Too much time has passed since the first and last time I wrote in this blog called Radiate. I recognize that the world needs and has needed social media outlets like the vision I have for this blog now and in recent years more than any other time. I, as a human being, needed to preserve my energy when covid-19 hit just weeks after my first blog post. The clients who had been meeting with me needed me. New clients needed me. I needed myself. At the start of the pandemic I had already been running an online mental health practice for a few years. I was ready to provide services from day one of the lock down and that is what I focused on. Dear readers, I promise to provide you with outstanding material that is not only educational but inspirational and uplifting on a monthly basis or as often as I can. This time I am not the only blogger, this time there is a team of us working together for Ray of Light Wellness LLC.
For those of you reading this blog for the first time or coming back after years of it being idol, let’s start over. First of all, let me start by reintroducing who I am, what this practice is, and what this blog will be. My name is Kerry Duarte. I am the owner of Ray of Light Wellness and the original creator of this blog. I also create the images and stories you may see on our Instagram and Facebook pages. Ray of Light Wellness was a vision I had during a dark time in my life when I became physically disabled from a rare condition I acquired just four years into my social work career in 2014. One of the many silver linings that occurred after this was that from a dark time came a ray of light. Ray of Light Wellness became an online mental health private practice on November 1, 2017. Ray of Light Wellness started in an empty room in my home where I met with clients on a part time basis for the first entire year it was running. The second year I continued to work part time but expanded my hours. By the beginning of 2020, I started the year working full time with a larger caseload. Back then I was only licensed and meeting with Massachusetts residents. Back then I was also one of the only therapists whose entire practice was online.
Prior to 2020, fewer people were receiving online mental health services. If they were they were most likely paying sites that provide online counseling on a larger scale. Most private practices that accept insurance were not meeting with clients online. Never mind having an entire practice hosted online and contracted with insurance. It was different. In 2017 I spent hours calling insurance companies whose agents were not familiar with the terms telehealth. Many people in my life thought this idea to create a telehealth practice was not going to work. However, the key to manifesting a dream or a passion is that you have to believe in yourself more than anyone else believes in you. The power to create any change good or bad is always within you. Use it to create good. Use it to produce happiness and healthy energy. I know it's possible because I have been through dark times as well and Ray has shined so brightly that it created a path for me and for other people. It just keeps radiating. I hope it helps you see the good parts of you and makes you shine too.
Going back to the practice, ironically in March of 2020 the week that the president announced a lock down due to the pandemic, I acquired Rhode Island licensure. I had applied months prior because interested individuals in Rhode Island had been inquiring about receiving services. With time I obtained temporary licensure in New Hampshire and also helped clients in Connecticut during the pandemic emergency. I decided to obtain licensure in and continue to meet with clients in Connecticut. New Hampshire guidelines had made it more difficult for me to obtain long term licensure there. It was in 2021 that Ray of Light Wellness officially became an online mental health practice in all three states with me working most days of the week, meeting with clients in all three states on my own.
As time passed and I actively listened to clients tell me about toxic working environments, I began to notice there were a lot more people talking to me about unethical practices in the workforce. Perhaps I never made as much of a connection about it before but it was standing out to me now. I also was reading about the predicted shortage of social workers in upcoming years. I also was observing a world that was reacting to global trauma, fear of compromised safety, health concerns, and tons of anxiety, fight or flight responses, as well as anger. I sat with all of this. I meditated. I self reflected in my personal journals. I knew I wanted to participate in change and that is when I thought about converting Ray of Light Wellness into a company, an online mental health group practice.
Ray of Light Wellness LLC the company started in the fall of 2023. We currently have close to 6,000 followers on our instagram page. We have 5 therapists, 6 including myself, working full time for the group practice. We are actively searching for more therapists at the moment. We continue to service Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut residents. I intend on further expanding the practice in 2025 to other states. All of the therapists that work for the practice have different state licensures, all of us have different talents and skill sets, but all of us have one thing in common which is we are passionate about helping our clients. Ray of Light Wellness LLC has a mission to provide effective, accessible, and affordable service to a wide range of populations and communities. We also seek to spread mental health education and awareness to the public. This blog as well as our instagram will help us share our knowledge because knowledge is power and we hope that it empowers you.
What does it mean to radiate? According to the dictionary it can mean to emit forms of rays. Radiate, the blog, will provide psychoeducation about mental health and wellness. It will focus on the mind, body, soul connection and healing. The healing journey can start right now but please do not expect that it is going to be an easy journey. It is not going to be fast. It is not going to be simple. It is going to be worth it. Believe that it is going to be okay. We can guide you. If you do not live in a state in which we can meet with you in then read our posts. Seek help where you are. You are the creator of your own narrative. We are happy to guide you on your healing journey in any way we can.
Written By Kerry Duarte, LICSW, CIMHP
Owner of Ray of Light Wellness LLC
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