Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nicole & Christina Garrison & Lees. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nicole & Christina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

In 2021 amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Christina and Nicole both took a risk quitting their 9-5 full time jobs with benefits to open their own practice. “Opening a practice was always a dream we’ve had.” It was even riskier with both of them being mothers. Christina, mom of two toddlers was steering unprecedented territory in toddlerhood. Nicole, fresh mother of a newborn navigating sleepless nights that came along with a newborn baby. This risk was scary for obvious reasons, not knowing how to afford food on the table or buy diapers for our children. Covid taught us the need for consistent, reliable, and easily accessible healthcare and even more mental health, even more so within the comfort of someone’s own home. We took an “all or nothing approach” and worked day and night-even pulling overnighters to get the practice up and running. We also wanted to offer specialty care to our practice; allowing each individual or family member to feel comfortable knowing each clinician can treat a variety of ongoing needs. By 2024, we employed three licensed clinicians to our practice, each specializing in specific certifications and area of expertise. We all share the same value of offering reliable, consistent mental health to help a person feel empowered, safe, and secure. Currently we offer HIPPA compliant, easily accessible mental health from the comfort of a person’s home all across the state of Pennsylvania.

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.

Both Christina & Nicole have been in the field for 10+ and have served a variety of levels of care already including community mental health, inpatient psychiatric, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient programs, veterans with PTSD, survivors of trauma, OCD & anxiety disorder specific programs, as well as care management. Both owners also offer supervision to therapists working towards state licensure as well as have trained staff and clinics in numerous states in partial hospitalization programs. What sets GLBH apart from others is our ability to treat the individual and not the diagnosis. We truly value a person’s individual needs and believe that not everyone should be treated in a “cookie cutter” manner.
Our approach at Garrison and Lees Behavioral Health is grounded in evidence-based practices and personalized care. We combine the latest in psychiatric research with a deep understanding of the human spirit, offering a range of services from individual counseling to comprehensive recovery programs. Our methods are tailored to each individual, ensuring that care plans not only address symptoms but also empower each person to reclaim their life. Through continuous innovation, ongoing training, and a commitment to compassion, we foster an environment where healing and growth can flourish.
Access Quality Mental Health Care From Anywhere in Pennsylvania
At Garrison and Lees Behavioral Health, we understand the importance of flexible and accessible mental health care. Our Teletherapy services in Pennsylvania are designed to bring our compassionate, expert care into the comfort and privacy of your home. Whether you’re facing the challenges of daily life or navigating more complex mental health issues, our virtual doors are open to you.
Our staff treat a variety of issues, however each have specific certifications and trainings which range from PTSD, anxiety, OCD, women’s health, mood disorders, substance use, cooccurring issues, marital conflict, etc. We offer children’s and teen counseling as well as adult and marriage/family counseling.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Even with the explosion of social media, we think what has helped us the most is traditional “word of mouth” referrals. We believe in being true to yourself and as genuine as possible! With every opportunity we are given we try our best to follow up-not just with business but actually “giving a rats tail” about someone else’s life and checking in. “I think it’s in our nature to ask how someone is doing and send a text months after a business meeting or lunch to see how our contact person is doing.” Sending a follow up email or text, or phone call and checking in with a person definitely goes a long way with a person’s reputation.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

We have seen that even with a smaller team it is crucial to be transparent and autonomous in order to create high morale with our clinicians. We don’t believe in micro-managing. We trust our team to make decisions and we value their expertise.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pabehavioralservices.com

Image Credits
Photos by: Nicolette Gold Artistry