An integral part of the Full Circle of Health® model is Good Sam's behavioral health department, where I proudly serve as the lead mental health counselor. I have always known that I wanted to be a "people helper." I became a therapist with the intent of helping people restore a sense of hope and belief in themselves and in their God-given capacity to persevere and overcome. Each day, I am in awe at the tenacity, determination, and resourcefulness of my patients as they strive to manage everyday life while fighting to overcome issues such as depression, anxiety, personality disorders, homelessness, and the residual effects of various trauma-related events. The client's desire for a better life strengthens their resolve to keep going, show up in therapy, and obtain the tools needed to change and grow.

In 2019, the counseling team completed 1,351 mental health-related patient encounters. Two instrumental factors in our ability to serve our patients is through our Graduate Internship Program and with the empirically validated therapies we utilize in our patient care.

Good Sam maintains ongoing partnerships with master's level counseling programs in the Atlanta area. Each year, we serve as the placement site to facilitate a year-long internship for counselors who are entering the final year of their program. The internship program serves the critical function of increasing Good Sam's capacity to provide counseling services for a higher number of patients, and we are grateful we can extend our reach to those in need.

Research shows that living in a persistent state of lack can have damaging effects on one's mental, emotional, and physical health. Many of our patients experience the effects of this lifestyle and come to us to find solutions and gain the resources/tools to construct a better way of life. We assist our patients through various interventions such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (a thought reframing approach), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (an emotion regulation and distress tolerance approach), and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy (a trauma resolution focused approach). All of these interventions are essential to helping our patients overcome life's hardships.

Jackie, for example, shares how counseling at Good Sam has positively affected her life: “I started therapy in college and grew frustrated because I was always taking one step forward and three steps back as I had to change therapists every semester. Finding counseling through Good Sam allowed me continuous care with one person so I could truly make progress. Therapy is not a celebrated staple in the African-American community, so it was a challenge for me not only to accept the help but also to embrace that seeking counseling did not make me flawed. It meant I was working towards a better version of myself. I like to think of the process as talking to a friend, but the entire conversation is focused on me. It is my one hour per week that is created to focus on me and no one else. I love getting another perspective from an unbiased party. I know Novell has my best interest at heart even when she is saying things I might not want to hear. I love our patient-therapist relationship because I can be unfiltered, raw, and my true authentic self. When speaking to friends, they bring in their own opinions and possibly (or often) overshadow your specific situation and issues, which can be discouraging. Therapy is my "me-time" but better because I'm not spinning out of control with my thoughts, I have an outside voice that knows me very well to remind me of things and give me other's perspectives and help me understand to ultimately move forward.”

All we do would not be possible without our donors' generosity, and with your ongoing support, we can continue our work and explore more ways to help. Thank you!

Novell Blain, LPC
Clinical Counselor