The new facility opened in September at 5631 Ohio 125 in West Union, Ohio. (Provided)
By Ashley McCarty
People’s Defender
Whole Life Counseling is a new agency serving the community’s mental and behavioral health.
The facility began seeing clients on Sept. 7.
“Three years ago, the central location opened in Chillicothe, Ohio. It’s a very committed and successful group practice,” said Owner and CEO Lesha Malone.
The agency hosts dual-licensed clinicians with diverse experiences that fuel the ability to relate to their clientele. The current roster of licensed clinicians at the West Union location includes Malone, Iris Ziegenhardt, a Licensed Independent Social Worker and Hannah Ziegenhardt, also a Licensed Social Worker who specializes in trauma work and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy). Kenneth Larimore who is also a Licensed Independent Social Worker is the Clinical Supervisor and Regional Manager for the agency.
“We’re a mental and behavioral health facility. We have dual-licensed and highly specialized clinicians that are licensed by the Chemical Dependency Board and the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board. We provide family counseling, mental health, addiction treatment and the owner is a certified trauma professional, chemical dependency and eating disorder specialist. The owner emphasized that lots of people have all three disorders, and lots of people have at least two. Eighty percent of individuals with substance-use disorders have mental health; many professionals will say the percentage is higher than that. So, we want to address it all together,” explained Malone.
This comprehensive approach mirrors the name Whole Life Counseling.
“We’re addressing the whole aspect of the person and not just the one disorder. Something that is important to mention is that we provide treatment for adolescents and adults. We can help the whole family,” said Hannah Ziegenhardt.
The whole-life approach is an important component of their services.
“There is a biological, social, biopsychosocial and spiritual component. We want to look at all of that and really put self-care as the priority of mental health treatment. So, nutrition, sleep, exercise are important components to assess in treatment. We actively assess on crucial things such as: how are they taking care of themselves, are you connecting with people? do you have positive prosocial support? are you watching, listening and surrounding yourself with mostly positive things? Are you addressing your spirit at all? A higher power or, if your spirituality is that you feel good in nature, engaging in art, praying or write you doing that every day or week?” said Malone.
The clinicians also dedicate time to educate clients about treatment.
“When my mother first took me to treatment as a young child, after when I experienced a lot of trauma, counseling didn’t work for me I had a bad experience, so she never took me back. She,
like some people, didn’t know or understand, that sometimes the fit isn’t there, you may have to try a couple to find the right fit. Be sure to know what the therapist specializes in for your or your child’s specific needs.” said Malone. “Along with finding the right fit, it is also a crucial component to find the right time,” added Ziegenhardt.
“To segway off of what she was saying, this is our passion. This is a passion for us, so our goal is to provide the best care, not just numbers. If that means devoting extra time to our client, we’ll do that, because we want them to be successful,” said Ziegenhardt.
In the past, Malone also harbored skepticism for medication. Now, she is a proponent, after she became more educated about it.
“There was a time I didn’t believe in medication. Then, when my own son was hospitalized several times for depression and suicidality, I was forced to depend on them. I realized that medication was a tool along with validating support and spirituality saved his life. If needed, we will provide clients with education on the whole situation. In addition to therapy, we challenge clients to take a look at what they can be doing outside of therapy to overcome their hardships,” said Malone.
In Appalachian culture, they see a lot of generational helplessness.
“If we can plant a little seed of faith, hope and potential, that’s incredible. That can change lives,” said Ziegenhardt.
They don’t want to just look at people’s behaviors.
“That’s the worst mistake we can make. We want to hold people accountable, but we want to find out what is causing the behavior. Disorders do not need to be a person’s identity, they are symptoms and conditions, an illness a person may be dealing with. We work with clients to motivate them, when ready… not to just manage but to overcome and live their best life,” said Malone.
Whole Life Counseling advocacy is far-reaching and encompassing across the whole spectrum of the community. Legally involved clients are also welcome as therapy helps manage added stressors. The agency works with courts and probation to help support clients to be successful in the community and have another chance to reinvent their stories.
The office is currently accepting intake screenings. Interested individuals may call 740-771-9022 to get routed through to the five-minute intake screening process. Services can also be accessed through the website at https://www.wlcsllc.com/. Potential clientele can click on a tab where they can request to schedule an appointment. Messages are also accepted on their Facebook page Whole Life Counseling Services.
“We provide evening and weekend session availability. A lot of the time, people have lives, jobs; kids may have sports. So, we’re able to meet their needs after hours. We are able to get people in immediately within one to seven days,” said Ziegenhardt.
Whole Life Counseling is paneled with several insurances, takes private pay as well as self-pay.
“We accept Medicaid and also have a sliding fee scale and payment options. If people have insurance that we’re not on panel with, or they can’t afford self-pay, they can turn in their finances and we can evaluate it,” said Malone.
They want to do that to help people, she said.
“We’re excited about this opportunity. It’s an incredible journey that we’re on and we can’t wait to bring the community in with us,” said Ziegenhardt.
