Today we’d like to introduce you to Sasha Giles. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Just Me Podcast, LLC is composed of three behavioral health professionals (Sasha Giles, Shirena Smith, and Tracey Moore) with varying certifications and licensures.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sasha, Shirena and Tracey were providing individual counseling services to children, adults and families. During the height of the pandemic (2021), the women began noticing that people were trying to access therapy services with health insurance plans that had costly stipulations. Costly stipulations included insurance plans with high deductibles (a specific amount you pay before your health insurance covers a specific service), costly co-pays (fees you pay at each visit) and plans that only covered the cost of services from “select” providers/agencies.
We became exhausted with providing people with meek alternatives, so we created a behavioral health podcast, entitled: Just Me Therapy (Podcast). This platform offers educational and behavioral health insight to people who could not (and cannot) access counseling services due to costly stipulations within their health plans. The information, education, and recommendations on this platform are intended to provide basic skills and knowledge about mental health and wellness. While this platform will never be able to replace the important role of individual counseling, it did (and still does) allow for people to: (1) find comfort (2) realize that they are not alone (3) and gain skills that would otherwise cost.
During the pandemic, we also observed a drastic breakdown in effective communication, self-regulation, tolerance, problem-solving, empathy/compassion, and other social-emotional skills. These concerns were highlighted by multiple social events/trends, including (1) educator burnout/resignation (2) effects of racial and ethnic inequities (3) community violence (4) deficits in workplace wellness. These events/trends became recurrent talking points amongst ourselves, our families, colleagues, and clients. While we may not have all been in the same boat (metaphorically speaking), we were all in the same collective storm, and we all needed life jackets (metaphorically speaking).
As a result, we began offering mental health workshops, trainings, and presentations to schools, businesses, organizations, and communities, with a focus on collective (group) healing, empowerment, and resilience.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road, and we are still experiencing bumps along the way. Some of the struggles that we have encountered include (1) minuscule funding sources (ie. small, limited grants) to produce effective services (2) systems that only work with ‘select’ businesses, and (3) poor reimbursement for services that focus on mental wellness for groups.
Even though mental health and wellness are being propelled to the forefront of societal conversations, payer sources (ie. insurance companies, education systems, community initiatives) continue to conceptualize it [mental health and wellness] as an individualized experience that a person must work through on their own. Businesses allocate funds for employee assistance programs but assume greater hesitancy around group mental wellness programs.
Education systems allocate funds to increase individualized counseling to students during school hours but assume greater hesitancy around investing in group counseling for their students and educators (even though social skills amongst students and adults have plummeted between 2019 and 2022). Limited funding sources, payers, and investors create minuscule options for services that have been proven effective for communities that have experienced collective trauma (ie. COVID-19) and communities of color.
As you know, we’re big fans of Just Me Podcast, LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Just Me Podcast, LLC is a for-profit business dedicated to minimizing negative stigmas surrounding mental health, by increasing access to knowledge and promoting mental wellness through partnerships and consultation services. Just Me Podcast, LLC is the umbrella company that houses two mental wellness divisions: Just Me Therapy (Podcast) AND (group) Mental Wellness Consulting Services.
Just Me Therapy (Podcast) is an audio/video platform (podcast), hosted by our team of experienced professionals, aimed at offering affordable education and insight to individuals facing financial barriers when accessing individualized behavioral health support. Barriers may include gaps in their health insurance plans, costly co-pays, or high deductibles. Our podcast provides valuable information, including opinions, advice, and recommendations, all intended for informational and educational purposes. By leveraging this powerful medium, we can reach a wide audience and provide support and guidance to those in need.
The (group) Mental Wellness Consulting Services division provides group mental health services to businesses, schools, communities, and organizations (secular and non-secular platforms). To promote mental wellness through professional development programs, educational events, workshops/retreats, community development programs, and community partnerships, (group) Mental Wellness Consulting Services aims to:
• Assess, identify, and provide education about the benefits of mental health and wellness
• Promote proactive and resilient responses around mental health and wellness
• Offer consultation and coaching services
• Spread knowledge and empower others on how to structure healthy and resilient mental health decisions
Just Me Podcast, LLC is a minority-owned business founded by three behavioral health specialists who hold degrees of higher education in psychology, social work, marriage & families, and divinity. We (the founders) also possess professional licensures in clinical social work, and professional certifications in evidence-based, trauma-informed practices and resilience.
Our diverse experiences within healthcare systems, education systems, the military, divinity, and program development equip us with qualifications to provide mental wellness training, presentations, and professional development opportunities in locations where mental health and wellness are gaining more traction and being prioritized.
This includes workplaces and educational institutions, where the trickle-down effects of COVID-19 and other societal events (ie. burnout/resignation, racial and ethnic inequities, etc.) have created large spikes in an array of mental wellness concerns (ie. anxiety, divisiveness, poor stress management, depression, grief/loss, compassion fatigue and feelings of hopelessness).
As minority women a part of communities that have been historically marginalized by social, political, and economic systems, the passion of Just Me Podcast, LLC lies within our desire to uplift mental wellness by offering services that have been proven to be effective within black and brown communities.
Services that include group work, communal storytelling, and healing hubs (at barbershops/salons, etc.) act as ways of (1) humanizing fears/emotions/experiences that have been pacified, (2) creating safe spaces, (3) building connections and (4) teaching skills that support resilience, strength, and healing.
Historically, services and resources of this caliber have been smothered by the lack of financial resources (ie. lack of support from insurance companies, limited grant funding, etc) and poor facilitator connections within the community. As a result, the owners of Just Me Podcast, LLC are working to “change the narrative.”
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The mental health industry will continue to experience growth over the next 5-10 years.
The mental health industry will also continue to experience growth through innovations focused on enhancing accessibility and improving user experience. Key innovations include the development of virtual therapy platforms, AI-driven mental health assessment tools, and mobile applications/games for self-guided support. While these innovations can bring convenience, anonymity, affordability, and introduction to care that people may otherwise be apprehensive to try; they also bring up concerns around privacy/security, concerns around inclusivity across all audiences, and ambiguity around monitoring.
While these apps can be used to bring people together we cannot dismiss the importance of human connection and critical thinking that licensed professionals offer. Applications can be created to enhance social skills, provide basic education, and be used by professionals to support individuals in practicing mental wellness skills. However, applications fall short of being able to assess for unique stressors and nuances that impact a person’s mental wellness. The standardized programming of many applications can produce misinformation and create further disparities between groups of people who do not “fit” within its standardized programming. This can lead to further areas of separation instead of human connectivity.
While technology is helpful, it falls short of affording soft skills that human beings (trained licensed professionals) must utilize to offer efficacy. Some of these soft skills include listening (to understand), intentional questions, compassion, empathy, interpersonal skills, and discernment. If anything, the incidents of tragic school shootings, community violence, and mental health exhaustion between 2019 and 2022, have highlighted the importance of human connection—that sense of closeness and belonging a person can experience when having supportive relationships with those around them.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.justmetherapy.com
- Email: justmepodcast1@gmail.com
- Instagram: @justmetherapy
- Facebook: Just Me: The Podcast
- Youtube: @justmepodcast2043
