5 Years of Serving our SOMD Community

As I sat down to write a blog to include in our September edition of our Hope and Healing newsletter, which is dedicated to the celebration of our 5th anniversary, I realized something. We are gearing up for a big 5th anniversary, but we’ve neglected to celebrate along the way. And, well, that is just sad. I’m not going to start at the beginning because you learn all about it by watching, listening, or reading via one of these options.

But what I am going to do is take you on a little journey….5, 4, 3, 2, 1….blast off!

5 years ago, we started as a one woman show in a one office suite in a small local business building. Five years ago, I had an idea, explored, and with the support of those around me, I started the journey. Maybe you’ll consider listening to The Wing Space Podcast Episode #1 to hear a bit more about the idea of “start, keep going and don’t stop.” Hope and Healing started five years ago as a resource for our community in need of trauma therapists. You’d often find me walking around Leonardtown Square and The Wharf during my Walk and Talk sessions. My idea of holistic mental health care was born.

4 years ago, we had grown from 1 to 4 in our little office suite, and you’d often hear us using the phrase “office tetris” because we had to be creative about who could use the office at any given time. We continued to Walk and Talk with our clients while also adding Psychological Evaluations to our box of tools. (Be sure to subscribe to our podcast to catch an upcoming episode about the benefits of walking). We spent the end of 2019 preparing for a major expansion not knowing that a global pandemic was just around the corner.

3 years ago, we grew from 4 to 6 and added an administrative assistant to our team. We started 2020 in a new office suite with 3 offices, tripling our space. We partnered with wellness collaborators for specialized grief counseling and massage therapy. The Wellness Center model was blooming until March of 2020 came along. On March 17, 2020, we all went home and for the most part everyone stayed at home providing our newest service, telehealth, to our ever-growing caseload of clients. We navigated the pandemic as a team doing all we could to provide support to one another and our clients while being available to our clients for their ever-growing needs. We continued to focus on holistic wellness and it was in 2020 that I also obtained a Faith Based Group Fitness Certification. I was determined to bring yoga and fitness into our model along with the talk therapy, walk and talk therapy, and massage services.

2 years ago, we added 5 more to our team including our first intern, a social media specialist and 3 more therapists. What we learned through 2020 and into 2021 was that the stigma around mental health treatment was going away. I still haven’t figured out if it is because so many people were feeling the isolation and stress of the pandemic, or if telehealth allowed people to engage in therapy without having to walk into a building. Whatever it may have been, our team was busy and we were truly blessed to serve the community of St. Mary’s County. The blessing continued in 2021 as we expanded into Calvert County mirroring our start in St. Mary’s in a one office suite in another provider’s building. By the end of 2021, we were ready for another expansion in Leonardtown as the Wellness Center model came to be.

2 years ago, our biggest expansion to date occurred as 2021 came to an end and 2022 kicked off with the snow storm of all snow storms. Our “grand opening” was delayed due to snow, ice, downed trees, and power outages… but, we persisted. We held our first open house in January and began offering wellness workshops, fitness, yoga and aromatherapy services. Our team went from 10 and 2 wellness collaborators to a team of 12 and 4 wellness collaborators. Our intern became an employee, another intern joined us, and we were filling the halls of our new, much larger location. By the end of 2022, the blessing of Hope and Healing was felt by all. With each employee, intern or wellness collaborator who joined our team, my commitment to them grew stronger. I wanted everyone who worked within the walls of Hope and Healing to love WHERE they worked, WHO they worked with ,and WHAT they did. It is a never-ending journey, but one I am committed to.

1 year ago, as 2023 began, our team was still growing and to date we are a team of 16 with 6 wellness collaborators and a full line up of services. We have mirrored another expansion in Calvert County moving from a shared office to our own suite with 2 offices. As we turn into September and round the corner to our 5th year, I cannot help but look back at the past 5 years with admiration, appreciation, respect, gratitude, and love.

1. I admire the clients who gather the strength to make the first call and step into their first session.

2. I appreciate the staff and wellness collaborators on our team for their tireless commitment to serve our community.

3. I respect the hard work our staff and our clients do each and every day.

4. I am grateful for the staff, clients and community who have trusted me and our team at Hope and Healing to walk with them along their journey of healing and wellness.

5. I love where I work. I love who I work with. I love what I do.

I’ve also been confused by birthdays and anniversaries because we aren’t on year 5 but rather, we’re starting year 6. So, while we are celebrating our 5th anniversary, we are being mindful of what is to come in our 6th year. For us in the mental health field, mindfulness comes from attention to and intentionality in the use of our senses. When our clients are in need of grounding, we tell them to find 5 things they can see, 4 things they can hear, 3 things they can touch, 2 things they can taste and 1 thing they can smell.

So, this 6th year, you will…

See:

1. New staff

2. New programs and services

3. Sales and specials

4. Our new Calvert Office in full swing

5. More of Leonardtown in Walk and Talk therapy promos and services

Hear:

1. A new podcast

2. From our new staff in their meet the therapist interviews

3. From our wellness providers as guests in the podcast to share about their aspect of holistic wellness

4. More about holistic wellness, it’s benefits and how to engage in wellness for your overall well being

Touch:

1. When engaged in new massage and yoga (YoMassage) classes

2. Explore mind body connections to feel the feelings and connect with your thoughts in a healthy way for healing

3. New retail and swag items

Taste:

1. Brenda Jean’s cookies in our lobby

2. The joys of Hershey Kisses, DumDum pops, Smarties and LifeSaver mints.

Smell:

1. Aromatherapy products

In celebration of our anniversary, I close out in true appreciation for you and your support of the us in service to our Southern Maryland community.