Our Favorite Mental Health Champions in Ohio

Did you know that 13% of adults in Franklin County reported having 15 or more poor mental health dates in the last month? Women and young adults in our community are more likely to experience poor mental health, but less likely to receive mental health services. 

In celebration of Mental Health Awareness month, YES is recognizing six mental health champions right here in Columbus:

Achea Redd

Achea Redd makes mental health awareness her mission—because for Achea, it’s personal.

In early 2016, Achea was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Terrified and ashamed, the mother of two hid her condition from the world, but she quickly realized it was only getting worse.

As a form of self-expression and healing, Achea created her own blog, sharing her feelings about mental health and authenticity. The support she received from the community compelled her to create Real Girls F.A.R.T., a space to empower and equip women with the necessary tools to use their voices and become their best, most authentic selves.

Achea uses her own life experience and mental health disorder to help women find their voice and let it out—and most importantly, to let women and girls who are suffering, struggling and stressed know that they are not alone.

M+A Architects

M+A Architects is more than just an architecture firm. They’re enriching lives through innovative design by keeping the users in the forefront of their mind. 

M+A is proud to introduce their newest concept, the “Respite Room,” designed by their award-winning interior design team and created in partnership with their internal Research and Innovation team. 

This full immersion, multi-sensory room is a place for fast relief. Complete with sensory tools – weighted blankets, stim tools, ear plugs, eye masks, and more – designed to calm the parasympathetic nervous system, decreasing stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline, and increasing a sense of calm and mindfulness. Having partnered with professionals from The Ohio State University, The National Institute of Health, psychologists, and integrative medicine practitioners from a variety of healing modalities, the space is a cumulation of research and evidence-based design.

We also encourage you to check out the podcast, M+Ake It Innovative, and their blog content that brings awareness to designing for mental health and how it will shape our future. 

The Mental Health Manager

Shavonda Johnson, aka The Mental Health Manager, is a mindset mogul and mental health advocate. As a Master’s level licensed social worker, she serves in the role of a therapist. Shavonda takes pride in being a personal trainer of thoughts, feelings and behaviors. As a Black therapist, she values being able to deconstruct stigmas toward mental health in the Black community. Shavonda is also a Christian and  works to help people accept the idea that, “Therapy x Jesus = a vibe!”

Shavonda also shares her incredible story in her own TEDx where she discusses her  own journey with substance abuse and incarceration. She provides insight as to why substance abuse treatment is more effective in community-based settings rather than prison, especially for individuals who have not committed violent crimes. She shares ideas on how the increase in community collectivism, advocacy, empathy and awareness play a large role in helping to shed light to the importance of increasing community treatment and decreasing incarceration rates.

Stephanie Rose Counseling

Stephanie Neer, M.Ed., LPC is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Ohio. She received her Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from Kent State University and continued at Kent State University to receive her Master of Education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

She has been providing individual mental health counseling services since 2018 and has experience with teenagers and adults. She also spent time creating and implementing group work. She is  passionate about grief and loss counseling and attends specialized training to improve her knowledge to help her clients who are experiencing a loss of any kind. Her other areas of focus include anxiety, stress and worry counseling; depression and hopelessness counseling; life transitions counseling; loneliness counseling; and relationship counseling.

Stephanie leaves work each day knowing that she was able to listen, support, and make a difference in her client’s lives and I will never take that for granted. She practices from a Solution Focused approach and I also implement Cognitive Behavior techniques.

Paloma

Paloma is a newly-opened spa and wellness center in Columbus. As a one-stop destination to nurture and nourish your body inside and out, Paloma has everything you need to savor moments of me-time. Paloma offers quality body and skincare rituals, spa-worthy bath and body treats and mindful workshops that make wellbeing a priority and allow the daily stresses of life to slip away.

One of their services includes meditation classes for beginners to advanced meditators. A great outlet for those looking for mental relief, they offer a variety of unique classes including Breathe & Be and Clarity Cleanse. One study found that a mindfulness-based stress reduction program helped quell anxiety symptoms in people with generalized anxiety disorder, a condition marked by hard-to-control worries, poor sleep, and irritability.

Columbus Dragonfly Counseling 

Dragonfly Counseling & Wellness was created because they realized that personal growth and self-realization only takes place through a holistic approach – mind, body, and spirit.

Not only do they offer professional counseling but they also provide wellness services including massage and acupuncture. Understanding the complexity of our bodies and that all of our systems are connected, they created a holistic practice that honors the complete mind and body.