I realized recently that I’ve never mentioned my private practice on this website, which is WILD since it’s the main reason I became a therapist and it’s deeply connected to why I started this blog. This post is to briefly explain the another important part of my professional/community work, beyond my beloved blog.
What Is MHC4OC?
Mental Health Counseling for Our Communities, PLLC (also known as MHC4OC) is my donation-based private practice providing free somatic psychotherapy for Black people. I’m already providing free therapy to 1 client and I’m looking for donations to grow my caseload.
Services include:
Short term and long term individual sessions,
EMDR sessions,
And relationship counseling (platonic, familial, community, professional, and non-monogamous and monogamous romantic relationships).
Pre-pandemic, the plan was that MHC4OC would be a mobile psychotherapy practice where I, & any future hired therapists, would be able to provide therapy wherever clients were most comfortable (in their homes, in rented private office spaces, virtually, etc.). Ideally, this would be a better fit for folks who cannot fully benefit from treatment in traditional office settings.
Sessions are 100% VIRTUAL AT THIS TIME, with more diverse community and home-based options for counseling sessions in the future once the pandemic is systemically under control.
Why did I decide to start this private practice?
This goes back to the 2008 recession. I saw the need for more quality, culturally competent therapy for Black people and I knew then that I wanted to do my part to help us get to that goal.
When I would ask Black people from different walks of life (who wanted to be in therapy, but couldn’t) what was stopping them, the main reason was always finances. With the way healthcare is purposely set up in this country, many people, especially many, many Black people simply cannot afford quality mental health services. I realized years ago that it wasn’t enough just for me to be a Black therapist who specializes in seeing Black clients if the goal is to help get more and more Black people in quality therapeutic/clinical relationships. The therapy sessions also needed to be free
How is MHC4OC the Free Private Practice Connected to QueeringPsychology the Psychotherapy Resource Blog?
I created this website as a place for me to share free psychology and psychotherapy information for folks who can’t afford or are still looking for a therapist who fits their needs. MHC4OC is the next step, a continuation of the same values that led me to starting QueeringPsychology. Both this blog and the private practice are connected by my beliefs that healthcare should be free and that wellness and freedom happen at the community-level.
This blog is also a way for me, Pierre, to show the kind of therapist I am and the kind of perspective I am working from clinically. It is my hope that, as people are generally helped by this blog and my social media accounts, the folks who can afford the $3 Patreon or more will decide to help me provide quality somatic psychotherapy to people who systemically have the least access to quality mental health care.
