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Month: May 2018

Healthy Strides Announcements

The team have a few announcements to make!

First, as of last week, Healthy Strides accepts Blue Choice Preferred insurance programs. This opens up a very small but very section of the population in Macon and surrounding counties.

Also, be on the lookout for a new group program run by Laura and Kim for teen girls! Much much more to come as we get closer.

Finally, in the next few days we will begin the process of getting Laura loaded into insurance panels. When that happens we will be opening a set of hours on Friday! More to come as well.

Have a great day!

Healthy Strides Welcomes Laura to the Team!

Healthy Strides is very proud to welcome Laura Butts as our new psychotherapist! Laura is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Illinois and has experience in trauma work. She is excited to expand into new ideas for Healthy Strides. Laura has expressed interest in expanding offerings for couples and family therapy. She has practice in community, hospital, and private settings and works with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Narrative, and Solution-Based approaches.

Laura has a passion for creative arts and enjoys photography and painting. She is prepared to bring a wealth of information to Healthy Strides.

 

So what does this mean to Healthy Strides? First, you have amazing option and expanded hours. Laura will begin to enter services slowly, largely on Friday. Over time as she gains a client base, she will have an increasing schedule available. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Laura will be able to bill Medicare, an insurance service previously unavailable to Healthy Strides. We will be updating you as Laura’s hours become available.

 

We welcome Laura and we are ever so pleased to have such a wonderful therapist on staff. She will bring empowerment and caring to the deserving members of Central Illinois.

 

Welcome Laura!

Update on Kane

I’m often reminded that intelligence is not negated by neurodiverse communication or learning styles. In the past week I was shown proof with two different clients. It’s important to remember that people think, act, and speak in different ways. We have to change our thinking on autism spectrum disorder!
Several months ago when we started accepting our first clients, we met Kane. (photo’s approved for public use by Melanie Lynn – mother)
 
When we had our first several weeks of sessions we never knew if were going to have a clam day or a bit of a meltdown. It occurred to Kim and I that regardless of behavior, Kane had a lot to say to us. When we stopped listening with only our ears and started listening with all of our senses, it became exceedingly clear that Kane was very intelligent. He thinks hard and makes decisions that any 8-year old would make. In fact, he makes decisions that an older child w

ould make. He has the smarts!
The only appreciable difference is that Kane communicates different than what we are accustomed to hear. Because of that, it is very easy to dismiss someone with autism or any mental health or physical condition as unintelligent. This could not be further from the truth!
We need to start changing our language rapidly to break free from the mold created by our biases.
Let’s start today!