BEMIDJI — Jessica Niemi says her work in infant and early childhood mental health is both challenging and rewarding.
Niemi, a licensed independent clinical social worker, supervisor and trainer, leads the Bemidji office of Lake Country Associates, which serves the mental health needs of children, teenagers, adults and families.
She recently received the Michele Fallon Award from the Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health. The award honors mental health professionals for their leadership and contributions to the field. Niemi is the second recipient of the award, and says it is meaningful because Fallon is one of her mentors.
“It was extra special because I know Michele,” Niemi said. “We have worked together for years. She and I do some work around mental health consultation for the state of Minnesota. I was really touched by it. I’m still kind of surprised by it.”
Jessica Niemi was presented the Michele Fallon Award at the recent Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health’s Infant and Early Childhood Multidisciplinary Conference.
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Niemi grew up in Madison, Minn., and holds her bachelor of social work degree from the College of St. Scholastica and a master of science in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
She specializes in working with families of children ages 0-5. She also facilitates family groups focused on parenting young children and provides mental health consultation and training for a variety of disciplines, including Head Start, public health, special education and social service professionals.
Before starting the Bemidji office of Lake Country Associates, Niemi was a therapist with the former Archdeacon Gilfillan Center and spent 14 years at Stellher Human Services as a mental health professional and program coordinator. She also has taught courses at Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota.
When she joined Lake Country Associates, she was a one-person operation working out of a space in the Bridgeman Center at 15th Street and Bemidji Avenue.
“I was the only therapist,” she said. “I didn’t have a secretary.” But the agency has since moved into larger quarters at 615 Anne St. NW, where nine therapists now work alongside Niemi. Lake Country Associates was founded in 2009 and has offices in Park Rapids, Bemidji and Menahga.
Niemi said her work in infant and early childhood mental health can be misunderstood.
“People think I’m working with babies and playing with toddlers,” she said. “Actually, the bulk of my work is with parents. Some children are easier to parent than others for various reasons. And if there’s not a fit between the parents and the children, then things go awry.”
She added, “The parents are the change agent, not me. I’m just facilitating that dance. In fact, in infant mental health, you say that your client is the relationship, not actually the humans.”
Although Niemi deals with serious trauma in families, she says some of her biggest joys come from having success with those families, such as turning around a parent who’s resistant to being in therapy.
“I keep a basket full of cards, letters and pictures that I’ve gotten over the last 25 years,” Niemi said. “You don’t always get those sort of thank yous, but when I’m having a bad day, I’ll go through them and kind of read them again and say, ‘OK, I’m doing good work.’”
Dennis Doeden, former publisher of the Bemidji Pioneer, is a feature reporter. He is a graduate of Metropolitan State University with a degree in Communications Management.