Building a Practice with Intention

From the beginning, I wanted Whitestar Wellness to operate differently. Many practices focus on symptom checklists and quick fixes; we focus on the whole person. That means true connections, space for real conversation, and room to understand someone’s lived experience—not just a diagnosis. I chose this approach because healing can only happen when people feel deeply seen, not when they’re reduced to a label.

A person-centered practice at Whitestar Wellness means someone walking through our door is met as a full human being, not as a problem to solve. I cannot express this enough- you are not a problem. We look at the emotional, physical, social, and environmental pieces of life that shape wellbeing. I also ensure that every therapist knows to look at the client through the lens of environmental factors as well. We operate from an anti-oppressive standpoint and do not underestimate the impact of the client’s environment has on why they are seeking therapy.  People can expect care that’s collaborative, curious, and respectful of their story, rather than rigid or prescriptive.

The Importance of Perinatal Mental Health In A Therapy Practice

Perinatal Mental Health became a focus when I personally went through my first pregnancy (I now have a 4-month-old baby boy). During this time, I realized how important it was for women to feel supported in their pregnancy and postpartum experience. Like so many others, I was only given that postpartum screening tool at all of my baby’s appointments without real, true follow-up support for my experience. I either fit into a label or not based on answering 10 questions at every pediatrician’s appointment. I knew that wasn’t enough. (I should say here that I did have some health professionals who did give me that personalized care and support I needed- namely, a nurse at my OBs office and my lactation specialist at Wisco Lactation). I wanted people to know they deserved support, even if they didn’t fit into whatever category they saw others fitting into. Prioritizing this area lets us offer care that truly acknowledges the whole person—their identity, their family context, their nervous system, their history—instead of trying to fit them into narrow diagnostic boxes.

I wanted every provider here to speak the same holistic language. Asking the entire team to train in perinatal mental health ensured that anyone seeking help would meet a provider prepared to understand the nuances, avoid oversimplifying, and support them without leaning on labels or quick fixes. It was important to me that our whole team got adequate training so that they did not fall into the same problem pitfalls we see pregnant women experience all the time. While trained in this area, all of our therapists are first and foremost trained to just treat you as a whole person- mother or not. Your experience is unique to you.

For patients, the change I hope to make is simple: I want care to feel humane. I want people to finally feel heard, understood, and treated as more than a set of symptoms. If we can offer holistic, individualized support that centers their humanity, it can shift the entire experience of getting help.

A Ripple Effect on Behavioral Health

For the broader behavioral health system, my hope is to model a different way forward—one that honors complexity, values relationship over diagnosis, and recognizes that healing rarely comes from trying to “fix” people. We don’t operate in terms of over-simplified, prescriptive, curriculum-based care. We don’t hear your story and pass off a worksheet. We don’t present in session as blank slates. We show love and care to our clients. That’s right, I said love. We believe here that there is nothing wrong from a boundary perspective of truly loving our clients. We believe when care is given from a place of love and respect, that is when we have seen the most significant growth. This is because love and are is rooted in connection. Connection is the key to healing. That is what we offer and what we wish the system offered more of.  If the system can move toward whole-person care, I believe it will become more compassionate, more effective, and far more aligned with what people truly need.