The Role of Therapists? “We Have Knowledge that We Want to Give to You to Help You Be Whole,” says Janay Price, Owner of Premier Counseling, LLC

Interview of Janay Price by Sabriya Dobbins, Founder of Project Passport

Janay Price knew that no matter what career path she chose, it had to be one of service. She knew that her time and talents had to be used for the greater good. She could not end up somewhere just to fit into the mold, regardless of money and location. With the support from her college advisors, she knew social work would fit like a glove. Little did she know that she would go on to open her own group practice known as Premier Counseling, LLC.

Janay presenting on mental health

After completing her MSW in the NCAT/UNCG joint social work program, Janay started off in child welfare. Her favorite part was making sure that children were treated with the proper dignity and respect they deserved. She also believed it was essential to be an advocate for the parents trying to do their best for their children but needed the support to do so.

Soon, she started working with at-risk youth providing them mental health counseling services. She worked in this area for several years until she was unexpectedly offered a position providing geriatric psychotherapy. Having worked with children for so long, Janay did not think this was a good fit for her, so she rejected; but the owner of the company was persistent and before she knew it, she was working with the geriatric population providing them with mental health counseling.

Janay shares, “Many of them experience losing their children, losing spouses, downsizing, retirement, limited financial resources and natural supports. There is so much the geriatric population is going through and there is often no one to serve them.”

After three amazing years serving the geriatric community, the company she worked for closed and Janay was left jobless. After much prayer and hopes to pursue a dream, she packed up and moved to Columbia, SC to start her own group practice in geriatric counseling. Since her parents believed in her, they worked overtime to help her in the launch process. To this day, she attributes all of her success to them.

Janay during a presentation

“I worked 7 days a week, 16-18 hours a day for 5 months straight. I was going to assisted living facilities and speaking to them for days and weeks, offering my services.”

Today, Janay and her team have served over 700 seniors in SC in just 3 years.

According to Janay, “At the core of Premier Counseling, LLC, we are an organization of service. We serve seniors with limited financial resources and we take all of our services to them.  We provide education to families and in-service trainings for assisted living staff to include directors, CNAs, and MedTech so they understand how mental illness looks in this population.”

What makes her most proud is that she is being a good steward of the things God has given to her. She is using her time, talent, and money to ensure she can help take care of the seniors, the community, and her team members. She believes that God wants the most for us and the best for us. God gave her something and it was her responsibility to take that thing and multiply it.

When asked about how to deal with the disconnect between mental health and religion she explained her thoughts:

“When God wants to heal someone on their hospital bed, He sends doctors. Yes, I believe there are things we need to pray our way through; however, I remind people that it is faith…with work. What we can do on earth to get those things we are praying for when it comes to our mental health? Seek a professional. If you have a strong Christian faith, you can find a therapist who is a Christian too. We are not God [therapists] but God has placed us here to make certain that people are emotionally well. Christians can accept doctors, lawyers…and we are no different.”

Janay speaking on mental health to geriatric residents

Janay believes that as a society, it is phenomenal that mental health is becoming a roundtable discussion. She thinks we are going in the right direction. We can continue to normalize not being okay. Her fear is that mental health may become perverted. We hear about mass shootings and people think: mental illness. This minimizes what people are experiencing daily-- issues like anxiety, depression and so on. She knows it is important to help people understand the criteria of mental illness and how to treat it.

Being proactive and not reactive is key. She feels that we need to start with grassroots efforts by going to the spaces that need it. One thing she does not want is mental health services to be available to “the haves” and not accessible to “the have nots”. When describing the role of therapists, she states, “We have knowledge that we want to give to you to help you be whole.”

Overall, she wants mental health services to be affordable, she wants to see more providers accepting Medicare and Medicaid, be accessible, and to be regarded as important by local governments, schools and legislative bodies.

“It’s okay to not be okay! If you are not okay, it is okay to seek help. None of us are exempt. No one walking the earth is exempt from a mental health concern. Life is going to continue to happen and we want people to be equipped when it does,” Janay explains.

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Learn more about Premier Counseling, LLC

office:  803.821.8333

email:  info@premiercounselingllc.org

website: www.premiercounselingllc.org

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Project Passport is a mental empowerment retreat and event company created to help women connect with one another and gain the tools to improve their lives in the best way possible. Each retreat experience has a unique theme with carefully designed activities to help participants grow and experience transformation. We are making mental wellness the norm, one retreat at a time. Learn more at project-passport.com.