History of Parker Collins

Parker Collins was established on October 11, 2011 by Dr. Jeffrey Hill with a mind of starting small but designed to grow and serve the community with culturally mindful, trauma specialized, and comprehensive mental health services. Dr. Hill founded the clinic in Vadnais Heights, MN with a mission of helping individuals and families gain freedom from self-limiting ideas, traumatic emotional pain, or self-destructive behaviors through the delivery of evidence based, responsible, respectful, and compassionate psychological services. The mission also included striving to provide highly responsive customer service to referring providers, individuals, and organizations concerned with our clients’ care. It has been and continues to be important that we provide an environment for staff, clients, and other professionals that is enjoyable to work in, stylistic, and free of discrimination, harassment, and social injustice.

We are often asked where the name comes from. Dr. Hill, not being young when he started his second career in psychology, had planned to start a clinic styled practice even while still in graduate school. The intention even in the dreaming phase was to create a high-quality mental health service using a professional model. The names are combinations of Dr. Hill’s youngest two son’s middle and first names. The combination of Parker Collins sounded the most professional of the combinations Dr. Hill could come up with lacking any capital to spend on a design firm. The idea is that the name should represent a professional mental health clinic, not a custom boutique group with a narrower purpose. Further, the values of family mental health care was central and the names of children in the title was a way to capture this value.

Since the founding Dr. Hill quickly added back-office staff support with the hiring of Alexander Rutz in July of 2013, and two therapists in September of 2013, including Soo Moon who later initiated her buy in as a co-owner on January 1, 2015. Dr. Hill and Soo first met when Dr. Hill completed a PsyD practicum at Guadalupe Alternative Programs (GAP) and Soo worked at GAP as student worker while a student in the Marriage and Family Therapy program at Argosy University. Little did they know at that time that they would later become business partners.

Amanda Westpfahl joined Parker Collins as an Admin Assistant in 2015 and was quickly promoted to Office Manager. Amanda’s leadership has been essential to the growth of Parker Collins and the ability for us to provide quality customer service to our clients, referring providers, teachers, and community social workers. Currently, Amanda is enrolled in a master’s program and plans to become a Psychologist while continuing to provide Office management to admin staff.

Parker Collins has grown from 1 clinic location to 3 when the Maple Grove location opened in November of 2019, and Minneapolis location in 2022. Maple Grove location was selected with careful consideration due to increased need for AIR Network trained Clinicians in NW metro area. Dr. Phyllis Solon, PsyD LP has been one of our mentors and is one of the founders/trainers for Adaptive Internal Relational Model (AIR) Network training through Midwest Center for Trauma and Healing. Parker Collins has developed a reputation for the group’s competencies with DID, complex trauma and PTSD, child and family psychological care, and empowerment focused trauma designed psychological evaluations. Our Minneapolis location was added as part of our every growing need for space and ability to provide services.

With the combined leadership of Soo and Dr. Hill, the group has added staff, specific clinical focus areas, and currently provides care for up to 200 client a week. Currently Parker Collins has 20 Clinicians, 7 administration staff, and four predoctoral students. Parker Collins Clinicians are trained in EMDR, Accelerated Resolution Therapy, AIR Network, Clinical Hypnosis, trauma designed Psychological Evaluations, training offerings that include predoctoral practicum training, and a commercial course for the advanced assessment of trauma and dissociative spectrum disorders.

Parker Collins has been and remains committed to standing up and speaking out against systemic racism internally within our group as well as in our communities. We stand in solidarity with the communities affected by the hate, discrimination, and violence committed by White supremacists and institutions including local law enforcement. It is our stance that change must take place for oppressed communities to have justice. Our future plans include providing more inclusive care offerings for the BIPOC communities near us, to add extended treatment options including trauma skills group, parent/family support groups, and to grow our staff to serve our communities with care, skill, and respect. Parker Collins also believes supporting our mental health providers, including ensuring safety for BIPOC/LGBTQIA Clinicians and staff. While we strive to provide respectful engagement with our community members, we also expect the same respectful engagement from clients towards our mental health providers and staff.