Reflecting on 8 Years of Samaritan’s Growing and Healing

#growth #diversity #healing

This past weekend I was surrounded by in-laws and adult kids as we chatted and made s’mores around a backyard firepit. We told stupid stories, shared embarrassing moments, and heard about new jobs and new cities.

My sister-in-law commented that she couldn’t believe we had been in our house for over twenty years. Reflecting on that as I looked up at the night sky, I replied, “You know, it’s fascinating how everything’s grown. When we moved here, we could see so many stars, but the trees have grown so big and bushy, we only see part of the sky. You don’t notice growing when you’re growing.”

That’s a great metaphor for Samaritan. We’ve grown so much over the past eight years, we often don’t notice how much:

• Since 2017, we have grown from 5,500 sessions to almost 14,000 sessions a year, which translates as a growth from about 550 to 1,400 clients per year.

• We've grown from 14 therapists to 19, while also becoming younger and more diversified in the kinds of therapies we offer.

• We’ve become more diverse, representing far more faith traditions, enabling us to work with Protestants, Catholics, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, and other religions, the spiritual but not religious, atheists, agnostics, and the not-sure-what-I-ams, as well as conservatives, moderates, and progressives.

• We’ve become more diverse among our therapists along racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, including the ability to offer bilingual counseling in some languages, including Spanish.

• We offer mental and spiritual health options that go beyond therapy through our mental health and life coaching, clergy coaching, spiritual direction, consultations, and more. These services help people who may not need deeper therapy, but still want to improve life and relational skills, find deeper purpose and meaning in life, and so much more.

• We’ve become a leading counseling center for people of different backgrounds, issues, faiths, spiritual perspectives, lifestyles, and much more.

As I reflect on all of this, I’m proud of what we’ve become. It’s not easy being a non-profit counseling center whose sole focus is on helping people heal. There are many fine for-profit centers, but their focus is as much on making a profit as it is on healing. Meanwhile, other non-profit centers have struggled to stay solvent, including a center started in 1962 who we’ve partnered with for many years. They closed their doors in July. Yet we have thrived and grown. You are a significant part of this.

We continue to seek ways to grow even more. Our newest effort is bringing on Dr. Deborah Moon, PhD, LCSW, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work as our first mental health coach. Please watch our interview with her in this newsletter. I hope you’ll join me in celebrating the difference Samaritan is making by being a place of healing Samaritans.

Blessings!

The Rev. Dr. Graham Standish, PhD, MA, MDiv, MSW

Executive Director