My Counseling Session

Information may not be reliable

“My Counseling Session” (MCS-Geries Shaheen LPC LLC)During this event, attendees were given a free lunch provided by the local Chick-fil-A. Attendees of the luncheon received Client X Initiative’s 2020 Annual Report, MCS promotional magnets, and informational pamphlets to provide to community members. The luncheon allowed community partners of MCS to meet MCS therapists, counselors, life coaches and interns working there this summer.

“This luncheon was a great way to bring like-minded professionals together in a beautiful venue to simply catch up and discuss the deep impact they have made on the local community. After a year of remote meetings and telehealth, it was refreshing to see everyone in person, and a great way to kick off the summer!” - Geries Shaheen LPC, Executive Director.

MCS is a web-based platform that provides access to mental health services. Client X Initiative is the nonprofit arm connected to the practice that raises money for clients who cannot afford therapy. The nonprofit organization was started in March 2019 and has provided 240 free session hours in 2020.

Client X Initiative’s mission is to ethically provide and cover the costs of counseling clients’ basic needs. Client ‘X’ Initiative is a 501c3 established in March 2019. After spending a year as the Program Director of The Farm in Winfield, MO (a substance recovery farm for adolescent boys), Geries Shaheen quickly discovered that a disparity exists within the mental health world. Shaheen decided to form a nonprofit focused on eliminating such disparities.

Client X connects the goodwill of grants and private donations to cover mental health sessions of those less fortunate.

“Mental health should not only be accessible to the financially stable. Most private practices provide sliding fee scales, but even then there exist clients unable to cover the sliding scale.”A year later Client X began to expand in its abilities to cover the cost of other mission-minded initiatives. Initiatives such as sponsorship of a mental health 5k, local teacher mental health and appreciation events, as well as development/mentorship of cross-cultural ministers via a ministerial branch.

Client X Initiative was awarded $3,500 in 2020 from various grants such as Walmart, Blackbaud, Network for Good, and private donors. In return, MCS was able to provide 240 session hours at no cost- a value equal to $36,000 worth of mental health sessions.

“Working with My Counseling Session has been such a great experience for me, both personally and professionally. I’ve grown in counseling skills and have begun to find my identity as a therapist. Learning how a private practice works has been invaluable during this internship. Visiting with colleagues at the Client X Initiative luncheon was a breath of fresh air as we bonded over common goals to serve the St. Charles community.” - Abby Ortego, Intern Counselor.

If you are interested in donating to Client X Initiative to cover mental health services for others, visit mycounselingsession.com and click the donate button.

For more information regarding MCS or to access care, visit http://mycounselingsession.com/

To contact MCS, call 636-224-1000, or email clientxinitiative@gmail.com.

News Bureau

119 South Main Street

St. Charles, MO 63301

Phone: (636) 255-0270

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