By: Kim Ritchie
Quick note: We have this person at our practice who is very special. To me as the owner. To our therapists. To our team as a whole. And to every person that reaches out to us at Marble Wellness. That person is our Client & Project Coordinator, Kim Ritchie. Kim handles, amongst other job duties, all inquiries that come into the practice. By phone, email, Facebook messenger, website contact form…..you name it, Kim is who you land with. And she handles it all. And does so with incredible empathy, a sharp eye for what therapist would be a good match for that caller, and so much more.
Because her ears and heart gather the most from the very beginning, I asked her to write a blog that compiled some of the themes of what she hears. I thought it might be helpful to others who are thinking about reaching out about getting started with counseling in St. Louis—whether that’s postpartum therapy or couples counseling or any other therapy we offer in St. Louis, but who aren’t quite there yet, to get an idea of what others are saying. While it probably isn’t an exact match, it might help you realize you aren’t alone in some of the things you think you might say, and might have some apprehension about saying!
Kim has heard A LOT. And like our therapists, she gives you space, has no judgement, and wishes you the best for healing and happiness.
Therapy.. The thing that tends to be at the verrrrrry bottom of priority lists!
Well, we get it… Therapy can be an intimidating thought and a thought that tends to take the back seat.
Life is busy and as you move about your day-to-day life, you may tend to just settle on the way you feel instead of making it a priority to nurture your emotional self and fix the things that tend to weigh you down.
That gloomy cloud that seems to tag along with you from week to week doesn’t have permission to follow you anymore once you find us. Marble Wellness is here to help you find the sunshine again! Instead of dreading the days, weeks, holidays or events – – we can guide you in finding joy again, in *all* the things (okay, we’re a little more realistic than that. So maybe not *all* of the things, but definitely *more* of the things!).
Being the first point of contact for Marble Wellness leads to conversations that push me to want to help. I have a true passion for wanting to assist each and every client. I want to aid in getting you back to enjoying all that life has to offer, because life is short and if you can’t enjoy the little things and simple things—the things that fill the normal days–then that’s not much of a way to live.
Each person calling in has a different set of life challenges, experiences and struggles but many hold commonalities. Fears of therapy, time commitment and believe it or not, excitement for their first session + a step toward getting better.
It’s funny how some of the things we tend to put off our whole lives can be life changing with one simple call.
And that call to me is a warm one… I am here to listen and guide you to the best therapists for you. You deserve someone who cares.
By the end of my conversations, clients seem to feel heard and relieved… Relieved to have finally made the step to bettering themselves or their relationships.. Because once you improve, heal, and evolve yourself …everything around you tends to get better as well.
Here are a list of 4 things I hear the most when clients call in about starting counseling:
1. “I should have made this call months ago”
Procrastination is the thief of time. Don’t put off the call. The 10 minute call to Marble Wellness will be the call to change your life. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
We also encourage you to reach out anytime. You can give us a call on a Saturday morning (we’ll get back to you Monday), email us at 1:37 am on a Tuesday when you’ve woken up and can’t fall back asleep and think “okay, I’m done with this nonsense, it’s truly time to make a change”, or use our online contact form to reach out during the workday when you’re between meetings. Any form of contact is fine with us—you start getting the ball rolling, and we will help you take it from there.
2. “I want to take care of myself for once and get back to feeling like me again”
Life is all about balance and when you constantly put others before you, you become imbalanced which can lead to unhappiness. When you prioritize yourself, everything else will just fall into its place.
Sure, it will take work. And sometimes that work will be hard. But you can do it and we can help! Therapy can help you get yourself back on the priority list, without making you drop a different ball and face disaster.
3. “Thanks for calling me back — many other practices have not returned my call.”
The world just is overwhelmed right now, our sector notwithstanding. Our hearts and good vibes for health and strength go out to our overworked, overburdened colleagues in the mental health field. On our end, we recognize how precarious that first phone call is and do everything we can to call you or email you back in the same day you reach out to us, but by the next business day for sure! We also make it a priority to get back to all clients, even if it’s not a type of therapy we offer or we are not the best fit. We know how important these calls are, how valuable your time is, and want to meet you where you are, especially when you’ve finally worked up the courage to make that call about starting therapy.
4. “Let’s get my session started this week – I am ready.”
So many people, once that energy and commitment has built up and broken above the surface, are ready to deal with the symptoms of anxiety, depression, life transition, grief, or so many other things.
We love to schedule clients for a session in the same week that they call. It’s time to keep that momentum going! We will do our best to get your first session scheduled as quickly as we can. We understand that by the time you call us, you were ready to start therapy months ago! Of course, if schedules don’t work out for that same week, we will still get you scheduled ASAP within that same phone call.
If you or someone you know is ready to start therapy or simply just ask some questions, please give us a call! We would love to welcome you to our practice where we help our clients to live calmer, happier and more fulfilled lives!
** I am looking forward to chatting with you and assisting your therapy needs! **
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Additional Counseling Services at Marble Wellness in St. Louis, MO and Chicago, IL
Counseling services designed to help set you on a path of living a more fulfilled, calm, and happy life.
St. Louis
Our St. Louis team of therapists have a variety of training backgrounds and areas of expertise. We specialize in anxiety, depression, grief, chronic illness, therapy for men, couples, and maternal overwhelm. We can also help new moms with various postpartum concerns, moms in the thick of parenting, and moms with teens. We can also chat from wherever you are in the state with online therapy in Missouri and online therapy in Illinois. No matter where you are in your journey, we would love to support you.
Chicago
Our Chicago team of therapists offer a wide range of mental health services to help our clients through the different challenges and hurdles in their life. In addition to anxiety, depression, grief, therapy for men, and maternal overwhelm, we are specialized in professional burnout, therapy for breakups, and love partnering with working moms.
