Creating a Win for All
How CATHARSIS will help clients, families, healers, donors, & community
In #14 of the Conscious Leadership Group’s 15 Commitments, there are two ways of being in the world.
When we’re “below the line,” we see life as a zero-sum game, creating win/lose solutions for whatever issues, problems, or concerns life sends our way.
When we’re “above the line,” we create win-for-all solutions for these same problems—a win for ourselves, a win for the other person, a win for the organization, and a win for the whole.
The vision for CATHARSIS Nashville is all about creating a win for everyone.
Currently, when it comes to the mental healthcare system, the wealthy are the winners.
People who are wealthy can afford to purchase long-term psychotherapy and the kind of holistic treatment that is often needed for full recovery, but there are limited options for low-income people experiencing mental illness, and the middle class typically relies on private health insurance whose mental health coverage is often sparse and/or pays therapists poorly.
The unfortunate reality is that the U.S. medical model has become more about money than either “health” or “care.” This is no one person or entity’s fault, and indeed, there are many, many caring doctors, hospital staff, therapists, and administrators. Insurance companies and HMOs were formed not just for profit, but to help patients and the systems that serve them. However, in healthcare as with any institution that grows to an impersonal level, there is the loss of an I-Thou relationship, and some people begin to benefit at the expense of others.
As a trained and licensed psychotherapist, I’ve been one of the winners. I get to do incredibly meaningful work, see people heal and grow and transform, and earn a good income at the same time! I feel immense gratitude for this vocation.
And yet, I also know that for most of my life, I couldn’t afford to see me regularly. (That is, as a client I wouldn’t have been able to afford the rate I charge as a therapist.)
If it weren’t for the generosity of a therapist who worked with me for a dramatically-reduced rate for 11 years, which she was able to do in part because her spouse was in a higher-paid profession, I would almost certainly live a much more limited, pain-filled life than the balanced wellbeing I am now fortunate to enjoy most days.
Wouldn’t it be a game changer, though, if the economics were such that 1) everyone who needed regular therapy could receive it, and 2) therapists were paid well so that they could serve the clients they’re called to serve, without needing either to sacrifice their own financial health or rely on other sources of income?
Many of you may be thinking, “Well, isn’t that what insurance is for?” In theory, yes, but sadly all-too-often not in practice.
I’m grateful for health insurance, and some excellent therapists are in-network with insurance so that clients can pay that way. Unfortunately, that is not sustainable for most of us. Here’s an article that explains why:
Years before the name CATHARSIS came to me in the middle of the night last January, I started to have an idea of a different way to do things.
This win-for-all vision relies on generosity, planning, and faith. I think that not only will it work, but it can be replicated! And when it does, here’s how everyone will win:
Clients. At CATHARSIS Nashville, treatment will be subsidized as much as each client needs by the generosity of donors who can afford to be part of the solution. HSP clients will gain access to high-quality holistic psychotherapy, form long-term relationships with their care providers, have a peaceful and creative environment to enjoy, and experience gentle community at their own pace.
Families. Mental illness, especially in its more intense forms, takes a tremendous emotional and financial toll on families. As clients receive the care they need to heal, their families’ stress load likewise decreases as they see their loved ones improving and requiring less continual support.
Healers. Therapists, spiritual caregivers, bodyworkers, and medication providers who are HSPs themselves and believe in a holistic, team-based approach to healing will have a beautiful, soulful workplace where they want to spend their careers. They will be paid generous salaries, allowing them to focus on quality client care while enjoying their own quality of life.
Donors. Mental health struggles affect people of every socioeconomic location. We anticipate that many of the donors who establish our endowment will feel called to this work because they themselves or their family members have known this type of suffering. Our donors will have the opportunity to invest their wealth in a synergistic operation that is not only a local treatment center, but a new approach to HSP mental health care that has the potential to serve as a model for other cities.
Community. When people who need mental health care can afford to receive effective, high-quality treatment, there is a ripple effect out into the community—hospital space is freed up, patients can often resume their work and other activities, they participate more fully in their schools and neighborhoods, and they may even make some of the greatest creative contributions to humankind. (How many artists, from Beethoven to Van Gogh, have been considered “mad” or “mentally ill”?)
CATHARSIS Nashville seeks to provide the kind of long-term support, caring relationships, therapeutic modalities, and beautiful environment that can help create full remission from mental “illness.” Not only will it be a healing center, but the café, garden, meditation, music and art spaces will provide a “third place” for HSPs to go when they want to be away from home and work, either to be alone near others or to experience community. And the annual musical theatre productions will provide yet another opportunity for connection, creativity, and beauty.
This is a bold, God-sized vision, one that is far beyond what any of us can accomplish on our own. We invite you to join us in tackling this complex mental health crisis of our times and creating a solution that is a win for all!