Today we’d like to introduce you to Maureen Werrbach.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I opened Urban Wellness in June of 2012 because of a personal goal to provide mental health services to the community I live in. That mission quickly expanded as I hired mental health clinicians to work with me. I’ve always wanted to grow something that was bigger than myself, something that could continue on and touch many more lives than I could do all on my own. Enter 2018, and Urban Wellness has grown to two locations with over 20 employees, from therapists who provide counseling to clients- from kids to adults, families to couples, to other services like psychological testing and medication management. We found that our clients really need one place where they can get all their mental health needs met. It isn’t uncommon to have a whole family being seen at Urban Wellness, where the children are seeing child therapists, the parents seeing a couples therapist and also their own individual therapists. Our therapists all have very specific specialty areas so that there is likely someone at Urban Wellness that meets a client’s mental health needs-and this is an important aspect of our hiring process. Our therapists have backgrounds in Gottman Couples Therapy, Dance/Movement Therapy, Art Therapy, Drug and Alcohol Counseling, EMDR, Hypnotherapy, and so much more. We look at what our community is asking for, and we search for therapists who can meet those needs.
A larger part of Urban Wellness’ overall mission (our mission being to help members of our communities thrive, both in their personal lives and in their relationships) is to give back to the community. Part of our growth has been focused on being able to provide services to the community. We offer monthly speaking engagements to local schools and businesses and partner with local businesses to offer workshops on various mental health topics. We also donate to local schools or businesses each year (our 2018 donation included 15 chrome books to a local public school’s special education department). We’re also in the beginning stages of putting together the Peace Circle Project, where we will decorate and donate supplies to a Peace Circle room for Chicago area public schools.
Our values extend not just to the type of clinicians that work at Urban Wellness, but also to the clients we work with. Our visions include creating strong relationships within our team and out in the community, serving the community through donations of time, finances, and services, investing in quality when it comes to our clinical work and atmosphere, and promoting inclusion and equity.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It actually hasn’t been too bumpy. I thrive on movement, creating ideas and implementing them, and I love a good challenge. I’ve always looked at growing the business from a curiosity perspective, observing it from all angles. It’s been exciting to take something that was a challenge and work through it.
The biggest challenge has come from learning how to lead other people. Being an introverted, conflict-avoiding, people pleasing person, I’ve had to work hard personally at advocating for what I want for my business, what needs to happen for it to succeed and holding others accountable to meeting those needs. I’ve had to work on my leadership skills and learn how to communicate and take constructive feedback and become a better leader.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Urban Wellness is a multidisciplinary group practice that provides counseling, psychological testing, and medication management to members of our communities. What sets us apart is that our therapists all have different specialty areas, so it is likely that we have a therapist who can work with a client’s specific areas of concern. None of our clinicians are considered general therapists. Each therapist has an area(s) they received advanced training in and feel fulfilled in working with those populations. This is what sets us apart. If we can’t work with a client and their concerns, we have a network of resources we can refer them to. We don’t just work with clients just because we can. We want clients to have success, so if that means that it’s not us, we help them get there with someone else. I work specifically with adults. My two specialty areas are working with entrepreneurs on balancing both worlds of personal and professional life as well as adult clients with a trauma history using talk therapy and EMDR.
I’m most proud of the fact that I get to work with so many amazing therapists who show up, not only for their clients but also for the community. I’m proud to work with therapists who show up and do the work, often hard work, side by side with their clients. Therapists who advocate for their clients and create safe spaces for their clients to do their internal work.
What were you like growing up?
I grew up as an only child, and many people who know me know that played a large role in who I am now. Because I grew up without siblings or many friends, I learned how to play creatively as a child and thrived at playing games and doing tasks that didn’t require other people. I was the kid who chose to work on projects alone in school (instead of with a friend) because I liked to control all the variables and do the work myself, diving into various parts of a project and learning a lot more than I would have if I had partners. This set that stage for me as a business person because I had so much experience in needing to make decisions on my own about school projects and work, that I was truly comfortable working independently at building businesses. I think this played a big role in my ability to roll with the punches of business ownership.
Contact Info:
- Address: 6601 N. Avondale, Suite 101 Chicago IL 60631
4055 W. Peterson, Suite 202 Chicago IL 60646 - Website: www.urbanwellnesscounseling.com
- Phone: 773-774-4444
- Email: intake@urbanwellnesscounseling.com
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