When you feel like you’re in a rut or just need someone to talk to, look to Flourish Counseling and Mental Health Center for a mental health professional you can lean on when times get tough.
Current statistics by the National Alliance on Mental Health estimates that 1 in 4 adults will experience mental illness in a given year.
1 in 5 adolescents will experience mental health issues each year, which is why it’s important to stay on the forefront of your family’s mental health and well-being.
What started as a solo practice in Bee Cave run by Dr. Candice Ackerman quickly grew into the six therapist counseling center it is today. With expansion dreams on the horizon, Dr. Ackerman started the search for the perfect spot for her budding practice.
“It was partly selfish [opening in Lakeway] because I wanted to be close to home,” Ackerman relates as we tour the three fully furnished treatment rooms in their new spot.
January 11, 2016 was their grand opening at the TenSeventeen building off 620 South, and since then the team behind Flourish has been filling out their calendar with book clubs, classes, workshops and community outreach projects to help the greater Austin area in any way they can.
Helping end the stigma around mental illness
“What we’re trying to do with Flourish is to break some of the stigma surrounding mental illness, in that all of us here are people with lives, and we’re not looking to judge anybody and it’s normal to want to come in and talk with somebody.”
Candice’s background in counseling started with the Department of Veterans Affairs, which brought her to many parts of the country, before settling down in Austin to start her practice. A graduate of the University of Kansas with a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, she’s ready to help Lake Travis and Austinites fight their fears and live their lives to the fullest.
Dr. Ackerman and her team are on a mission to help push through emotional blockages and issues, on your terms. Each licensed counselor has their own specialties and focuses — from addiction issues to generalized anxiety — and are open to tailoring their treatments to what the patient needs.
Adults, adolescents and children can find help here, and if you’re interested in family or couples counseling, there are therapists with specialties in those subjects to make sure everyone is getting the care they need.
Therapy with horses and yoga?
This is a huge difference from the lay-on-the-couch-and-talk model of counseling, which you can still do, but Flourish offers classes like art therapy, psychotherapy on a horse ranch, and even onsite yoga classes with therapeutic themes if that’s more your style.
“The idea behind our practice being that we can offer in-house referrals across one another and we provide ‘coordination of care.'”
And with a half dozen trained therapists on staff, it’s easy to tackle the big or the small problems, depending on what you need.
Appointment scheduling is flexible, with weekend and evening slots available if you can’t make it during the day. Flourish even offers a free 30-minute consultation to new patients, and children are welcome in your appointment if childcare is hard to find or if an appointment is last minute.
Flourish Counseling and Mental Wellness Center (map)
1017 Ranch Rd 620 S #222
Lakeway, TX 78734
