By Jessica Smith, LCPC

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Are you someone who does a deep dive into the various companies, restaurants, or organizations you frequent? Does it matter to you what they believe in or how they market their brand?

It matters to us. 

Of course, there are many aspects of a company we don’t get to have an insider look at. But sometimes a company does a really fantastic job of showing us what they are about. 

Wellness & Co. is about a lot of things. We care about people. Their stories, their pain, and the hope they hold for the future.

So it makes sense that we deeply believe in the power of therapy. 

The therapy room can be a place where language is found, patterns are understood, and people begin to reconnect with themselves in meaningful ways. It can also be a space where things that have felt tangled for a long time start to feel a little less overwhelming, where pauses are allowed without pressure to immediately “fix,” and where people can begin to notice themselves with a bit more curiosity and less judgment. Sometimes it’s one of the only places in someone’s week where they are not having to perform, explain, or hold everything together at once, and that alone can be incredibly impactful. 

And also…we don’t believe healing only happens there.

We Believe in Healing Outside of Therapy, Too

So much of what shapes us happens outside of structured spaces. It happens in relationships, in moments of connection, in environments that allow us to feel a little more like ourselves. It happens when our nervous systems have the chance to soften, even briefly, in the presence of something steady or grounding.

That’s part of why being in community matters so much to us.

Showing up for the Community That Shows up for Us

We feel really grateful to be part of Harford County. There’s something about this community that allows for a different pace…where small moments of connection happen more naturally and where there’s space to build something that feels both personal and rooted. It’s the kind of place where you can start to recognize familiar faces over time, where relationships build slowly but meaningfully, and where that sense of “community” is still something people actually experience in day-to-day life. It’s a place where you might actually wave at your therapist in the wild (and both survive the experience). 

We also really value the balance here. We’re close enough to larger cities, but still grounded in a way that allows for more breathing room, both personally and professionally. There’s access to nature, quieter rhythms in certain pockets of life, and a general sense that things don’t have to be constantly moving at full speed in order to matter.

For us, this isn’t just where our office is located. It’s where we live, where we build relationships, and where we have the opportunity to be part of something larger than our individual roles.

Giving Back Fuels Our Work

And because of that, giving back to this community is not something we think of as separate from our work, it’s actually a core part of it.

We don’t see ourselves as existing outside of the systems and communities we serve. We are part of them. And so it feels important, and honestly grounding for us as a team, to show up in ways that extend beyond the therapy room, whether that’s through volunteering, participating in local initiatives, or simply finding ways to contribute that feel practical and present.

We also know that healing doesn’t happen in isolation. People don’t just heal in sessions—they heal in relationships, in shared spaces, in environments where they feel connected to something beyond themselves. So when we engage in community work, it’s not an “extra,” it’s an extension of what we already believe about how people grow and heal.

There’s something meaningful about stepping outside of clinical roles and showing up alongside others in a different way. No titles, no formal structure, just shared time and presence. 

Where Do You Heal?

When we think about what supports healing, we think about more than our therapeutic sessions with clients. We also think about being outside, shared experiences, and the feeling of contributing to something that isn’t just about you.

That’s part of what draws us to community involvement and volunteer work. Not as something extra or performative, but as an extension of what we already believe: that connection, purpose, and environment all play a role in how people heal.

Recently, we had the opportunity to spend a morning volunteering at the Anita C. Leight Estuary Center in Abingdon. On the cusp of celebrating thirty years in our community, the Estuary has walking trails, a nature center, kayak launches, a nature discovery area for littles, many gardens maintained by volunteer master gardeners, and more.

We worked on a lesser known park of the estuary where you can have a picnic, explore the trails, and head out onto the water. As a team, and alongside other local providers, we cleaned up pathways, cut back invasive species, and rehabbed the kayak launch that had become filled with driftwood. Together, we practiced park beautification. 

The Meaning Behind Estuary – Highly Productive and Transitional

After learning about the estuary we were struck by the symbolism offered in our giveback mentality as a practice. What’s an estuary? 

An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water where freshwater from rivers and streams mixes with salty seawater, creating highly productive ecosystems. They act as transition zones between rivers and the ocean, often known as bays, lagoons, or inlets, which provide essential habitats, nursing grounds for fish, and natural buffers.

This may seem small but here’s where we connect the dots…

Just like an estuary, at Wellness & Co., we believe in combining our in session therapeutic skill with more informal healing (give-back and volunteer work, interaction with nature, involvement in the community, relational connection, etc.) to maximize our healing. And just like estuary, we believe when this is done well, therapy plus give-back, our clinicians can be their healthiest selves and our practice can become the transition zone for clients between a current pain point and a future life they haven’t even fully envisioned. 

We don’t see community involvement as separate from our work. We see it as part of it.

An Invitation

As part of that, we’re continuing to look for ways to show up, aligned and intentional, in our local community. 

Not perfectly. 

Not all at once. 

But consistently, and with intention (and ideally with good weather, if we’re being honest!). 

If you have an organization you love, a space you volunteer, or a drive to be involved, we’d love to hear more! 

Be with you again soon,
Jessica

Jessica Smith( LCPC )

Jessica works with growth-minded individuals and couples motivated to deepen connections with themselves and in their relationships. She encourages her clients to consider new perspectives so they can gain insight and understanding while also exploring new tools for communication and coping.

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