The Women's Initiative provides mental health services to women regardless of their financial situation. Receiving good mental health support can improve physical health, relationships, and how you feel about the world and yourself, and The Women's Initiative is making that accessible to all women. Learn more about their impactful programs here.
Talk to me about the need for The Women’s Initiative — why is mental health care so hard to come by for women?
Mental health care has honestly become hard to come by for most folks, but our organization recognizes that women and people of marginalized gender identities face extra discrimination in the healthcare system. Between navigating financial struggles and the complexity of our insurance system, the massive effort it can take to find affirming mental health care can lead people to give up before even finding a therapist. Many of our clients also have to consider childcare and other family responsibilities that make seeking out their own support more challenging. These are some of the reasons that we have walk-in and call-in clinics. During these clinic times, individuals can meet with a therapist the same day they reach out. That way, they can get support without having to make a bunch of phone calls or getting insurance approval. We may not be the right therapeutic provider for everyone who reaches out, but we can at least provide each person with one session and some next steps.
What is your goal for a woman who enters The Women’s Initiative?
My hope is that each person who walks into one of our offices feels safe and respected. Seeking mental health support can be a vulnerable experience; we want people to know that they are welcome from the moment they walk in the door. As an organization, we’re committed to creating a safe, welcoming space for women and gender-expansive folks of all backgrounds and infusing compassion into all aspects of care.
What are some of the services you provide and who they are catered to?
The Women’s Initiative provides individual counseling, group counseling, and social support programs that create opportunities for healing through the arts and mind and body connection.Our groups are open to women and gender-expansive folks regardless of their financial resources, while our individual counseling is specifically for those who may not be able to afford quality mental health care in the community. Because we recognize how identities, life experiences, and discrimination impact an individual’s healing process, particularly for groups who experience systemic oppression, we also offer specific programming to meet the healing needs of Black, Latinx, people of color, people with refugee status, and individuals who identify as LGBTQ+.
What is your favorite part of your job?
I love meeting new clients and hearing their stories. I feel privileged to receive that level of trust and to get to support folks during some of the harder moments in their lives. I also love being a part of my team at The Women’s Initiative. We provide a lot of support for one another, which makes it easier to hold the weight of the work we do as frontline providers.