Full disclosure, in case you were wondering...

I'm sure there are people who visit Navigate's webpage and wonder if it's legit. They may wonder why I'm working as a mental health coach instead of a regular ol' therapist. I'm here to dispel any wild ideas, and offer complete transparency for my motivations.

When I went back to school for a degree in counseling after working about 8 years as an English instructor, I was optimistic. I was ready to help people in a more direct way--as a therapist, working one-on-one with adults who were dealing with a range of mental health concerns. What I didn't realize was that the road to licensure (the thing that makes it possible to run your own private practice), and getting credentialed to accept health insurance for different providers costed even more money than the thousands of dollars I had already invested to get my degree. And we're not talking about one-time fees. There were dues, ongoing education credits, a national certification test that was hundreds of dollars (and expired after a few years unless you gave them more money!). Without having licensure supervision built into where I was working, I would have also had to pay close to a hundred dollars for every hour I worked with a licensed supervisor (you need one of those to qualify for the licensure process). All those costs add up, and working in community mental health, I barely made enough to buy groceries and pay rent, let alone pay for all these additional costs.

The community mental health model is also part of the larger healthcare model in the United States that anyone paying attention knows is in dire need of some major overhaul. The therapists I was working with had enormous case-loads (including myself). On top of having to keep records to appease the insurance companies, from time to time I had to justify the treatment plans I had developed with my clients to meet their self-identified goals. Insurance companies attempted to dictate, in some cases, what I should be focusing on with my clients, without taking into consideration where they were in their own journey toward better mental health. Slowly but surely I was gaining the experience and supervision I needed to qualify for licensure. But it wasn't happening fast enough to prevent burnout.

In the fall of 2019, after working for 3 years at a community facility, I decided that my own mental health was in need of a change of pace. I couldn't take care of myself properly, and the overwhelming caseload and disproportionate compensation were no longer sustainable. I stepped away completely from counseling, and took a job as a receptionist in an office that was a block away from where I lived. Then the pandemic hit, and I ended up with some time on my hands to think about how I wanted my life to look. I found myself fantasizing about having my own community center, and being able to dedicate more time to helping the community. But that seemed like such a pipe dream. Even stepping back into the role of therapist seemed...wrong. It didn't feel like the right path for me.

The few months that I was unemployed, I felt the pull of wanting to work with individuals again. But I wanted to do it on my own terms. My best friend had experience running a nonprofit business, so I started to do my homework. I set up a fundraiser to get some help with startup costs, and in a little over a year, I was able to establish Navigate with Support Co. as a nonprofit, tele-health service to provide mental health coaching to adults located anywhere. The nonprofit piece is dedicated to helping people in the LGBTQIA+ community, my community, because I know how grossly underserved it is, and I know how helpful it is to meet with a professional who has more insights into the types of issues we encounter living in a society where so much is still geared toward straight, white, cis people.

The appeal of working online is that I can reach the people who are compatible with my approach and style of work from all over the world. It's a little scary venturing into the unknown--there aren't any people I've talked with who are trying to do what I'm doing on a smaller scale. So a lot of times it feels like I'm out here like some sort of cyber-pioneer woman. But the fact is that I have a solid foundation. My background in education and counseling and the hundreds of hours I've spent working with adults have provided me with the experience I need to know where my strengths are, how I can be most helpful, and how I can be of service to the community who needs me.

So that's it. That's the big secret behind why I ended up a mental health coach instead of taking a more conventional route toward becoming a licensed therapist. And who knows--if I am able to, maybe eventually I will pay all the money to get more letters behind my name. But I'm going to help people whether I have those extra credentials or not, and it will be an honor and a privilege to connect with every single person who reaches out to me for support.

The reason a person's introductory appointment is free is because I believe in letting people decide for themselves whether the service I can offer is right for them. People who decide to stick with me while they work on clear goals for the shorter-term can choose the length of appointments they need that will fit into their schedules. People who have lower income are able to use sliding-scale prices. People who are more financially stable can pay full price, and help to make it possible for me to offer free services to the LGBTQIA+ community.

Eventually, I hope that Navigate will grow into the type of organization that is able to help more people. For now, I am one person doing what I can to be of service while also working to maintain the balance and boundaries necessary to support my own mental health and wellness. I am grateful for what I've been able to establish, and excited to see what becomes of my work as Navigate continues to grow.