Over the past two years, through sheer dedication and love for this work, I’ve been able to expand my private psychotherapy practice, Chasing Serenity Psychotherapy, in meaningful ways.

We’ve grown from a solo operation into a small but mighty team, including one licensed clinician, a biller, and an additional clinical supervisor, to help meet the mental health needs of the BIPOC community.

With persistence and commitment, I’ve also expanded my licensure to include New Jersey and Connecticut, making our practice accessible across the Tri-State area. We are now proudly certified as a Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) by New York State, positioning us to collaborate with city agencies and initiatives, though unfortunately, many government contracts still remain out of reach for smaller practices like ours. Also, due to the political climate, it has been difficult to locate grant funding for BIPOC initiatives.

In spite of these limitations, we continue to serve. We’ve partnered with amazing nonprofit organizations such as Black Men Heal, Therapy for Black Girls, Sad Girls Club, The Loveland Foundation, Sol Health, and Cool Kids Go to Therapy to increase our reach and serve the community. Also, we are proud to announce that we have been able to provide therapy to over 50+ deserving individuals from BIPOC communities over the past two years.

In 2024, thanks to your support, we also awarded two scholarships to young men of color pursuing careers in the trades. I’m thrilled to report that both recipients successfully completed their programs and have since launched into their respective fields.

Now, we’re looking to do even more.

Here is how your contribution will help us:

- Launch Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in partnership with NASW, equipping current and future social workers with culturally responsive training. The application is $900.00 with the state and that’s a hefty price tag for our practice at this time. 

- Grow our team so we can serve more clients across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

- Expand our scholarship program with Bold.org to support more students of color pursuing education in both academic and trade settings.

- Sustain and deepen our partnerships with nonprofits serving marginalized communities.

You should know that this is more than a private practice, this is a place of healing in an ever changing world. Every dollar brings us closer to a future where culturally affirming mental health care is not a luxury, but a standard.

Thank you for believing in our work. Thank you for helping us build something bigger than ourselves.

With gratitude,

Mavis Smith, LCSW, CEO