Mind Guide, Lcsw, P.C.

This review reflects my personal experience and opinion.This part one of a two part review. Finally in a place where I can share from a grounded place as it’s taken me a year to recover from my experience here. I initially found Minds Together Therapy on the internet. I reached out to someone there and got connected to a therapist—I forgot her name, and she no longer works with the organization. From the beginning of our sessions, I was very clear about needing long-term, stable support. I had a history of poor experiences with therapists, though I’d had some good ones, but those were usually temporary. At this point in my life, I had just come out of homelessness, was starting a new career, and was carrying complex trauma—including trauma rooted in abandonment. With all of that, I knew I needed consistent, long-term care. About five sessions in, she casually mentioned that she had been planning to leave the organization and that our next session would be our last. ????? I was so confused. I had spent the first few sessions explaining how much stable care meant to me, how my abandonment trauma affected me, and how hopeless I felt about the mental health system’s care yet she still ended things so carelessly. I would’ve appreciated being informed of her plans to leave from the beginning of our sessions so I could make an informed decision about how I wanted to continue my care. In a way though, it ended up working out because early on I shared that I’m spiritually fluid and wanted to explore my spirituality. However, this therapist was Christian and repeatedly brought our conversations back to Jesus and church even though I explicitly said I wasn’t sure about how Jesus resonated with me and I wanted to explore spirituality in other ways. Pretty quickly I didn’t feel safe to explore that with her because I started to feel judged. It didn’t feel like she was helping me explore spiritually; it felt like she was trying to “save” me in that typical judgmental Christian way. If she hadn’t left the organization I probably would’ve ended our sessions from this issue alone. It was truly uncomfortable. That was my first experience with Minds Together Therapy.

This review reflects my personal experience and opinion. Part 2 I was called about a new therapist -Shenelle . At the time, I was still having trouble finding care, so I said, why not? Even though my first experience was poor, this was a new person. One therapist doesn’t represent the whole organization. Let me give this a try. In the beginning, Shenelle and I seemed like a good match. I didn’t feel judged. I could share what I felt comfortable sharing, and that was cool. But after about six months, I noticed I wasn’t making any progress. I was still deeply struggling, somewhat even more than before. Whenever I brought this up to Shenelle, she would always leave me with the same line: “You get to decide what you want to do next.” Okay, I get that, but I was having trouble navigating things and wasn’t being given the guidance,skills, or tools I needed to grow.I was just getting someone to vent to. Even though I felt stuck, I requested a second session each week because I was actively slipping into crisis and starting medications with difficult side effects. She agreed, and it went well for a few weeks. Then, suddenly, she started missing those second sessions and pushing off my requests for them. When I expressed how much I needed that extra support, she dismissed it and said those extra sessions were just an accommodation she was making for me. ????? After that, I was honest with her. I told her I was losing trust and wanted to explore connecting with another therapist. But I also made it clear that transitions trigger me, and since I was actively slipping into crisis, it wasn’t the right time to switch. I wanted to continue sessions but was being honest about how I felt to see if maybe we could repair things before I made a decision. She seemed to agree, but later texted me saying she was going to tell the office that I wanted to switch therapist because that’s what I requested. I felt like I was being gaslit. I clearly said I wanted to explore that and that and that I was not in a space to do that yet. I reiterated that I did not want to switch. I explained how frustrated I was because I’d said many times I was slipping into crisis, but felt like she was dismissing that. She said this would be my time to practice navigating a crisis. But how can I practice navigating a crisis when I wasn’t equipped with the skills or tools I needed? I wasn’t even equipped to handle what I was already going through before slipping into crisis. She essentially told me to handle it myself. That was the last straw. I ended sessions with her because I felt pushed into that decision. Because of how things ended with Shenelle, I fully tipped into crisis. I was in a very low and hopeless place for months. While my life circumstances played a role, Shenelle’s neglect and dismissal made everything worse. It has taken me almost a year to recover. It was so bad that I actively decided to give up on therapy. Fortunately, a few months later, I found a support group for Black women navigating depression in their professions.A therapist there asks if I was open to 1 on 1 sessions. Even though I was ready to give up on therapy, I wasn’t going to say no to an opportunity that fell in my lap, and I’m so glad I didn’t. In just nine months with this new therapist, I’ve seen exponential growth. She listens deeply, centers my lived experience, and even when she doesn’t fully understand, she truly takes in what I share. She challenges me, equips me with the guidance, skills, and tools I had been asking for, supported me with two consistent sessions per week until we found a higher level of care, and helped me navigate new medications and side effects. She supported me through the trauma of being a Black woman dealing with psychiatrists, medication, and the dismissal often found in the mental health system. Shenelle tipped me into such a dark place. I’m lucky my new therapist helped me out of that. If people are having good experiences here great. But my experience nearly broke me so I can’t recommend.