Crosswinds Conversations is a segment of a TV Series called Restoring Hope with Crosswinds Counseling. Restoring Hope With Crosswinds Counseling can be viewed in the Indianapolis Area on WHMB40 Thursday nights @ 9:30 pm.
Curtis: Tonight we are excited to welcome our first guest. She is the Director of Operations for Crosswinds Counseling. Rachel Bowers. Rachel, thank you for being here tonight.
Rachel: Thanks for having me.
Curtis: You are the Director of Operations. You’ve been with Crosswinds for getting close to 20 years, right?
Rachel: 17. Yeah, close.
Curtis: Tell me about what you have seen in this organization. Give us kind of an overview of Crosswinds. I know you were with a different part of the organization about 10 years ago because that was really when Crosswinds was birthed. Give us an overview. Tell us what the last ten years or so have been like for you.
Rachel: Yeah. I actually started when we were at Black Lake Lodge, before we moved to the residential facility we know as PWA. I had the opportunity to work with young boys there. Still probably one of my favorite jobs until this day. I really enjoyed that. It was probably one of the hardest jobs, but I definitely enjoyed that. I moved into Lifeline, I believe it was around 2004, and we were just up in Northern Indiana. We had an office for the counseling side right there in Kendallville. I think we had under 20 staff at that point covering a lot of territory. And just what has been the most amazing piece of the whole journey is watching the growth and just watching even our CEO. His vision of what is coming and just to see that, I guess in accordance with even what God has done and just growing us to where we are today – every county on the Lifeline side. Just seeing what we’ve done with Crosswinds. I guess I joined that team roughly about 5 years ago. All we were doing was free services. Providing free services to people. And just see now that we have moved and been able to accept insurance, and that we are throughout the state. We are in other states. We have clients now internationally, in Canada. And it has just been an amazing journey. It’s been an honor to be a part of it.
Curtis: That growth is incredible. What’s that been like for you to oversee that as the Director of Operations when the operations explode? What is that like in your seat?
Rachel: I get excited about it. I like the challenge of it. I think where that excitement comes again is that vision, and just I believe as a company, now as an enterprise. Just how our obedience and yielding to God and the direction that He calls us to go and how He’s calling us to grow. And the fact that being able to witness that first hand start to play out and move from that vision point to reality. And then on top of that to not only be able to have, again the honor of just having a clinical impact, being able to have Kingdom impact as well, and those two going together again just adds to that excitement level. Even now thinking about what we’re planning even for this year alone. I just get excited because there’s no limit I believe to where we will be called to go.
Curtis: That’s amazing. Part of that growth for Crosswinds has been not just helping individuals and families and kids, but getting into the Corporate Counseling side which has really exploded. What is that like? What does that program do for those who don’t know about the Corporate Counseling services we provide?
Rachel: It gives us an opportunity to – I mean life is hard and balancing life is so hard. I think especially with people – even just the job market and the stress of being employed and all that entails in itself and just to know that we can go in and companies see the value of mental health, and they’re like ‘You know what, it makes us a better company.’ I think of one of our corporate partners, in particular, our first one. After their first year, they were able to tell us that ‘We were able to have a 10% improvement in our retention, just by offering your counseling programs.’ And just being able to be a safe place for, I don’t care where you are at in that company. You could be in an executive office. We work with all of them. It’s so unique all on our end because if people could realize that the issues everyone is dealing with are truly the same. They look different. They may manifest differently based on what your role or title is. Just to know that we’re helping with retention, but even with that to be able to help with the family piece and when they’re going home just being a more balanced family. A healthier family because of that.
Curtis: Tell me about it from a client perspective. You get to see and get to hear feedback and reaction from those who go through our counseling programs and go through sessions, and we are certainly sensitive to privacy and we adhere to HIPPA regulations so we don’t share names, and you’re not able to give a lot of detail at times. I know that you see the impact and that you hear from the clients themselves the impact that the counseling has on them. What is some of that feedback and how does that impact you?
Rachel: The overwhelming – what we hear the most is that they would not have probably gotten therapy had it not been for the generosity, the benevolence of the employer. And you would think surely if they’re employed, they would have the financial means to do that, but that’s not always the case. I mean there’s other circumstances and things that factor into that, but I just wish companies knew that it really is that simple. That basic. It doesn’t have to be that grandiose feedback about all this healing that happens, but the fact that people – especially the stigma attached to mental health, they probably wouldn’t have gotten that help to start with if they didn’t have that 3 or that 5 sessions. Even for Crosswinds and Lifeline and Lasting Change, having our own internal corporate counseling. As an employee that’s awesome that my company is willing to invest. It makes me feel better as an employee. That makes me feel more likely to engage and just there’s so much power. It’s so important I think for people to understand.
Curtis: That’s got to be wonderful. To see that impact when you hear that, when you see that play out and people’s lives get better, how rewarding is that for you?
Rachel: It is and I want to shout it from the rooftops but obviously with HIPPA, and there’s so many things in the feedback that clients offer up to us, it can really identify who the client is. So we don’t get to share a lot of it. Just knowing again and not just a clinical impact, but so much of the feedback we get is Kingdom impact. We get to see that maybe their faith has grown or they’re back in church. Not just a sense of faith but as a great community resource as well. Just being connected and part of something more than themselves. It’s just awesome. I love it.
Curtis: Real quick. Last thing. You hinted at some of the growth. Some of the things to come in ‘22. We’re here in Indianapolis. I know you may not be able to give away everything, but what do some of the future plans look like? What do they look like for Indianapolis and other places?
Rachel: We’re looking at adding another four offices this year, Greenwood being one of them. So we’re still looking at confirming space and just a timeline for that. We’re looking at Dayton. We have an office already over there. Really we’re just waiting to hire and get people in there. Kalamazoo, and then we’re looking at Kentucky toward the end of the year, the fourth quarter.
Curtis: Exciting stuff.
Rachel: It is.
Curtis: Rachel, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate the conversation tonight.
Rachel: Thank you, Curtis.