About Us
How We Started
Affordable Counseling was founded in 2008 to meet a dire need in the community that Dr. Baird experienced when working on the Children's Crisis Team for over 10 years. His job entailed going into ER's, schools, and homes during a crisis situation. Many times the child was suicidal and depressed. If it was a life threatening situation, the child would have to be admitted to a hospital. If Dr. Baird could not find a place for the child and he felt the child could be safe at home, the child would be discharged to the parents' with a safety plan. If the child was not currently in counseling, part of the plan would be a referral for treatment. Dr. Baird found out through feedback from mental health professionals and family members that it would take weeks for a child to be seen in counseling even if they had insurance. For families who did not have insurance and met a certain income level, they could apply to the State but that would take even longer. To be seen sooner, the parent could pay out of pocket for a therapist for an average of $100 a session. So as a crisis worker, Dr. Baird could help put out the fire temporarily but the situation was still smoldering ready to flame up again without on-going counseling. It was very discouraging for Dr. Baird to come to this realization that these families in crisis might not be seen at all or in several weeks because of their low income.
With much reflection and prayer, Dr. Baird decided to open Affordable Counseling to serve these families and adults in general who he found had a difficult time finding counseling because of their insurance or cost. He started working a few days a week. Within a month, there were too many clients for him to see. He began looking for help from doctoral counseling students who needed client hours for their degree. Dr. Baird started with one intern sharing an office. Today, Dr. Baird works at Affordable Counseling full time, with up to six counselors on staff, open Monday through Saturday with evening hours.
Are all the mental health needs of the community now being met by Affordable Counseling? No, not by a long shot. However it reminds Dr. Baird of a story about a small boy throwing starfish that were washed up on the sand back into the ocean. There were thousands of them but the boy was patiently throwing them back into the water, one by one. An adult came by and asked the boy what he was doing. He stated, "I'm helping the starfish." The adult replied, "What is the point? You cannot make a difference, there are so many starfish all over the shore." The boy smiled and said, "it makes a difference for the ones that make it back to the ocean." That is what we are trying to do at Affordable Counseling, to make a difference even if it might seem small in the big picture.
Services:
We work with almost all major mental health issues concerning adults, teens, children & couples, including:
- ADHD
- Anger Management
- Anxiety/ Panic Attacks
- Attachment Difficulties
- Bipolar Disorder
- Career Change
- Cancer/Serious Illness
- Depression
- Divorce
- Domestic Violence
- Grief/Loss
- Couples Counseling
- Mood Disorders
- Obsessional and Compulsive Behaviors
- Parenting Difficulties
- PTSD
- Sexual Abuse
- Stress