My name is Bridgett Littel and I am a licensed marriage and family therapist.
My name is Bridgett Littel, pronounced Lit-TEL(TELL)…not little. I am a LMFT which stands for licensed marriage and family therapist. Personally, I think they should re-write the title and call it an LIMFT; a licensed individual, marriage and family therapist but I don’t think it is currently up for debate. While I do see families and couples for therapy; the majority of my clients are individuals ranging in age from 20- 70 years old.
(FYI - The pictures of me are from 2014 when I opened my practice… I should probably update them)
My Job
I absolutely love my “job”. I have the pleasure of working with people to highlight their strengths and to accept what is challenging in their life. By admitting there are challenges (anybody NOT have challenges?) we allow space and freedom to improve! I have the privilege of spending my days working with people who are motivated internally or by the grace of someone who cares for them, to seek a trustworthy and private place to consider what might be influencing their decisions each day.
Back to my “credentials”. This means that I have my master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. It also means that I have met the requirements of Minnesota for licensure which is a HUGE list of things including but not limited to: 4,000 clinical hours under supervision of another therapist (just to help you with the math that’s 2 straight years of 40 hours a week), written tests, an oral test and a few other hoops.
I have worked in a wide variety of mental health settings. I originally began seeing clients in a community mental health clinic in Santa Anna, CA. The clinic was designed to provide affordable services to those without insurance. While working for the Santa Anna, CA clinic I also worked for a women’s shelter. At the shelter, I led DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy) groups and met with clients one on one.
Minnesota
In 2008, I moved to “back” to Minnesota (I am originally from Wisconsin) and quickly found work with SPMI adults (severely and persistently mentally ill). Many of my clients struggled with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and/or chemical dependency.
Two years later (2010) I was recruited to a practice that was seeking someone to support the eating disorder work at the clinic. I began working with eating disorders and managing an intensive outpatient program (IOP) for eating disorders; a 4 day a week 5.5 hours a day, program for eating disorders. I also lead a Body Image group and a Eating Disorder support group and saw clients individually. While I specialize in working with those who suffer from trauma and eating disorders, I do work and have experience with a variety of concerns.
In August of 2014, I opened The Bridge Therapy & Wellness. I currently meet weekly with individual clients, couples and families who have trauma, anorexia, bulimia, other eating disordered symptoms, are going through life changes (i.e. going to college, empty nest, baby, divorce, career change, etc.), depression, anxiety, social anxiety and many other things. Over the years I have also developed a a “sub- speciality” of working with other providers/therapists in the field, something I greatly enjoy.
When I ask clients and co-workers how they would describe me, I hear: direct, empathetic and relational. While I use many different modalities of treatment to establish a connection, I am strongly rooted in Internal Family Systems & Sensorimotor Therapy. I believe, most certainly, that when you or your loved one feels connected, safe, and free to trust that their best interest is protected…healing can begin.