Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michela Parisi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Michela, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I started the Men’s Mental Wellness Center (MMWC) somewhat unexpectedly in the summer of 2023. Two years ago, I opened Connected Brain Counseling (CBC). CBC is a group therapy practice that specialized in adult women in trauma. While we grew, I became more and more fond of my work with couples. During this time I got insight into the male perspective of a relationship on a more vulnerable level than I had previously been exposed to.
What I came to realize were the profound differences in the way I needed to morph my skills as a therapist to reach my male vs female clients. While I historically believed that we all need to feel, seen, heard and wanted in order to heal emotionally, what I didn’t realize is that the mechanisms that I used to reach women did NOT work with my male clients.
I could see on my male clients faces how much they needed and wanted to express themselves to feel closer to their female partners. And yet, we hit different roadblocks that not only stifled their growth but it stifled the growth of the relationship. These men didn’t feel permission to feel, express or even have the emotional experience that they were having in many cases. Expressing feelings often made them feel weak, shame, guilt and intense fear. Therefore, they held emotions in and I felt stuck.
My clinical experience led me to looking into resources that would specifically train me on men’s mental health and expose me to more of their inner workings that as a female, I did not have. And guess what – these resources are few and far between!
No wonder these male clients didn’t give themselves permission to feel more deeply and express themselves – the world didn’t give them permission to do so, either.
Third wave feminism has empowered women in many ways. While I admit we are still catching up and fighting for equality, I also have shifted my perspective to understand the ways in which men’s emotions are kept under wraps too. Society tells men that they need to be strong, have the answers and take care of those around them through strength, being steady, finances, and so on.. Denver, as a progressive city, challenges this norm – yet in my clinical experience, I could see it still ran deeply through the veins of the men who walked into my office.
I found it so interesting that more and more men began to trickle into my office. And if you look at our website for CBC – it is pink, beige and even has flowers on it. It always surprised me to see that men wanted to come see us! I felt called to develop a practice that catered to the male mental health experience. It felt ethical, fair and progressive to hold space for men who are brave enough to walk through my doors and ask for help. I also knew that when these men felt healed and more open, I knew it would only positively impact the women we saw at CBC as well.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
MMWC offers individual counseling, couples counseling, family counseling and group counseling for men specializing in the issues that affect them the most including suicide ideation, anxiety, depression, anger management and more. Additionally, our team is trained in neurofeedback therapy. I am an advocate for mental health options that are holistic and non invasive, and neurofeedback therapy is an incredible alternative to medication.
Our team members hold a Master’s degree or a PhD in their field and complete continuing education to stay up to date on the best forms of care available to our clientele.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I strongly believe that ethical mental health care is an obligation if you choose to be in this field. And unfortunately, not all providers offer this.
When a client completes a consult with us, we will refer them out if we are not the right fit for them. We will educate them on how to find the correct provider, what credentials to look for and who may be able to help them most effectively.
This can at first glance feel like a great way to get rid of clients and potential income. Ultimately, though, I sleep better at night knowing we are only accepting clients who we can do a profoundly good job with. And, those clients refer more clients in a similar position to us which helps us grow in a more concise and productive way.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
This is a continual point of growth for me as I never want our team to feel like there is a hierarchy of power that breeds any level of resentment, stress or conversation that they cannot include me in at our practice. Mental health professionals have incredibly high levels of burnout and ultimately, we are all just humans doing our best to help other humans.
Our team consults with each other, we lean on each other when we need to vent (myself included!) and we have ample opportunities for pay increases in order to support our lives outside of work in a way that feels healing for us, too.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mensmentalwellnesscenter.com
- Instagram: @mensmentalwellnesscenter
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mens-mental-wellness-center/?viewAsMember=true
- Twitter: @mensmentalwelln
Image Credits
Eddy Photo