Good Neighbor Podcast: Cobb County

E35: Womb to Tomb: Community-Centered Mental Health Care at Marietta West Cobb Counseling Center

• Milli M. & Terri Abraham • Episode 35

Share episode

Mental health support doesn't have to wait until you're in crisis. Meet Terri Abraham, founder of Marietta West Cobb Counseling Center, a community-centered practice offering comprehensive mental health services for all ages and stages of life.

"Therapy works mostly with the software—your thinking, cognitive processing, and feelings," explains Terri as she describes their innovative dual approach. The center uniquely combines traditional therapy with neurofeedback training that addresses "the hardware of that computer we call the brain," working with actual brainwaves to help clients achieve better regulation and balance.

What separates this practice from others is their intentional community focus. When Terri established the center over ten years ago, she deliberately sought therapists who could meet diverse local needs. Now with eight practitioners, they offer specialized support ranging from prenatal counseling to elder care—what Terri colorfully describes as serving clients "from womb to tomb." Their expertise spans children's therapy, couples counseling, trauma recovery, LGBTQ-affirming care, and treatment for conditions like depression, eating disorders, and addiction.

Terri leaves us with a powerful perspective on navigating life's challenges: "When we get into troubled areas, we feel like they might be endless. The truth is, good times happen—they don't last. Bad times happen—they don't last." This wisdom, delivered with warmth and authenticity, encapsulates the center's approach to mental wellness. As Terri reassures her clients, "You're batting a thousand on every other crisis you've had in your life." With the right support, you can overcome this one too.

Need mental health support? Contact Marietta West Cobb Counseling Center at 770-415-0880 or visit MariettaCounselingCenter.com to connect with professionals who understand both the hardware and software of your mental wellbeing.

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Millie.

Speaker 2:

M. Hello everyone, welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. I am Millie M. Are you in need of a resource for peace, success and well-being? Well, one might be closer than you think. I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, terry Abraham of the Marietta West Cobb Counseling Center. How are you doing, terry? Great Thanks for having me. Absolutely. We're excited to learn all about you and your business. Tell us more about Marietta West Cobb Counseling.

Speaker 3:

Well, marietta West Cobb Counseling has been in business for just a little over 10 years now. We are a group of eight practitioners who are dedicated to your mental health and well-being. We have seven therapists who can work with people from all ages and stages of life. We do cutting-edge therapy that is scientifically evidence-based and proven. We also offer neurofeedback training to. I like to say therapy works mostly with the software your thinking, your cognitive processing and how you're feeling. Neurofeedback therapy, that's your software of the brain and the computer, that's your software. Neurofeedback training works actually with your brainwaves and the electrical activity of your brains to help regulate and make you more balanced. So that's where we work, with the hardware of that computer we call the brain.

Speaker 2:

Tag teaming it from both ends. I like that, that. So how did you get into this business?

Speaker 3:

well, I've always, since I was a little girl, wanted to be in some type of health profession, and when I was in college and took my first psych 101 class, I fell in love with it and thought that was where I was going to go after I got out of school, took Took a lot of twists and turns after college, but when I was in my 40s I said I need to do something different and I went back to the first love of being in the mental health field and so I became a therapist and about 12 years ago I had been working in the mental health field for a while and I knew I wanted to do something more and different and bigger, and at first I just looked for a bigger office space. And then I realized what I was looking for was to open a center of my own and have therapists working in the center with me my own and have therapists working in the center with me.

Speaker 2:

Well, kudos to you for not being scared to switch gears. You know, in a what I call a second act or second chapter career, I think some people get you know stuck and feel like they can't make that, that change. So kudos to you.

Speaker 1:

So what are?

Speaker 2:

some myths or misconceptions about your industry or what you do.

Speaker 3:

Um, I think one of the myths is that you must you must be in crisis when you come to therapy, and I don't think you have to be. Often people are coming because there's a pain point that they can't get beyond, but you can also. I've done some great work, and we've all done some great work in our office, with people who are just entering a new phase of life or have just come through something and want to reestablish themselves and reflect on where they are and where they're going, and, and so I think that it's just important to know that therapy is a place where you can grow and change. That doesn't have to require you know big up people in your life or big pain.

Speaker 2:

As we learn and grow, we continue to learn ourselves, absolutely so who are your target customers and how do you reach them?

Speaker 3:

Well, our target. When I moved to the city of Marietta many years ago I didn't realize. I've always lived in Cobb County, but when I moved to the city of Marietta I realized this was a real small town and I wanted this group to be part of the community. So I set out to hire therapists who could meet the needs of the community. So I have therapists that work with mothers and couples who are trying to get pregnant, who are pregnant, who are postpartum pregnant, who are postpartum therapists who work with little bitty children down to the age of three years old, older children, adolescents, couples, families, people with depression, trauma.

Speaker 3:

I've tried to hit a lot of the highlights of what really happens in the family and how can we address that. So I like to say we can work from womb to tomb. I don't have every specialty in the office, but I have made personally made an effort to get to know a lot of other therapists in the community. So if we're not the right resource for you, I can tell you who would be a good resource. So but we have all kinds of specialties. We have LGBTQ specialists, we have people who work with trauma, people who work with domestic violence, eating disorders, addictions. I've tried to make it if, if somebody in your family has a problem, we can help.

Speaker 2:

Full service, full service. So let's talk about outside of work. What do you do for fun?

Speaker 3:

Well, I have a therapy dog and he is an 80 pound pit bull. He's being a very quiet, good boy right now, but I love to take him on long walks and hikes. I love working in my garden. I am learning Spanish and I like to. A new hobby is painting and drawing.

Speaker 2:

Very peaceful, very peaceful and relaxing. So let's switch gears a little bit. Can you describe a hardship or a life challenge that you overcame and how it made you stronger?

Speaker 3:

I think what I'd like your audience to know is in all these many years of life, I've had many hardships and many challenges and I think when we get into those troubled areas, we feel like they might just be endless. And the truth is, good times happen. They don't last. Bad times happen, they don't last. And as you move through life and move through a crisis, if you can do it with authenticity and reflection, you will get through it way more successfully and there will be good times to come.

Speaker 3:

Not that you might not have regrets or still feel sad about a loss successfully, and there will be good times to come. Not that you might not have regrets or still feel sad about a loss. But it's like I tell my clients sometimes when they're facing a crisis. The one thing I know about you is you're batting a thousand on every other crisis you've had in your life and while we may not have the answer for this one, we know you'll come up with it and I think sometimes that's what a therapist can do is help walk you through a crisis and help you with that.

Speaker 2:

So reassuring to know that whatever you're going through, you will come out of it on the other end. So, terry, tell our listeners about more, about how they can reach you.

Speaker 3:

Well, we have a website, MariettaCounselingCentercom, or you can give us a call at 770-415-0880. If you're interested in neurofeedback, you can call 770-790-3522. You can always write me, terri Marietta counseling centercom, and I'm happy to reach out and help you, if I can.

Speaker 2:

And that's how they can find you. Thank, you so much. We really appreciate you being with us and taking the time to to talk us through all of this. I really appreciate it. Best of luck to you and your business moving forward. Thank you so much Thank you.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpcobbcountycom. That's gnpcobbcountycom, or call 470-470-4506.