FORNEY, Texas (inForney.com Advertorial) – With Forney’s rapid population growth over the last decade, it makes sense the need for professional counseling services would grow as well.
However, the speed of growth at ChangePoint Counseling and Wellness has been a pleasant surprise for the organization’s founder, allowing an expansion of services from basic mental health care to total personal wellness, life coaching, and massage therapy.
“We started in January 2013, and I saw 16 patients that month,” said Jason Hughes, a therapist with 15 years of experience who started ChangePoint. “By February it was four times that many. By March we had to move to another office and add two therapists. Now we have relocated and expanded to help 300-400 patients every week.”
The growth represents both the demand for counseling services and an expansion of what ChangePoint offers to area residents.
“We believe in the whole person, and we want to take care of everything in our area of expertise … I believe that is why we have grown so quickly, offering treatment for the whole person, not just mental illness,” Hughes said. “We look at everything from medication, diet and lifestyle, to counseling and life coaching. With a nurse practitioner and psychiatrist joining our staff in the upcoming weeks, we will be able to help with medicine management as well.”
Life Coaching is becoming a big part of ChangePoint’s approach to helping people. While the concept is new to many people, personal coaching has been a staple among executives and high achievers for decades. With the addition of Leah Mazzola, a Licensed Professional Life Coach who specializes in working with youth, Hughes believes ChangePoint will make an impact on the future of Forney’s young people.
“Counseling only takes you so far, because the goal is to bring people back to normalcy from someplace negative,” he said. “If people are on a scale of -10 to +10, with ‘normal’ being zero, counseling is intended to get people out of the negative numbers. Life coaching takes over from there to take people into the positive numbers, into real wellness to help them achieve their goals.”
To bring the life coaching element to ChangePoint, Leah Mazzola recently moved into the office, offering established coaching credentials and proven coaching research to her hometown neighbors.
“Most of our therapists are also certified life coaches but, as therapists, once you have entered that relationship it can be difficult to move to a coaching role,” Hughes explained. “Leah adds that dimension. I was floored by her vision and what services she offers. She believes in treating the whole person and it is a nice fit for ChangePoint.”
Mazzola, a Forney resident, brings more than certifications and experience to her role as a life coach. The physical distance separating her from her childhood in Dallas is eclipsed by the very real separation of her life from other paths she could have taken.
“The whole reason I got into doing what I do, and why I am so passionate about working with young people, is because I grew up as a high risk kid,” she said. “I lost a brother and a cousin to homicide at the age of 16. Basically, I came from a rough area and I got into all kinds of bad things through my teen years. Another older brother went to prison as a teenager, a cousin committed suicide … within my family I have the extremes of every potential outcome of that adolescent deviant time.”
Now working on her PhD in Forensic Psychology, Mazzola approaches coaching as a combination of scientifically proven techniques and personal connections to her clients.
“That is what I do, applying all of the science to my coaching,” she said. “Coaching is the process of taking a person from where they are and moving forward, helping them engage their own situation and outcomes. My focus is helping teens focus on who they are and what they are really good at, and how they apply that to make changes and succeed at what they want to achieve in life.”
Because most of her work involves adolescents, It is often the relationship between parents and teens that brings clients to her door. As an outside voice, Mazzola can often help parents by approaching problems from a different angle.
“Sometimes parents have reached the end of their rope, or others are just being proactive as their teens reach a big transition like going from middle school into high school,” she said “When they notice some difficulty in academics or adjusting to the social atmosphere, I can help. Typically parents have to be problem-focused, because that is their role - trying to get kids to stop problem behaviors. My role is to help them shift the focus from what they have done wrong to what they need to do right, then use what they enjoy to change the outcome. It is another perspective and it is absolutely supported in research this strength-based and solution-focused approach is much more effective than focusing on the problems.”
Mazzola is a new face at ChangePoint, but she is not new to life coaching. Through her own organization and a research-driven non-profit, she has become well established nationwide, providing coaching services via digital sessions throughout the United States and in Canada. Now with a local presence, she wants to be a positive influence in her own community.
“I wanted to have an office here because I live in Forney and I want to offer this service where my own kids go to school,” she said. “Generally there have been two types of people who seek coaching: the people who have been to therapy and seek help, and those who are already high achievers and want to be even better. The majority of the coaching industry is focused on those executives and leaders, taking people who are already on top and making them better at what they do. I want to help the rest of the population see those benefits and be proactive in their own success. That is my focus.”
According to Hughes, approaches like life coaching and total wellness are helping to change the way mental health is viewed among the general public.
“When someone hears ‘mental health’ they often think of the most negative aspects, or disorders like schizophrenia,” he said. “In reality it involves everyday stress, and that is what we see most of. Most people just need to talk to someone, but instead there is a desire there to just fix it with a pill. There is a place for medicine in mental health, but many times a pill will just cover up the real issues that could be fixed with therapy.”
Hughes, whose specializes in helping people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum disorders, said his research and experience have brought positive change to the lives of both his patients and others throughout the U.S.
“I was very proud to do research for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which is basically the bible of mental health which is used in diagnosing and treating these problems,” he said.
Bringing that expertise to his local practice, Hughes said much of his work involves working with others outside the office to help change outcomes for his patients.
“When you come in with a mental health diagnosis, there are a lot of other things going on in your life,” he said. “For example, if we have a student with ADHD, we do a full diagnosis in the office. But we also go outside the office to meet with the school and advocate for educational modifications which can make a huge difference. A lot of these kids already have a skewed view of themselves, but helping educators change their approach can help alter that very quickly.”
Located at 713 W. Broad St. Suite 200, ChangePoint offers a full range of counseling and wellness services, and accepts all major insurance plans.
“I want people to know ChangePoint is here and available,” Hughes said. “From helping with therapy and counseling to diet, lifestyle, life coaching, massage therapy and even our meditation room, we want to help the whole person.”
For more information www.changepointcounseling.com
“We started in January 2013, and I saw 16 patients that month,” said Jason Hughes, a therapist with 15 years of experience who started ChangePoint. “By February it was four times that many. By March we had to move to another office and add two therapists. Now we have relocated and expanded to help 300-400 patients every week.”
The growth represents both the demand for counseling services and an expansion of what ChangePoint offers to area residents.
“We believe in the whole person, and we want to take care of everything in our area of expertise … I believe that is why we have grown so quickly, offering treatment for the whole person, not just mental illness,” Hughes said. “We look at everything from medication, diet and lifestyle, to counseling and life coaching. With a nurse practitioner and psychiatrist joining our staff in the upcoming weeks, we will be able to help with medicine management as well.”
Life Coaching is becoming a big part of ChangePoint’s approach to helping people. While the concept is new to many people, personal coaching has been a staple among executives and high achievers for decades. With the addition of Leah Mazzola, a Licensed Professional Life Coach who specializes in working with youth, Hughes believes ChangePoint will make an impact on the future of Forney’s young people.
“Counseling only takes you so far, because the goal is to bring people back to normalcy from someplace negative,” he said. “If people are on a scale of -10 to +10, with ‘normal’ being zero, counseling is intended to get people out of the negative numbers. Life coaching takes over from there to take people into the positive numbers, into real wellness to help them achieve their goals.”
To bring the life coaching element to ChangePoint, Leah Mazzola recently moved into the office, offering established coaching credentials and proven coaching research to her hometown neighbors.
“Most of our therapists are also certified life coaches but, as therapists, once you have entered that relationship it can be difficult to move to a coaching role,” Hughes explained. “Leah adds that dimension. I was floored by her vision and what services she offers. She believes in treating the whole person and it is a nice fit for ChangePoint.”
Mazzola, a Forney resident, brings more than certifications and experience to her role as a life coach. The physical distance separating her from her childhood in Dallas is eclipsed by the very real separation of her life from other paths she could have taken.
“The whole reason I got into doing what I do, and why I am so passionate about working with young people, is because I grew up as a high risk kid,” she said. “I lost a brother and a cousin to homicide at the age of 16. Basically, I came from a rough area and I got into all kinds of bad things through my teen years. Another older brother went to prison as a teenager, a cousin committed suicide … within my family I have the extremes of every potential outcome of that adolescent deviant time.”
Now working on her PhD in Forensic Psychology, Mazzola approaches coaching as a combination of scientifically proven techniques and personal connections to her clients.
“That is what I do, applying all of the science to my coaching,” she said. “Coaching is the process of taking a person from where they are and moving forward, helping them engage their own situation and outcomes. My focus is helping teens focus on who they are and what they are really good at, and how they apply that to make changes and succeed at what they want to achieve in life.”
Because most of her work involves adolescents, It is often the relationship between parents and teens that brings clients to her door. As an outside voice, Mazzola can often help parents by approaching problems from a different angle.
“Sometimes parents have reached the end of their rope, or others are just being proactive as their teens reach a big transition like going from middle school into high school,” she said “When they notice some difficulty in academics or adjusting to the social atmosphere, I can help. Typically parents have to be problem-focused, because that is their role - trying to get kids to stop problem behaviors. My role is to help them shift the focus from what they have done wrong to what they need to do right, then use what they enjoy to change the outcome. It is another perspective and it is absolutely supported in research this strength-based and solution-focused approach is much more effective than focusing on the problems.”
Mazzola is a new face at ChangePoint, but she is not new to life coaching. Through her own organization and a research-driven non-profit, she has become well established nationwide, providing coaching services via digital sessions throughout the United States and in Canada. Now with a local presence, she wants to be a positive influence in her own community.
“I wanted to have an office here because I live in Forney and I want to offer this service where my own kids go to school,” she said. “Generally there have been two types of people who seek coaching: the people who have been to therapy and seek help, and those who are already high achievers and want to be even better. The majority of the coaching industry is focused on those executives and leaders, taking people who are already on top and making them better at what they do. I want to help the rest of the population see those benefits and be proactive in their own success. That is my focus.”
According to Hughes, approaches like life coaching and total wellness are helping to change the way mental health is viewed among the general public.
“When someone hears ‘mental health’ they often think of the most negative aspects, or disorders like schizophrenia,” he said. “In reality it involves everyday stress, and that is what we see most of. Most people just need to talk to someone, but instead there is a desire there to just fix it with a pill. There is a place for medicine in mental health, but many times a pill will just cover up the real issues that could be fixed with therapy.”
Hughes, whose specializes in helping people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum disorders, said his research and experience have brought positive change to the lives of both his patients and others throughout the U.S.
“I was very proud to do research for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which is basically the bible of mental health which is used in diagnosing and treating these problems,” he said.
Bringing that expertise to his local practice, Hughes said much of his work involves working with others outside the office to help change outcomes for his patients.
“When you come in with a mental health diagnosis, there are a lot of other things going on in your life,” he said. “For example, if we have a student with ADHD, we do a full diagnosis in the office. But we also go outside the office to meet with the school and advocate for educational modifications which can make a huge difference. A lot of these kids already have a skewed view of themselves, but helping educators change their approach can help alter that very quickly.”
Located at 713 W. Broad St. Suite 200, ChangePoint offers a full range of counseling and wellness services, and accepts all major insurance plans.
“I want people to know ChangePoint is here and available,” Hughes said. “From helping with therapy and counseling to diet, lifestyle, life coaching, massage therapy and even our meditation room, we want to help the whole person.”
For more information www.changepointcounseling.com