Our Vision
Our vision at Hope and Healing Mental Health is a world where all individuals—especially those impacted by trauma—have access to compassionate, effective behavioral health care. We envision communities where healing is embraced, stigma is dismantled, and every person has the opportunity to live a life of connection, stability, and meaning. By leading with trauma-informed care and holistic practices, we strive to be a trusted partner in promoting long-term mental and emotional wellness.
Meet the Team
Sheila Johnson, CSW-PIP, QMHP Managing Provider
Sheila Johnson, MSW, CSW-PIP, QMHP specializes in psychotherapy utilizing TF-CBT, EMDR, DBT. Sheila is a trauma-informed therapist focused on helping people overcome emotional and psychological impact of traumatic events. This type of therapy is effective for various forms of trauma, including abuse, accidents, national disasters and combat experience. Individuals process traumatic memories, understanding the response and developing coping strategies to manage distressing symptoms through therapy.
Sheila provides an empathetic, nonjudgmental, and safe therapeutic space adolescents, young adults, couples and military personnel and dependents. Sheila brings a collaborative experience and allows the client to set the pace as a trauma-informed therapist.
Sheila is also a social work and counseling board approved supervisor with over 15 years experience. Sheila can help social workers and counselors thrive in group or private practice by delivering quality services and maintaining ethical practice.
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Melanie Delaney is a Certified Social Worker (CSW), QMHP, currently working toward her CSW-PIP. Melanie specializes in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and play therapy for young children. Additionally, Melanie offers animal-assisted therapy with the help of her beloved therapy dog, Tamari, a black lab.
Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Melanie moved to New Mexico after high school. Melanie completed her BSW at New Mexico State University and her MSW at Western New Mexico University.
Melanie is also a nationally recognized NTI Adoption-Competent Therapist. Melanie has a strong interest in supporting young clients with anxiety, depression, anger, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and grief. Her professional background includes experience in hospital social work, discharge planning, and elementary school social work before Melanie relocated to the Black Hills in 2023.
Melanie believes in a collaborative approach, working with children and their families as a team, and tapping into a child's natural inclination to play. By combining play and therapy, she believes children address challenges and process their emotions.
Outside of work, Melanie is known as an outdoor enthusiast. She enjoys hiking, camping, horseback riding, and exploring national parks—She has visited 18 so far! A perfect day for Melanie would be hiking on a summer day in a national park with her husband. They have plans to visit every national park together.
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Michelle Soberalski is a clinical outpatient therapist at Hope and Healing Mental Health. Michelle earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Services and Sociology from Black Hills State in 2010 and Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of South Dakota in 2023. Michelle is a Licensed Certified Social Worker (CSW), and a Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP), working toward her CSW-PIP as a clinical social worker.
Michelle has had a lot of life experiences from places she has lived in her lifetime. When someone asks where she is from, she has many places she considers home after growing up as a child in the military. However, she now considers herself a resident of Spearfish, SD. Being able to live in so many different places has blessed her with great opportunities to work and live amongst individuals of diverse backgrounds and cultures.
Overall, Michelle has over 10 years of experience working in mental health, particularly working for non-profit agencies. Her passion is geared towards helping others who are looking to find freedom from the confines of severe mental illness, anxiety, major depression, PTSD post-traumatic stress, suicidal ideation, eating disorders, and dysfunctional relationships. Michelle is also nationally recognized as an NTI Adoption-Competent therapist. She has been trained and certified in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Trauma Informed Therapy.
Michelle’s practice approach is holistic. She considers the emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects of one’s life. Michelle works in collaboration to seek peace and solutions to life’s challenges.
After work, Michelle finds inspiration in traveling to new places, immersing herself in different cultures, and spending time outdoors. Nature offers a grounding perspective, and she often draws from its rhythms and metaphors in her work. From hiking quiet trails to simply sitting beneath open skies, Michelle believes that stepping outside can help us return to ourselves.
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Nichole Knepp, MSED, LPC, LPC-MH Supervisee, QMHP, SW is a highly experienced licensed professional counselor and qualified mental health professional in South Dakota, with over 24 years of expertise in outpatient mental health, psychiatric residential treatment, and community-based mental health services. She specializes in individual and family therapy for children and adolescents, particularly those involved with Child Protection Services or adoption-related systems.
Nichole’s therapeutic approach is grounded in evidence-based, trauma-informed care. She is trained in a wide range of modalities including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT), TF-CBT for Problematic Sexual Behavior (TF-CBT-PSB), Theraplay, Motivational Interviewing, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), NTI Adoption Competency, Trust-Based Relational Interventions (TBRI), and Multi-systemic Therapy (MST). Her work reflects a deep understanding of attachment, trauma, and the complex needs of youth and families navigating child welfare and mental health systems.
In addition to her clinical work, Nichole brings leadership to the field by providing support and administrative supervision to new therapists, helping to guide their development and uphold high standards of care.
She earned her Master of Science in Education in Community Counseling from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and is committed to creating safe, trusting, and empowering therapeutic environments that promote healing, growth, and long-term emotional wellness.
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Amy Marker is a Certified Social Worker (CSW), QMHP. She is under supervision to obtain her CSW-PIP license to become a clinical social worker.
Amy’s approach to therapy is conversational and insight-oriented, grounded in evidence-based practices like Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma Focused, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and psychodynamic therapy. She believes that therapy can be a place where healing begins – through insight, humor, and the power of being heard.
Over the years, Amy has developed a passion in working with adolescents and their families to address suicidality and self-harm, traumatic history, sexual abuse, body and self-esteem issues, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and navigating healthy interpersonal relationships.
Supporting the client involves supporting the family, and this is something Amy tries to effectively communicate with all clients and families. One of the tenets of DBT is that we are all doing the best we can AND we can do better and try harder. Healing work is hard work!
Outside of the office, Amy enjoys spending time with her two daughters and husband doing just about anything. Amy also enjoys reading a good rom-com novel, going thrifting, and watching just about any (good) horror movie. During the summer, you can find Amy at the pool or lake. It would be a dream for her to live somewhere near a beach!
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Chelsie Ogaard, CSW-PIP, LICSW, LCSW, QMHP
Chelsie specializes in supporting older adults as they navigate changing health, increasing care needs, and the emotional impact of loss of independence. She also works closely with caregivers of aging parents—particularly those caring for a loved one with dementia—who often carry exhaustion, guilt, grief, and deep love all at once. Her work is grounded in compassion, respect, and a steady, supportive presence.
Chelsie believes no one should have to walk the aging or caregiving journey alone. She partners with clients to honor the realities of aging while identifying support that feels sustainable, meaningful, and hopeful. Her approach is compassionate, strengths-based, and trauma-informed, with an emphasis on creating a safe space where clients feel heard, understood, and supported.
Her therapeutic work is rooted in evidence-based, holistic care. Chelsie is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT), Motivational Interviewing, NTI Adoption Competency, Trust-Based Relational Interventions (TBRI), Hospice and Palliative Care, Geriatric Therapy, and Reminiscence Therapy. She brings extensive experience working with children, adolescents, families, and older adults across a range of settings, including healthcare, hospice and palliative care, assisted living facilities, foster care and adoption, and juvenile justice. Across all populations, she prioritizes dignity, personal worth, and resilience.
Chelsie earned her Master of Social Work from the University of North Dakota and is committed to providing a welcoming, nonjudgmental environment where individuals feel empowered to navigate life’s challenges and work toward greater balance and overall wellness.
Chelsie is licensed by the South Dakota Board of Social Work Examiners as a Certified Social Worker-Private Independent Practice (CSW-PIP) as well as by the Minnesota Board of Social Work as a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW), and the North Dakota Board of Social Work Examiners as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). She is also a Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP.) In addition to her clinical work, Chelsie is passionate about supporting the growth of social work and counseling professionals. She is a board-approved clinical supervisor for social workers and counselors in South Dakota.
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Julia is a licensed clinical social worker currently working toward her CSW‑PIP. She earned her Master of Social Work from Boston University and brings a thoughtful, grounded presence to her clinical work. She provides therapy for individuals, couples, and children, creating a supportive space to explore emotional challenges, relationship patterns, and past experiences that continue to influence the present. With specialized training in trauma, anxiety, and depression, Julia’s work emphasizes safety, understanding, and practical, meaningful change.
Julia is trained in the Gottman Method and supports couples in improving communication, rebuilding trust, and strengthening connection. She also has extensive experience working with children and teens from trauma backgrounds and is trained in Trust‑Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) and Trauma‑Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF‑CBT).
Having lived and traveled in many places, Julia values the way life experience shapes perspective, resilience, and connection. As a mother, she holds a deep appreciation for caregivers and enjoys working with parents, offering insight and support when helpful.
FAQs
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During a therapy intake, expect to meet with a therapist to discuss your reasons for seeking help, your history, and your goals for therapy. You'll likely be asked questions about your symptoms, coping mechanisms, and life circumstances. The therapist will also discuss confidentiality, treatment approaches, and next steps, potentially including paperwork and a collaborative treatment plan.
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In therapy, your information's confidentiality is generally assured through legal and ethical obligations, and a written privacy policy. Therapists are legally bound to maintain confidentiality, meaning they cannot share your information with others without your written consent, except in specific circumstances such as when you are:
danger to self
danger to others
abuse of children, dependent, or elderly adults
current or future crime concerning safety of others
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We take Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Sanford Health, Aetna, Avera, Solidarity, First Choice Health, Health Partners, Tricare, Medicare, Medicaid. We also take Canopy and First Choice Health EAP. Grant funding for Victims of Crime can be accepted as well. If you have another health insurance provider, contact Hope and Healing to discuss ways to establish care with your provider.
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You can make an insurance co-pay through the Client Portal found not the website. Instructions are below:
Access Your Client Portal:
If your therapist uses TherapyNotes, you likely have access to a client portal. Log in to your portal.
Locate the Billing or Payments Section:
Within the portal, look for a section labeled "Billing," "Payments," or something similar.
Make a Payment:
You should see options to pay your full balance or make a partial payment.
Choose Your Payment Method:
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Enter Card Details (if applicable):
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