Help Continue Our Fight for Better Mental Health

After 24 years of working in a Mental Health Nonprofit, struggling through the impact of Covid-19 to the profession and learning that in a few months your vehicle for doing your life’s calling will go away in a blink of an eye, you question everything. What did the Lord want of me/want of us?

I knew I was to continue counseling, but how? I knew that I had clients that needed to continue their treatment and colleagues that wanted to continue as much as I did, serving this demographic. With not much time to wait, a few of the Therapists and I decided to move ahead with God’s grace. We agreed that we needed to continue the work of serving the mental health communities, who were multiethnic, multicultural families, couples, married couples, children and individuals. Between the four of us clinicians our years in the ministry of serving and providing services to the community was over eighty (80) years.

We made the decision to continue as a remnant of Christian Counseling Associates, Inc. (CCA), who closed their doors, after 43 years, and transferred their interest to Share Life Gifts, Inc (SLG) a new nonprofit who could provide us nonprofit status as a subsidiary of their entity. Candace Smith Tucker is the owner of SLG. We thus, became Christian Counseling Group, LLC. We opened our doors on January 3rd, 2023.

Our steps were filled with discouragement and sleepless nights. Our clients stayed steadfast, some cried when they heard that CCA was closing. Some were so grateful that we were not going to leave them, they asked to be placed on a waiting list for when their insurances were accepted. Their faith in our commitment reminded us that our Father would not bring us this far to leave us.

We did not know the battle would test our commitment to the cause, and that it would strengthen our resolve. We are a group of committed clinicians. We are not necessarily businesspeople. We had to pray and seek the Lord. Every step of the way there were pitfalls. We prayed for direction and our Lord brought us a Nehemiah.

We continue to struggle with outdated computers. We had to learn how to reapply for recrendialling with the various insurance companies. We have three (3) part-time staff members, two contractors, and 4 therapists. Our staff and therapists are in need of new computers to support our insurance billing and communications portfolios. Our commitment and mission continues to be an agent of change, enabling persons through listening, using therapy skills, and applying Biblical values to restore peoples’ lives. We have invested and volunteered our time. We have forgone salaries in order to pay staff. Though we were credentialed with the various insurance companies, when we transferred to Christian Counseling Group, LLC, (CCG) the various insurance companies requested new applications, which meant up to 120 days days before re-securing them. Our agency was built on being able to provide service to our clients using their own insurances. When we could not receive those benefits, we had to request out of pocket payment to clients that wanted a therapy session. This was difficult for the clients. Out of pocket payments or out of network payments are not equal to in network payments. This was not ideal, but it was a temporary step to keep the doors open. We visited various banks seeking loans for our new start up. However, as we were denied credit due to not having a credit footprint, but alternatively, we were offered high interest loan rates if we took out a loan against our personal credit’.

The vision for CCG is to provide mental health counseling using insurance reimbursement, see anyone who wants to see us. We have a history of seeing multiethnic, multicultural families, couples, individuals and adolescents. We are currently waiting on being able to be recredentialed. We are in desperate need of funds to cover salaries, purchase computers, and pay our rent. Through negotiation with various leasing agencies, our Lord helped us to be able to remain in the same building as we did before the transfer but we significantly reduced the space to get something more affordable Our clients will have the same number to call, and the same location for in-person session. Every day our staff receives about five (5) calls an hour with inquires for support and therapy. There is a mental health crisis. In the past our therapists have seen 200 to 300 clients a month. People are hurting. As committed Christian Counselors, we understand that while there are other Christian counselors there aren’t enough. We treat trauma, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, life crisis, grief and loss, and other mental health issues. We are not able to do it all but we hope to make a positive impact. We cannot fix everything, but we are doing our best to make a dent in the crisis. We are asking for funds to cover one month's salary and to purchase 6 computers. Any small gift is appreciated and we are grateful for you taking this journey with us through your gift.