jorgens is a licensed clinical psychologist.  She works with a wide range of individuals, and specializes in working with the most severe disabilities.  She earned a doctorate in clinical psychology from Minnesota School of Professional Psychology/Argosy University in the Twin Cities, Minnesota.  Dr. Jorgens works part of the week in the outpatient clinic doing testing, psychological evaluation and individual therapy.  She is also the Director of residential services for the Mental Health Center’s programs at Northwestern Apartments in Crookston.  Dr. Jorgens has an extensive background in developmental disabilities, having provided administration and consultation to such programs for over 15 years.  She was appointed to and served on the Governor’s Planning Council for Developmental Disabilities.  Michal’s APA internship training included forensic evaluation, inpatient psychiatric treatment and assessment, and assessment and treatment of developmentally disabled adults. Dr. Jorgens has served as an adjunct faculty at University of Minnesota, Crookston, since 1995.

Denise Gudvangen, M.A., LP

Denise Gudvangen is the Adult Community Services Coordinator in charge of the Community Support Services Unit at Northwestern Mental Health Center and a licensed psychologist.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Moorhead State University and her Master’s degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota Duluth.  She started working at the Northwestern Mental Health Center in 1993 as a Professional Home Based Therapist in the Children and Family Services Division.  In 1998 she became licensed as a Psychologist and began doing clinical supervision in both children and adult divisions.  In 2001, she became a clinical supervisor in the Adult Services Program full time.  In 2004 she became the Adult Services Coordinator with the Adult Services Program.                                         

Thea Rothmann, Ph.D, LP

Dr. Thea Rothmann, licensed clinical psychologist, is an outpatient clinician and Director of Crisis Services for Northwestern Mental Health Center in Crookston, MN.  She is trained as a cognitive-behavioral therapist and relies on treatment modalities such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing. In addition to office hours at our main site in Crookston, MN, she is co-located with primary care at Riverview Hospital in Crookston and at Essentia Health Hospital in Ada, MN. She conducts psychological assessments and general intellectual, neuropsychological, presurgical, and court-related assessments. Dr. Rothmann sees older adolescents and all ages of adults with a wide-range of mental health issues. Dr. Rothmann earned her doctoral and master’s degrees at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Her graduate training focused on treatment of severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) and her research targeted psycholegal applications in SPMI, including guardianship, involuntary treatment, competency, and commitment.  During her predoctoral internship at the VA in Augusta, Maine, she received specialized training in neuropsychological assessment, rural outpatient practice, and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder.  Previously, Thea obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, Spanish, and English Writing in 2001 from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.