Pro Bono Counseling Project

Licensed Mental Health Professionals with Decades of Experience

Assistance Available for Qualifying Applicants

An opportunity to Serve the uninsured or underinsured in the Michiana Community

About the Pro Bono Counseling Project

The goal of the Pro Bono Counseling Project (PBCP) is to increase access to mental health counseling for individuals, couples or families who do not have insurance or are otherwise unable to afford mental health counseling.

This is a short- term counseling arrangement (up to 12 sessions within a 3-6 month period) with a volunteer licensed mental health professional at no cost to the client. Volunteer therapists need to have an active Indiana license and malpractice coverage.

This program is designed to help you address…

  • Relationship problems
  • Parenting stress & Other life stress
  • Transitions
  • School or work problems
  • Adjustment issues
  • Grief/loss
  • Mild to moderate anxiety and depression
PROGRAM Qualifications

Short term therapy is a great service for individual, couples and families with acute problems.

Once we receive your application, we will review it to make sure you are a good candidate for this project. We consider your employment and insurance status, as well as your financial stress and the type of problem you are hoping to address with a therapist.

As the therapist is donating their time, it is expected that the client does their best to keep scheduled appointments. The therapist may choose to terminate the service after multiple missed appointments. If the assigned therapist or applicant determine that the client needs will not be well met by the therapist, the PBCP will assist in connecting the client with another therapist or service.

The following list are problems that are best served through other providers and organizations in the community. We are happy to help connect applicants with other appropriate community services.

  • Active drug or alcohol abuse.
  • Currently in a violent or abusive relationship.
  • Need documentation for disability.
  • Seeking psychological testing.
  • Seeking psychiatric care.
  • Serious mental illness.
  • Need court ordered counseling.
  • Children under age 18 unless they are participating in family therapy.
  • Applicants receiving counseling from another source.
  • For applicants who can afford a sliding scale, we will refer out from our list of community providers who accept sliding scale.
  • Applicants who are eligible for insurance but not receiving it will be screened to determine what support/ service is needed.

Interested in Volunteering?

MHAM is always looking for volunteer counselors to help

Current Volunteer Therapists

Jean Davidson
LCSW, LMFT

Jean Davidson, LCSW, LMFT, has been in practice for over 10 years. She provides individual therapy to adults and adolescents, and also offers couples therapy and family therapy. At this time, she is open to seeing clients either in person or virtually.

Stephanie McIntosh Szabo
LMHC, LCAC

Stephanie McIntosh Szabo, LMHC, LCAC, has been in practice for over 10 years. She specializes in treating individuals experiencing substance abuse issues. At this time, she is open to seeing clients virtually.

Maria Guarraci
LCSW

Maria Guarraci, LCSW, has been in practice for over 10 years. She specializes in treating individuals experiencing anxiety and depression. Maria takes a Solutions Based Approach to therapy. At this time, she is open to seeing clients virtually. 

Lisa Kelly
LCSW, MPH

Lisa Kelly, LCSW, has been in practice for over 10 years. She provides individual therapy to clients suffering from perinatal mood disorders, anxiety, and depression. She utilizes CBT and Mindfulness Based strategies in therapy. At this time, she is open to seeing clients either in person or virtually.

Naomi Adams
LCSW, LCAC

Naomi Adams, LCSW, LCAC, has been in practice for over 10 years. She specializes in treating individuals experiencing substance abuse issues with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. At this time, she is open to seeing clients virtually.

Tonya Newton
LSW

Tonya Newton, LSW, has been in practice for nearly 2 years. She works with individuals suffering from OCD or hoarding disorders, those experiencing low self-esteem, and/or those experiencing issues in aging of self or a loved one, and she also works with couples, using Gottman Method Couples Therapy. Notably, she is ADHD-CCSP certified, LGBTQ friendly, and poly couple friendly. At this time, she is open to seeing clients either in person or virtually.

John Petersen
PsyD, HSPP

John Petersen, PsyD, HSPP, has been in practice for over 10 years. He works with couples, and his practice is grounded in Gottman Method Couples Therapy. He also specializes in sex therapy. At this time, he is open to seeing clients virtually. 

Paul Sexton
LCSW

Paul Sexton, LCSW, has been in practice for almost 5 years. He works with teens, young adults, and men, offering individual therapy and family therapy, and specializing in treating anxiety. At this time, he is open to seeing clients either in person or virtually.

LCSW
Rachel Ford, LCSW, has been in practice for almost 10 years. She provides individual counseling and specializes in EMDR. At this time, she is open to seeing clients either in person or virtually.
Keilah Hamood
LMHC, LCAC

Keilah Hamood, LMHC, LCAC, has been in practice for almost 5 years. She provides individual counseling to those who are suffering from domestic violence, trauma, anxiety and women’s issues. She utilizes EMDR, CBT, DBT, Ego State, Polyvagal, and Mindfulness Based strategies in therapy. At this time, she is open to seeing clients either in person or virtually.

Kathleen Jones
LMHCA

Kathleen Jones, LMHCA, has been in practice for about 2 years. Her experience involves working individually with those struggling with anxiety, depression, and working through grief/loss and relationship conflicts. At this time, she is open to seeing clients either in person or virtually.

Kathleen Cook
LCSW

Kathleen Cook, LCSW, has been in practice for over 10 years. She provides individual counseling and specializes in EMDR. At this time, she is open to seeing clients either in person or virtually.

Angie Mills
LCSW

Angie Mills, LCSW, has been in practice for over 10 years. She specializes in treatment of sexual abuse and self-harm along with depression, anxiety, and other issues faced by women. She utilizes CBT, Interpersonal Therapy, Family Systems Therapy, and EMDR. At this time, she is open to seeing clients in person.

Betty Guzman
LMHC

Betty Guzman, LMHC, has been in practice for over 10 years. She provides individual, couples, and family counseling to those who are struggling with issues of anxiety, depression, premarital, marital, trauma and co-parenting. She utilizes Emotion Focused Therapy, Gottman, EMDR, and TF-CBT. At this time, she is open to seeing clients in person.

Lisa Yeager
LCAC

Lisa Yeager, LCAC, has been in practice for over 5 years. She specializes in EMDR and treating individuals experiencing substance abuse issues. At this time, she is open to seeing clients either in person or virtually.

Neil Gilbert
LCSW
Neil Gilbert, LCSW, has been in practice for over 10 years. He has experience in providing individual, family, and couples counseling. At this time, he is open to seeing clients in person.
Jocelyn Bailey
LMHC

Jocelyn Bailey, LMHC has been in practice for over 10 years. She specializes in working with people of the Highly Sensitive temperament and provides individual therapy to adults (18+)  suffering from anxiety, depression, grief and trauma. She utilizes primarily Somatic and Mindfulness Based therapies as well as Brainspotting (a variation of EMDR). At this time, she is open to seeing clients virtually.

Angela M. Henry
LCSW

Angela M. Henry, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker practicing and serving clients in both Northern Indiana and Southern Michiana areas. She is in private practice, specializing in OCD and anxiety related disorders, body focused repetitive behaviors (BFRB’s), Tourette Syndrome, as well as trauma.

Angela is a certified EMDR therapist, and has completed the Behavioral Therapy Training Institute through the IOCDF (International OCD Foundation) and is a graduate of the Professional Training Institute through the TLC Foundation for BFRBs (Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors). She also completed specialized training from the Behavioral Therapy Institute (TS-BTI) in Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT). She currently holds memberships with the IOCDF, TLC Foundation, EMDRIA, and the NASW.

Angela resides in Granger, Indiana and when she is not working; she enjoys being in nature, singing, writing, and caring for her fur babies. She is a mom of three adult children and is an active board member of The Rhema Project; a not-for-profit serving to empower the female in Southern India.

Yessica Lawson Gonzalez
MSW, LSW
Has been providing mental health services since 2019. Her approach is to offer humanistic, psychodynamic and interpersonal modes of therapy to ensure that each individual has a tailored treatment plan that meets their specific needs. Some treatment modalities she likes to use in therapy are integrated family systems (IFS), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), solution focused brief therapy (SFBT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Her specialties include trauma work, mood disorders, life transitions, grief, relationship/familial, and women’s issues. Yessica is fluent in Spanish.
Jocelyn Bailey
LMHC

Jocelyn Bailey, LMHC has been in practice for over 10 years. She specializes in working with people of the Highly Sensitive temperament and provides individual therapy to adults (18+)  suffering from anxiety, depression, grief and trauma. She utilizes primarily Somatic and Mindfulness Based therapies as well as Brainspotting (a variation of EMDR). At this time, she is open to seeing clients virtually.

Angela M. Henry
LCSW

Angela M. Henry, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker practicing and serving clients in both Northern Indiana and Southern Michiana areas. She is in private practice, specializing in OCD and anxiety related disorders, body focused repetitive behaviors (BFRB’s), Tourette Syndrome, as well as trauma.

Angela is a certified EMDR therapist, and has completed the Behavioral Therapy Training Institute through the IOCDF (International OCD Foundation) and is a graduate of the Professional Training Institute through the TLC Foundation for BFRBs (Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors). She also completed specialized training from the Behavioral Therapy Institute (TS-BTI) in Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT). She currently holds memberships with the IOCDF, TLC Foundation, EMDRIA, and the NASW.

Angela resides in Granger, Indiana and when she is not working; she enjoys being in nature, singing, writing, and caring for her fur babies. She is a mom of three adult children and is an active board member of The Rhema Project; a not-for-profit serving to empower the female in Southern India.

Frequently Asked Questions

Once an applicant is screened and found to be appropriate for the PBCP, MHAM matches the applicant to a volunteer therapist. Once the therapist accepts the applicant, the therapist follows their normal protocols. The PBCP will request a monthly check in (on line) for an update on whether the service is still being provided. At the completion of the service, the PBCP will ask for an feedback of how the service went, including progress made.

If you are found eligible for this program, there is no additional cost to you.

We will help make referrals for services needed beyond the scope of what our volunteer therapists are able to provide.

Once you begin work with your volunteer therapist, you will contact them directly with any changes needed to scheduling. We are here to help trouble shoot any problems that arise during your participation with the program.

Contact MHAM directly if you feel that the therapist will be unable to meet your needs. We will work hard to match you with a service provider who will meet your needs.

 
 
 
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