Greater Minnesota Trauma Center raises mental health awareness

ST. PETER, Minn. (KEYC) - More help is available in southern Minnesota for people who struggle with their mental health.

Located in St. Peter, there is a new facility to assist people who have gone through the unimaginable.

The founding of the Greater Minnesota Trauma Center stemmed from the overwhelming need to combat the stigma against mental health.

“The difficulties that people have here in rural Minnesota to access mental health services. That vision grew over time, and now I am sort of in a position where I can take some of those visions and those dreams. Then put them into real services,” said Justin Coates, owner and founder of Greater Minnesota Trauma Center.

The services that Coates helps discuss are life and parent coaching, private pay therapy, and trauma education, which will be split with co-founder Caycee Bonacci.

“Life coaching is really working on a specific goal or a specific transition you are going on. So that would be a really client-led goal-setting situation, where the client is focusing on what goals they want to work on,” Bonacci explained.

Bonacci and Coates are the two providers at the center. Coates is a licensed professional counselor and Bonacci is a certified life coach.

Both have seen the negative implications in rural communities when mental health needs are not met.

“Do not stop struggling with their mental health during that waiting period. That is where I want to bring those quality providers on, so we are not on those waiting lists,” Coates said.

The Greater Minnesota Trauma Center’s motto is “bridging the trauma gap,” which they hope to do one patient at a time.

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