Mental health services recently added
The Business:
Foundations Therapy opened its doors in Menomonie in August of 2013. It started in a small office near the Shops Off Broadway, offering pediatric occupational therapy services. More space was needed with the addition of speech and physical therapy, and a move was made to a larger office on South Broadway.
In 2021, Foundations Therapy opened a second location in New Richmond. As the Menomonie office continued to grow, another move became necessary. In December 2022, they opened in their current location on the 3rd floor of the City Building at 800 Wilson Avenue.
The Owner:
Emily Hanson grew up in Menomonie and graduated from MHS in 2003. She attended UW LaCrosse, where she earned a degree in Occupational Therapy. She worked in private practice for a few years before deciding to open her own business. Emily credits her dad, Michael Wolf, owner of Country Doctors Veterinary Service, for encouraging her to open her own business.
About the Business:
Foundations Therapy provides pediatric therapy services - occupational, physical, and speech therapy - for children with ADHD, autism, motor coordination delays, and more. In addition, a mental health program was added in July 2022.
Foundations Therapy also offers Bridge Programs. These are inclusive adaptive programs for improving balance, coordination, muscle memory, motor planning, rate/rhythm, listening skills, and socialization.
In addition, they provide educational events for families and the community, such as a sensory-friendly Santa visit.
Hours and contact information:
The Menomonie office is open from 9am-6pm Monday through Thursday.
The New Richmond office is open from 9am-6pm, Tuesday through Thursday.
Both offices are closed on Fridays.
Foundations therapy can be reached by phone at 715-953-2100 and by email at info@foundationstherapy.org
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Having a sister with disabilities has given owner Emily Hanson a special awareness of the challenges facing families of children with disabilities. She also recognized the need to bring therapy services to a rural community.
“Having therapy services available to children in rural communities is so important,” said Hanson. “Menomonie was the natural fit when I decided to start my own business. My goal is to bring quality therapy to the area so kids can achieve independence, increase participation in various activities, enhance motor skills, and expand learning opportunities.”
Take a tour of Foundations Therapy, and you will see children learning while they play. Swings, scooters, climbing equipment, small trampolines, large soft cushions, balls, bubbles, paint, clay, and toys of all kinds are the tools of pediatric therapy.
“Our therapy is play-based,” explains Hanson. “We believe kids should be kids, and therapy should be fun. It keeps the kids motivated, open to new challenges, and, ultimately, more successful.”
Foundations will be celebrating ten years in business this August. They have grown from Hanson being the sole therapist to thirteen therapists and two administrative staff. Moving to their new space has given them much-needed room to serve their clients better. It has given them more privacy and has allowed them to expand their services, such as the recently added mental health counseling for both kids and parents.
“Parents were reaching out to us to help with the stresses of parenting kids with special needs,” said Hanson. “We knew counseling was hard to access, so we decided to bring in that missing piece to help care for our kids and their families.”
"Each person in the family affects the others. Providing support for the parents is important as they navigate their emotions and the emotions of their child”, said Olivia Hageness, mental health counselor. “We’re helping the family system gather awareness and understanding into their emotions and behaviors and helping the family find their own unique coping skills.”
Foundations is now in-network with a wide variety of insurance companies for their mental health services. In addition, they offer a reasonable hourly cash rate for those out of network or who choose to private pay.
Foundations Therapy provides a much-needed service to parents and kids in and around Menomonie. The staff at Foundations Therapy understand the challenges facing families with special needs children and can help make a difficult journey much easier to navigate.
For more information, check out their website and Facebook page.
