New to Grow
My name is Dr. Ruth Ellerbroek (She/her/hers). I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 20 years of experience working with individuals and couples in Minnesota. I use evidence-based, relational approaches—including CBT, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems, and Adlerian methods—to support individuals and couples seeking greater clarity, connection, and emotional balance. I love to help people shift unhelpful patterns, strengthen relationships, and move toward lives grounded in purpose, self-compassion, and meaningful change.
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
Your first session is a chance for us to get to know each other and begin building a comfortable, collaborative working relationship. We’ll spend time talking about what brought you to therapy, what’s been feeling challenging, and what you hope might change or improve. You don’t need to have everything figured out—this conversation can unfold at your pace. I will also explain how therapy works, review confidentiality and office policies, and answer any questions you may have. While we may begin to identify patterns or goals, the first session is not about diving deeply into everything at once; it’s about creating a safe, supportive foundation for our work together. Many people feel a mix of relief and nervousness, and all of that is welcome here.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
I bring over 20 years of clinical experience to my work, offering a steady, grounded presence that helps clients feel safe, understood, and not rushed. I'm comfortable working with complexity—long‑standing patterns, relationship challenges, and life transitions—and I strive to meet each client with respect, care and humility. I place a strong emphasis on the therapeutic relationship, knowing that trust, collaboration, and open communication are essential for meaningful change. I want to create a space where clients feel supported, heard, and actively involved in shaping their therapy. Rather than using a one‑size‑fits‑all approach, I integrate evidence‑based and relational methods—including CBT, Solution‑Focused Brief Therapy, Emotion‑Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems, and Adlerian approaches—to tailor therapy to each person's needs. This allows our work to be both practical and emotionally meaningful. I work from a strengths‑based perspective, helping you recognize your resilience, values, and existing resources—not just your challenges. Clients often report gaining greater clarity, emotional balance, and confidence as they move toward healthier relationships, deeper purpose, and lasting change. Many of my clients find my 'gentle' sense of humor helpful in rebalancing perspective.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
My ideal clients are adults - any age, 18 - 100+. I work with individuals and couples. Many people seek support for stress, relationship challenges, life transitions, aging-related concerns, and/or a desire to find greater emotional balance and meaning. I offer a supportive, thoughtful space to help clients define their values, strengthen relationships, gain clarity, and move forward in their day-to-day life with confidence.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
In my practice I use CBT to collaboratively partner with you to identify unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, then test and replace them with more adaptive patterns through structured sessions, skill-building, and homework. The focus stays on current problems, clear goals, and teaching you practical strategies you can use independently outside of sessions
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
I use solution-focused brief therapy in my practice to partner with you to clearly define your desired future and goals, then identifying existing strengths, resources, and past successes that can move you toward those outcomes. Therapy stays brief and collaborative, emphasizing practical, forward-looking solutions rather than analyzing problems or their origins.
Couples Counseling
In couples counseling, I employ a variety of interventions based on the specific need. For example I use Emotionally Focused Therapy to assist partners to identify and reshape negative interaction cycles by accessing underlying emotions and attachment needs to build safer, more responsive emotional bonds. Or, we can use Internal Family Systems and related methods support couples in recognizing and calming reactive “parts” within each partner, fostering self-leadership, empathy, and more constructive communication between partners.
Adlerian
I also use Adlerian methods in my practice to help you understand your "lifestyle", goals, and beliefs within a social context, with an emphasis on belonging, purpose, and contribution. The method employs encouragement, insight, and collaborative goal-setting to help you reorient unhelpful patterns and make meaningful, socially connected changes.