At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of mental health professionals came together to brainstorm ways they could improve the mental health and wellness among minority children and adults in inadequately resourced, underrepresented, and underserved communities. When considering the formation of this organization, we wanted to make sure we focused on four essential components:  mental health education, services, financial support for therapy, and resources. 

Lack of mental health access in certain communities has always been a problem; however, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this issue. Our founder, who is a mental health clinician, was able to experience this firsthand as she received an abundance of calls and emails from individuals seeking therapy services. Many experienced health problems, employment losses, the untimely deaths of family members, friends, and colleagues, in addition to financial hardship. During that time there was an increased need for mental health services due to the negative impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on so many.  

The barriers that these individuals faced were many. They did not have insurance due to job loss, their insurance did not cover mental health treatment, they could not afford their co-pay or deductible, they could not connect with a therapist that empathized with their cultural needs, many were not accepting new clients or accepting their insurance. 

As mental health professionals, we assist clients with problem solving and creating viable solutions. The barriers that these individuals faced were major and we wanted to address them by offering a program and service that could meet their needs. As a result, we established Cultivating & Embracing Change, Inc in January 2021. Our goal is to cultivate change in individuals and embrace them with therapy, education, resources, and financial support for additional therapy services outside the scope of this group, so that a positive outcome can occur. Our goal is to also provide preventive services through mental health education. If individuals are educated on the signs and symptoms of mental health, they are more likely to accept treatment, services and resources.