A letter from InDependent
Everyday military and first responder families that tell us how hard it is to find a counselor or wellness expert that understands the service lifestyle.
Searching for competent clinicians and experts can be a challenging barrier that service families have to overcome.
The founder of this directory, Corie Weathers, LPC, is a military spouse and clinician who faced multiple problems. She wanted to help people, but marketing was a challenge. She knew that there needed to be a way to get clinicians and wellness experts who understand military and first responder families in front of the families who need them. Cumbersome insurance directories were missing important information, and didn’t give the providers the ability to update their own information. Business websites are ineffective if families can’t find them and because many are military spouses and move every year and a half, it is almost impossible to maintain a career- much less managing licensure portability. There are so many qualified and culturally competent military spouses that are utilizing telehealth as a way to finally run a business regardless of where they are stationed. She wanted to create a way to connect those who are serving with those who serve. We continue her legacy by making wellness accessible and expanding on the directory that she founded.
Large organizations, companies, and non-profits often wonder,
“Where do we send our families if they need more help than our programs can provide?”
This directory is a solution to all of those barriers to wellness.
Whether you are a military spouse, veteran, or civilian- this directory was built for you as much as it was built for the service families that use it.
InDependent
A non-profit with a mission to make wellness accessible.
Military & First Responder Families
Service Families need to connect with providers
Finding high quality help is difficult when you don't know what you are looking for. The Wellness Directory makes this step easy. Families looking for hope are able to search for culturally competent providers as well as organizations that support them. Families can search for providers that are military spouses, veterans, first responder spouses, and even search clinicians that take their insurance or provide online care.
Service Organizations
Organizations need to connect families to providers
Non-profits, businesses, and other organizations that work with service families want to be fully focused on programming and services, many of which do not include therapy or intensive treatment. These organizations want to ethically direct service families who need this level of care to competent professionals without changing their programming. By utilizing and referring their families to the Wellness Directory, everyone wins.
Providers
Providers need to connect with families
Providers rarely get training in business, outreach, and marketing in their degree programs. Finding the clients you are passionate to serve can be challenging. The Wellness Directory makes the provider's business visible to service families that trust the process and values of the InDependent brand. InDependent also partners with larger organizations that work with service families, and companies that hire veterans and service spouses who are always looking to refer to culturally competent providers giving them extra visibility.
Providers need Telehealth to be searchable
Directories, including insurance companies have been trying to figure out a way to make telehealth searchable. InDependent understands that telehealth is the modern way to provide services anywhere in the state. Telehealth makes it possible to expand a clinician's practice and for many active duty military spouse clinicians, makes their career portable. The InDependent Wellness Directory not only allows clinicians to categorize as a telehealth provider in their practice listing, telehealth is fully searchable.
Providers need to connect with CEU Opportunities
Continuing education is always a concern for licensed professionals. InDependent partners with organizations that offer continuing education and other training that can build the clinician's portfolio and help them carve a more credible niche to treat service families- simply by joining the directory. The Wellness Professional Dashboard features service organizations as well as opportunities of interest to clinicians.
What is the Wellness Directory?
Searchable maps that give everyone a chance to find each other...
PLUS.... search for clinicians & Wellness Professionals that are veterans, military spouses, and more.
Maps are free for families and nonprofit organizations to use.
Clinicians & wellness professionals pay a tax deductible yearly fee based off of services needed.
Local Expert Map
Great for wellness experts with a physical office for face-to-face sessions. Telehealth can also be on the map with no physical address.
Telehealth Expert Map
Great for wellness experts who provide only telemental health and do not want an address listed.
Who is eligible to join?
We take great pride in sending only the best to service families in need. In order to register as a wellness Professional, you must meet the following criteria.
ALL MENTAL HEALTH CLINICIANS MUST
- Hold an active, unrestricted license in one or more states
- Mention of supervision if currently under an intern/associate license
- Accurate and current information about you and/or your practice
All Wellness Professionals must
- Hold an active, credible certification or license (depending on legal requirements) in one or more states
- Mention of supervision if currently under an intern/associate license
- Accurate and current information about you and/or your practice
All Wellness Professionals must
- Military & first responder spouses, veterans, first responders, retired military & first responders, chaplains, etc.
- Provide proof of a personal connection to the service lifestyle as a serving or supporting spouse, or veteran
All Wellness Professionals must
- Military & first responder spouses, veterans, first responders, retired military & first responders, chaplains, etc.
- Proof of at least 3 years experience with service families or CEU’s/certifications that show competency
All Wellness Professionals must
- Organizations that provide programming to military and first responder families. (FREE) Examples include:
- Equine Therapy
- Retreats
- Programming that treats post-traumatic stress or other wellness topics
- Family and marriage programming
How does it work?
- Register for an account on the InDependent Wellness Directory site.
- Enter your practice information including your bio and contact information. The directory even allows you to embed videos and upload photos that highlight your practice.
- Select searchable categories and include tags like specialties of insurance carriers you work with.
- Work in two or more locations? The Wellness Directory calls that a "franchise"- after your initial listing, you can add "franchises" that connect the two together.
- Service families, companies, and organizations will utilize the directory to send families your way!
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Clinicians who have already joined across the globe.
Hear from service families...
"We live a life where we can’t pretend evil doesn’t exist...where always believing the best in people can lead to my husband never coming home. It changes him which can then lead to fear, anger and bitterness on the spouses part. We wrestle with not fitting in anywhere, feeling like single parents, and shouldering the changes we see in our spouse on our own. This life is isolating and we are guarded to outsiders who don’t seem to get it. We need understanding- not anecdotes by someone who has never faced the ugliness of humanity day in and day out. We need affirmation that we aren’t broken or crazy."
~First Responder Spouse
"We DON'T have support if we don’t go and advocate heavily for it, we’re scared of our husbands superiors, of there being a problem, and of losing everything as a result of his career. Our homes our children’s schools our insurance.... we can lose what little stability we have in life."
~ Military spouse
Current Partners of the InDependent Wellness Directory
Want your organization listed?
Please reach out to connect your organization and find out how the directory can be a win-win for everyone involved. Connected organizations are listed on participating wellness professional dashboards. Find out more about what these organizations offer for service families you support, as well as opportunities they have for building your resume and education.