Mental Fitness Minute: Are there faith-based and income-based counselors in the Big Horn Basin?

On March 16, a grassroots committee hosted the Worland Mental Fitness Fair at the Worland Community Center.

Members of the panel were Dr. Ralph Louis, psychologist from Oxbow Center in Basin; Janae Harman, owner of Family Circle Counseling in Worland; Mary Johnson, CEO of Oxbow Center in Worland; and Carol Bell, provisionally licensed therapist at Foundations Counseling in Cody.

The panel answered prepared questions that came from the committee and from similar events in Shell, Greybull and Cowley.

The Northern Wyoming News has been covering the questions on a weekly basis. This wraps up that series.

Are there faith-based counselors in the Big Horn Basin.

Louis: I did a search on the internet for faith-based counselors and Christian-based counselors in the Big Horn Basin. And there were several. As long as I’ve been here in the Big Horn Basin there has always been Christian-based counselors, I don’t know about other faiths.

If that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll find it. I think you will also find that a lot of the counselors are willing to talk about their faith with you, even if they’re not officially a faith-based counselor. Because most of us who have faith are fairly comfortable talking about it. And so don’t feel bad about asking your counselor about it if that’s important to you.

Harman: There’s lots of counselors out there who don’t call themselves faith based. And they don’t specialize in that, particularly, but they will talk about faith. I know that in my practice, I use as much faith-based components as you want to. Some people don’t want to use it. So I gauge it on how much that the client wants to use their faith in the counseling. I don’t claim to be a faith-based counselor, like specialty, that’s kind of how a lot of my colleagues and myself use faith in counseling.

Is there income-based behavioral health services in the Big Horn Basin?

Louis: All of the counseling centers under Oxbow Center in Worland, Basin, Cody and Lovell are income-based.

Harman: Lots of your private clinicians will have a sliding scale as well.

Bell: My family and I launched a memorial in honor of my son, called the Luke Bell Memorial Affordable Counseling Program. We do have a web page. And anyone who makes less than $65,000 a year can apply for up to 10 counseling sessions as long as they live in the Big Horn Basin, and are using a therapist who lives in the Big Horn Basin.

So the client has to pay between $25 and $65 per session. And it’s up to you to decide how much you can afford to pay. And then the Memorial Fund will work with your therapist to pay the remainder of the price of your therapy. So the only qualification is that you’re over 18, you make less than $65,000 a year and you are not using a state funded agency.