Today we’d like to introduce you to Jorge and Amanda Gama.
Jorge began to look into psychology in high school. His mother owned an in-home daycare and foster program for children whose parents were incarcerated. When he spoke with his school counselor about his plans, she stated that he should look at something more realistic, like being a plumber. But with hard work and after moving to Dallas/Fort Worth from San Diego, California, he completed his bachelor’s at University of Texas at Arlington and graduated with honors at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth with a Master’s in Professional Counseling.
Jorge and Amanda started in private practice a little longer than 6 years ago. They feel a calling to help families and restore hope, to both clients and other therapists. Jorge is a Licensed Professional Counselor and works with adults dealing with business growth and consulting, failure to launch (early 20s to 30s), depression/anxiety, and is the clinical director for Restore, their adult advanced outpatient program. Amanda has a business degree and focuses on working with therapists to advance their careers and become successful in private practice.
As Mending Clinic formed, Jorge and Amanda focused on laying down a strong foundation for growth and confidence building in other counselors. Counseling programs at universities do not incorporate any type of training for counselors in private practice, so Jorge and Amanda started sharing their knowledge with others in the field.
Building a private practice has been an accumulation of hard work, connecting with the community and helping their clients become the heroes in their own story by encouraging them to meet their own goals and become healthier human beings. They are all connected in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and in the world.
Instead of opening a small one-man office, Jorge decided to begin private practice with a team of other counselors. Jorge and Amanda started with a small office suite and filled it with young counselors just starting out in private practice. They looked for other counselors with similar drive and aspirations, but who worked with different clients or counseled a different way. This way, if a client was looking for something different, they always have a counselor they can connect with. As Jorge and Amanda pour into other counselors, those counselors are stronger and are able to pour into their clients, who are healthier and stronger and pour into their families, friends, co-workers, and classmates.
Jorge and Amanda’s most recent adventure is building up Mending Clinic’s adult advanced outpatient program, Restore. Jorge was noticing a gap of services for his clients and he and Amanda have spent the last two years speaking with others and building a strong curriculum. The vision of Restore is to prevent adults from being admitted or re-admitted to a psychiatric hospital or residential treatment center and build healthy patterns in their current day-to-day environment. It is very individualistically based, with lots of one-on-one attention and incorporates family health as well.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
If following your dreams is easy, everyone would do it!
The toughest hurdle for us to overcome has been how we work against the norms in the mental health field. When Jorge and Amanda began their private practice, they decided to put the client’s treatment first and not attempt to join insurance panels. It was a very difficult decision to make, but we felt confident that we should not let insurance companies dictate our style of treatment or flexibility.
Restore has been very similar. Restore is an out-of-network program, simply because insurance policies do not cover many aspects of it.
Insurance might cover limited sessions of group therapy, the psychiatrist’s visit, or individual/family therapy in Restore; however, we are not aware of an insurance policy that covers the in-home assessment that each individual receives or the equine-assisted therapy or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blended in to the group therapy portion of the program.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Mending Clinic – what should we know?
Mending Clinic focuses on restoring hope. Restoring hope to college student struggling to live away from home for the first time. Restoring hope to the single mom whose children miss their father. Restoring hope to the empty nester who feels alone. Restoring hope to the business owner filing bankruptcy. The counselors at Mending Clinic specifically view each person as an individual with a unique background, personality and their own set of hardships.
Likewise, the leaders at Mending Clinic look at each counselor and team member as an individual with a unique background, personality and their own set of hardships. The team at Mending Clinic understand it’s not about each team member at this office, or the clients that we see. Restoring hope to each of them means hope is spread all over the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. We understand that, and Jorge and Amanda see that belief play out in creative and meaningful ways on a daily basis.
That is the reason we named our outpatient program RESTORE. Through our group therapy and individualistic approach, the adults completing the program will have restored hope and be on their way to understanding their full potential.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
The biggest contributor to our current success is our team. Mending Clinic has a wonderful team who work so hard to support Jorge and Amanda’s vision. Mending Clinic would not have seen anywhere near the success and changed lives without them. Cheryl Larrabee, LPC has been with Mending Clinic almost four years. She works with couples and adults struggling with depression. Annette Kerr, LPC-S has a strong foundation in trauma counseling and is always studying to better herself and teach others. Jalea Seals, LPC has been with Mending Clinic from the beginning and has founded 212 Behavioral. 212 Behavioral sends licensed counselors into the home to work with parents of behaviorally acting out children. Emily Benning, LPC works with teen and young adults going through transitions and focuses on healthy habits, like eating well, sleeping habits, and teaching about good choices. Indira Johnson, LPC is bilingual and focuses on working with Latino families. Sandy Owen, LPC-Intern, LCDC (supervised by Jorge Gama, LPC-S) is a strong advocate of clients struggling with substance abuse or their family and close friends.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5624 SW Green Oaks Blvd
Arlington, TX 76017 - Website: MendingClinic.com
- Phone: 682.730.6363 (MEND)
- Email: info@mendingclinic.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/mendingclinic
- Twitter: @MendingClinic
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