When Therapy Isn't Enough: Why we are Expanding to Serve our Clients

Recently someone said to me, "I thought if I just came to therapy, things would just automatically get better." I can't tell you how many times I've wanted a magic wand or a magic bean to take away the pain of the people we work with. I would gladly shut our doors if a magic wand would cure what ails you. But in my years of providing therapy, I've never stumbled upon the wand, and if someone else has, they are not talking.

When I took on firefighters and medics as a client population, I had no idea what I was getting into. And then came the law enforcement, and the veterans, and the emergency communication dispatchers, and the emergency room staff, and the corrections officers. All had similarities in exposure, but very different in so many other ways. But those firefighters, I realized to work with them, I would need to get creative. I joke and say I have three encountered primary populations:

1. Those who will talk because they don't want to take meds.

2. Those who don't want to talk so they take meds.

3. Those who are willing to talk AND take meds, but don't want to do either for the rest of their lives.

I'm ok with all of those.

But how to we integrate the needs of our clients and honor their values? How do we support those non-talkers?

We get creative.....

For Groups #1 and #3, and eventually #2 as well, we did the research. We went to the trainings. We learned what was out there and what was helping others like them. I became a bit of a guinea pig. I never wanted to offer something I wouldn't be willing to do myself; I suppose those are the remnants of management still in me. We tried products. We asked questions and more questions. And from that, Whole House Healing LLC was born. So this is what you have to look forward to in 2020 from us.

In our new space, we have added a large multi-purpose room where we are offering Yoga for our clients, small classes, specifically structured for first responders. And we have classes for our general population clients as well, of course. We have body and energy workers collaborating with us to provide services, non-clinical and focused on the body and its energy. Where we frequently referred out to other practitioners, we're making it easier by bringing them to you.

We also plan to offer trainings and workshops and peer/clinician lead groups; for our our first responder community and those who are or desire to serve them, and those who are experiencing or have experienced trauma.

We also have a new space dedicated to identified alternative and complementary wellness products that support healing from trauma and emotion dysregulation. Here, we offer locally sourced CBD products, essential oil-based products, and even socks and candy. And it's working.

Together with therapy, all these things are resulting in our clients feeling better. It focuses on the "whole house," because we know that one hour of therapy every week or two isn't going to change our world, but we're finding paired with healing of the body and the brain, it will give us the tools and the access to tools that will allow us to make those changes and heal.

If 2020 is your year, let us support you, in any way we can, to make it your best year yet.