About Us
My Why
I started Whitestar Wellness, S.C. because in my 10 years of being a social worker I noticed that there was something lacking from a lot of traditional mental health care- the focus on connection and authenticity over labels. While diagnoses and therapy modalities serve their purposes and can help inform us in ways, I have always been passionate about making sure whoever I am in the room with feels like they are treated from a humanistic lens above all else. I wanted to create a business focused on treating the whole person and helping people to live in their most authentic form of themselves, without the labels.
President/Owner
1 +
Years Experience
The Story Behind The Name
Whitestar was the name of my mother’s horse, named after the white star that marked her forehead. One night, in 1961, the family barn burned down, yet miraculously, all the horses escaped. It is believed that Whitestar, who had learned how to open gates by herself, unlocked the stalls for the other horses, allowing them to escape and make it out alive.
Whitestar and her story was the inspiration for the name because therapy (both psychotherapy and equine therapy) is really a process of opening up new gates for people to walk through. People often come into therapy saying that they are feeling “stuck,” much like a horse in a stall. My hope is that through new experiences, self-exploration, and true connection that you will feel like whatever gates you are feeling stuck in are suddenly open for you to walk through.
Meet Our Team
qualities that mean you can place your trust in them.
Shamari Saleem MS, LPC-IT
Elissa Box LPC
Brei Hileman, MSW, APSW
Ariel Namowicz MSW, LCSW
Katie Slater
Integrative, Humanistic, Holistic care
Popular Question
Of course! You will come into therapy either via telehealth or in-person and sit together with your therapist. In your first session, your therapist will gather information about why you are coming into therapy and about your history. Then, together you will come up with a treatment plan to work towards your goals. From there, you will come in as often as you see fit (weekly, biweekly, monthly, etc.) and work in collaboration with your therapist towards your goals.
Absolutely! We will go over your HIPAA rights in your intake paperwork but put simply- everything said in therapy stays in therapy with some rare exceptions. These exceptions only occur if the therapist has valid reasons to believe the client is a risk of harming themselves or someone else or if a therapist is subpoenaed by a court (which can also be argued at times). If any of these kinds of disclosures need to be made this will be something that the client will be aware of prior to it happening and no disclosure will occur with client’s knowledge. Whitestar Wellness S.C. also ensure that your records are kept safely and securely and our telehealth platform is HIPAA compliant.
We respectfully ask that you give a notice of at least 24 hours before a cancellation of any appointment. If cancellation is not made within 24 hours, the client may be billed $50 for the session. If the client misses three or more sessions without proper notification, services may be terminated.
For psychotherapy, We take most major insurance companies. Once you call in for your intake session please have your insurance card present so that we can confirm that we do take your insurance. We also suggest that you contact the number on the back of your insurance card prior to calling to see if we are in your network. While we will bill your insurance and obtain authorization for treatment, it is always the client’s responsibility to know the limitations of his/her insurance and to know what services have been authorized. Please notify us promptly of changes to your insurance. If you have a copayment via your insurance, we will be sure we have that information and will ask you to pay your copayment prior to each session.
- Our psychotherapy office is located at 15285 Watertown Plank Rd, Suite #102
Elm Grove, WI 53122
- Our Equine therapy is performed at Green Ridge Stables, located at 26098
Lindsay Rd, Pewaukee, WI 53072
“Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.”