Christina Darwin & Jen Aguglia on Ashley Behavioral Health and Wellness

Rich Bennett & Wendy Beck 0:00
Hey, everyone is Rich Bennett. Can you believe it? The show is turning ten this year. I am so grateful for each and every one of you who've tuned in, shared an episode, or even joined the conversation over the years. You're the reason that this podcast has grown into what it is today. Together, we shared laughs, tears and moments that truly matter. So I want to thank you for being part of this journey. Let's make the next ten years even better. Coming to you from the Freedom Federal Credit Union Studios. Harford County Living presents conversations with Rich Bennett. 

Today, I'm going to get kind. 

No, no, no. The truth is. 

Rich Bennett 1:01
Today, we're diving into a topic that touches millions of lives across the United States and around the world. Mental health. Let's start with some staggering numbers from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. you know that one in five U.S. adults, approximately 57.8 million people, experience it's mental illness each year. And for our youth, the situation is just as critical. One in six U.S. adolescents aged 12 to 17 experience a major depressive episode annually. Even more eye opening over 50% of adults with a mental illness do not receive treatment. The barriers include stigma, lack of resources and limited access to care. Suicide, a tragic result of untreated mental health struggles remains the second leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 34. These statistics underscore the importance of seeking help and support. In this episode, I'm joined by my co-host, Wendy Beck and two remarkable women from Ashley Behavioral Health and Wellness, a leading organization dedicated to providing mental health care and wellness resources. Together, we'll explore the realities of mental health in our country. Discuss the importance of treatment and share insights to help those who might be struggling or know someone who is. tuned and remember, it's okay to ask for help. Let's start the conversation. Wendy and I have the pleasure of sitting here with two young women today from Ashley Addiction treatment. have Christina Darwin and Jen Agoglia. They're heading up a whole new brand new program, which I'm excited about, so. 

Wendy Beck 2:55
Yeah, I didn't even know about that. So this is going to be all, like, learning for the first time for me. 

Rich Bennett 3:01
All right. So before we get into 

Jenn Aguglia 3:02
To. 

Rich Bennett 3:02
the the new program, I 

Jenn Aguglia 3:05
I 

Rich Bennett 3:05
want 

Jenn Aguglia 3:05
want 

Rich Bennett 3:05
to 

Jenn Aguglia 3:05
to 

Rich Bennett 3:05
find 

Jenn Aguglia 3:05
find 

Rich Bennett 3:05
out 

Jenn Aguglia 3:05
out 

Rich Bennett 3:05
a 

Jenn Aguglia 3:05
a little 

Rich Bennett 3:06
little bit 

Jenn Aguglia 3:06
bit 

Rich Bennett 3:06
about. 

Jenn Aguglia 3:06
about you first, how long you've been with. 

Rich Bennett 3:08
With Ashley and. 

Jenn Aguglia 3:11
Is this something that you've always been doing? 

Rich Bennett 3:15
Now, I know you weren't. Playing with Memorex blank CDs all the time. 

Christina Darwin 3:21
Yes. So I guess I'll start with my grad school journey. I started at Wilmington University in 2018. It's a three year program for clinical mental health counseling. During my last year there in 2020. 

Wendy Beck 3:34
I. 

Christina Darwin 3:34
I started my internship with Ashley and I was at the 20 day inpatient facility for the first half. And then after some time and getting my feet wet and acclimated with the patient community, I decided I wanted to branch out and see if there was an opportunity for me to explore more of the levels of care I'd actually. 

Rich Bennett 3:54
Right. 

Christina Darwin 3:55
So I was able to go to outpatient where I. Observed a lot of our P or day treatment program matches. Would you like me to 

Rich Bennett 4:05
Yeah, 

Christina Darwin 4:05
explain? 

Rich Bennett 4:06
well. 

Christina Darwin 4:06
Okay. 

Wendy Beck 4:07
Partial hospitalization. 

Christina Darwin 4:09
Correct? Yeah, but that word can be intimidating for some. So we're trying to call it 

Rich Bennett 4:13
Change 

Christina Darwin 4:13
day treatment. 

Rich Bennett 4:13
it. 

Wendy Beck 4:14
With that. I think that is people tend to not want to go to PDP because it feels. 

Jenn Aguglia 4:21
The hospital. 

Wendy Beck 4:22
Yes. 

Christina Darwin 4:23
Right. They're like a hospital. I don't I don't need a hospital. But so, yes. Anyway, the day treatment program, that's Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and obviously they get a break for lunch and that is a minimum of two weeks. 

Wendy Beck 4:37
But we. 

Christina Darwin 4:38
We really like to keep you in there as long as you're successful, because studies have shown and our own research has shown, that the longer that those are engaged in the programming, the better the outcomes. Right? 

Wendy Beck 4:50
We're talking about addiction treatment or mental health right now. 

Christina Darwin 4:52
Addiction. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 4:54
Yeah, because the mental health aspect wasn't there yet. 

Christina Darwin 4:57
No, this is totally new. We just started October 1st. So then in addition to the day treatment program, we have our intensive outpatient program, which is 9 hours minimum per week. We like to do 12 hours per week, and that's usually a group of 3 hours a day. Then they also receive individual substance abuse counseling. Right? 

Rich Bennett 5:18
Okay. 

Christina Darwin 5:19
Then we have our outpatient program, which. We shoot for a minimum of six months, then 

Jenn Aguglia 5:26
Yeah, 

Christina Darwin 5:27
ideally 

Jenn Aguglia 5:27
I mean, I do. 

Christina Darwin 5:27
a year. 

Jenn Aguglia 5:28
Over through the entire we call the continuum of care, which is from residential through outpatient care. Ideally, you're going to be in that for about 1 to 2 years. Okay. And that's just one of the things that has changed about substance use treatment, as we've learned that the longer you remain in care, the better your outcomes are. You'd be connected in some way. That doesn't mean that you're coming. 

Wendy Beck 5:48
A week. 

Jenn Aguglia 5:49
For two years. 

Rich Bennett 5:50
Right. 

Jenn Aguglia 5:50
But you're just connected with those touch points of maybe, maybe it goes all the way down to just once a month at the end. So it's really it depends. It's individualized to the person who's experiencing this. And it's a really great opportunity to stay connected with Ashley providers and with the peers that are going through the same process. 

Rich Bennett 6:11
So let me get this straight. You. 

Jenn Aguglia 6:13
You. 

Rich Bennett 6:14
What year did you start here? Did you say. 

Christina Darwin 6:16
And actually into. 

Wendy Beck 6:16
2022. 

Rich Bennett 6:17
2020. But you ain't it? But you went to college for mental health, right? 

Christina Darwin 6:21
Correct. 

Rich Bennett 6:22
So 

Christina Darwin 6:22
So. 

Rich Bennett 6:23
what attracted you to Ashley? They didn't have. 

Jenn Aguglia 6:25
Mental health has not yet. 

Rich Bennett 6:27
Or was it just a mental health program? Well, I guess with addiction, you always need a. 

Christina Darwin 6:31
It's very. 

Wendy Beck 6:34
They're intertwined. 

Christina Darwin 6:35
Intertwine. 

Wendy Beck 6:36
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 6:36
Okay. That makes sense, 

Christina Darwin 6:37
But the difference. So at our inpatient, which was my initial goal, right, was 

Rich Bennett 6:43
right? 

Christina Darwin 6:43
just to see what that was like. Honestly, it was a personal challenge for myself. Because many of the people in my graduate program were just choosing something. I shouldn't say they were choosing something that would be easy for them, but they were choosing to do their internship where they worked. So I was like, I'm not going to get the opportunity to challenge myself in this way. 

Rich Bennett 7:03
Yeah. 

Christina Darwin 7:03
So I want to learn more about addiction. And that's how Ashley came to be. And I interviewed. I believe I interviewed. It was Valentine's Day. I can remember actually wearing all red and going to meet Wendy. There's another Wendy and Ashley. 

Wendy Beck 7:20
I'm not the only one. 

So. 

Rich Bennett 7:23
So what about you, Jen? 

Jenn Aguglia 7:25
So I am a clinical social worker. I graduated from University of Maryland, Baltimore. Prior to working at Ashlee, I ran a women and children's program in Baltimore City for 

Rich Bennett 7:37
Really? 

Jenn Aguglia 7:37
a substance use program there. Yeah, 

In. 

Rich Bennett 7:42
Where was that it? 

Jenn Aguglia 7:43
Recovery Network. They don't offer it anymore. 

Rich Bennett 7:46
Okay. 

Jenn Aguglia 7:47
Time we had a really nice long term women and children's program. It was about six months long. 

Rich Bennett 7:52
That was in Bass out of Maryland. Maryland was it called Maryland Hospital? I forget the name of it. Down by Utah Street. 

Jenn Aguglia 7:58
Hmm. No, it was a university psychological center was the Organization and 

Rich Bennett 8:04
Okay. 

Jenn Aguglia 8:04
recovery network. Was there substance use? 

Rich Bennett 8:06
Okay. 

Jenn Aguglia 8:07
Yeah. So I worked there for a while and then I came to Ashley when we opened our outpatient programming. So that was back in 2015. So I helped start our outpatient location and Bel Air and most of my. 

Wendy Beck 8:22
The one by the crisis center. 

Jenn Aguglia 8:23
Yeah. So back then it was in the hospitals and upper. 

Wendy Beck 8:26
Oh, okay. 

Jenn Aguglia 8:27
Yeah. So I think 2020 around May is when we move next to the crisis 

Wendy Beck 8:31
Gotcha. 

Jenn Aguglia 8:31
center. 

Wendy Beck 8:31
Okay. 

Jenn Aguglia 8:32
So I've been there for most of my time at Ashley and about two years ago I moved into the position of Vice President of Clinical Services at Ashley. So now. 

So now I oversee the clinical residential portion, but also the extended care program, our outpatient programming, and then supporting Kristina in this new journey. 

Rich Bennett 8:58
one more step. 

Jenn Aguglia 8:59
BP. 

Rich Bennett 9:00
Right. 

Jenn Aguglia 9:01
We'll see. What? How? 

Rich Bennett 9:05
So with the. 

Jenn Aguglia 9:06
The new program. 

Rich Bennett 9:09
Going to try to pronounce. What's the name of the new program? 

Jenn Aguglia 9:13
It's actually behavioral health and wellness. 

Rich Bennett 9:16
Whose idea was it to start this? 

Jenn Aguglia 9:19
I wouldn't say it's a specific person's idea to start this. So I have a story. I mean, it's not too detailed, but. 

Rich Bennett 9:26
No, we don't. 

Jenn Aguglia 9:29
So I said that most of my experience with Ashley at the beginning was outpatient. 

Rich Bennett 9:34
Mm hmm. 

Jenn Aguglia 9:35
And when you have outpatient substance use treatment, a lot of the focus when you're working with the individual is with that substance use treatment. And we collaborate with other providers in the community for mental health care, for primary care, psychiatry, all of that. And one of the things that I was finding as I was working with patients was that it was really difficult for me to help connect them with a mental health provider while they're receiving services from us because they would call and they wouldn't receive calls back. They would just get voicemails and it would be very discouraging for my patients that I'm working with where week after week they'd say, No, I can't get a hold of anyone. 

Wendy Beck 10:11
I can. That and especially during COVID, it got crazy. 

Jenn Aguglia 10:16
Yeah, it 

Wendy Beck 10:17
Yeah. 

Jenn Aguglia 10:17
was absolutely very difficult to find a provider. And then to add on to that, we work with families and when we work with families, we're working in the context of our patient are assigned patients. So everything is about kind of them and their reentry into the family. But who's helping to support the family? And so I'm having these conversations with the families, and I would love to really help them meet their own personal recovery goals. But my patient is the patient receiving the substance use treatment. So that's really where the dream of actually behavioral health and wellness came from. It's how can we support the others in the system that our patient lives in? How can we support our own patient long term after they've completed their 1 to 2 years with us? And how can we help in the other way that addresses the other? That they might be experiencing, because we know that substance use disorder often has trauma. 

Rich Bennett 11:11
Mm hmm. 

Actually, before we dig deep. 

Jenn Aguglia 11:16
Deep into. 

Rich Bennett 11:16
Program because this. 

Jenn Aguglia 11:17
This is something that surprises me. 

Rich Bennett 11:19
mean, you may have noticed that when we. Talk to other people. But a lot of people don't know about Ashley or I've never heard of it. 

Wendy Beck 11:29
Really? 

Rich Bennett 11:30
I'm. Well not. 

Wendy Beck 11:32
The recovery world, I think. Treatment and recovery in the area if you were. 

Rich Bennett 11:36
In the area, 

Wendy Beck 11:37
If you work in in the field. You know 

Rich Bennett 11:40
but. 

Wendy Beck 11:41
Ashley's. 

Jenn Aguglia 11:41
We 

Rich Bennett 11:41
You 

Jenn Aguglia 11:42
have. 

Rich Bennett 11:42
have. From Alice. 

Jenn Aguglia 11:43
The state. So 

Rich Bennett 11:44
So 

Jenn Aguglia 11:44
if 

Rich Bennett 11:44
if 

Jenn Aguglia 11:44
you 

Rich Bennett 11:44
you 

Jenn Aguglia 11:44
can't 

Rich Bennett 11:44
can't 

Jenn Aguglia 11:45
tell 

Rich Bennett 11:45
tell 

Jenn Aguglia 11:45
us, 

Rich Bennett 11:45
us, give 

Jenn Aguglia 11:45
give us. 

Rich Bennett 11:46
us a little bit 

Jenn Aguglia 11:46
The 

Rich Bennett 11:46
of his. 

Jenn Aguglia 11:46
history and. 

Rich Bennett 11:47
Ashley. 

Jenn Aguglia 11:48
Yeah, absolutely. So Ashley was founded in 1983. 

Rich Bennett 11:52
1983. 

Jenn Aguglia 11:53
Yes. Or a 41 years old now? Nope. 

Wendy Beck 11:57
That's a long time ago, though. 

Christina Darwin 11:59
Oh. 

Wendy Beck 12:03
Well, it kind of. It is. It is. 

Jenn Aguglia 12:05
So we were found. 

Rich Bennett 12:06
Now women anyway. 

Wendy Beck 12:07
No. 

Christina Darwin 12:07
Poor, Rich. 

Jenn Aguglia 12:08
We were founded by Mae Ashley Abraham and Father Joseph Martin, and their goal was to provide treatment with dignity and respect. That was the key element. And back then, that is not how you treated substance use as. 

Rich Bennett 12:23
Right. 

Jenn Aguglia 12:24
Back then it was you break him down and then you helped build him back up. But Father Martin and May, they believed in loving the addiction out of someone. So that is our core principle at Ashley is really treating somebody with love, dignity and respect. So we're most popular for our residential program. That's what we're most known for, which is on a beautiful 147 acre plot in Having a Grace Marilyn. 

Rich Bennett 12:49
147 acres. 

Jenn Aguglia 12:50
Yeah. It's beautiful. 

Rich Bennett 12:52
I 

Jenn Aguglia 12:52
It's right 

Rich Bennett 12:52
know 

Jenn Aguglia 12:52
on 

Rich Bennett 12:52
it's 

Jenn Aguglia 12:52
the water. 

Rich Bennett 12:52
been. 

Wendy Beck 12:53
Have you been there? Have you ever been there? 

Rich Bennett 12:56
I was stopped at gate. 

Christina Darwin 12:58
Come on down. 

Jenn Aguglia 13:00
Because I went 

Rich Bennett 13:01
They're 

Jenn Aguglia 13:01
there. 

Rich Bennett 13:01
one day and I was going to the golf course, which is no longer. 

Jenn Aguglia 13:07
Yeah. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 13:07
made the wrong turn and there was a guard at the gate. And. 

Wendy Beck 13:12
Turn me around. 

Jenn Aguglia 13:14
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 13:16
But I mean, he's actually. 

Jenn Aguglia 13:17
What was it before? 

Rich Bennett 13:18
It was. 

Jenn Aguglia 13:18
It was farther, more natural. It was in a state. I think the Tydings mansion. 

Rich Bennett 13:24
I mean, it's it's a historic building, isn't it? 

Jenn Aguglia 13:26
It is. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 13:28
I mean, that thing is. 

Jenn Aguglia 13:31
Oh. 

Rich Bennett 13:32
Beautiful, though, and to see it from the water. 

Jenn Aguglia 13:35
Is Gore. 

Rich Bennett 13:36
Oh, my God. 

Jenn Aguglia 13:37
The sunrises 

Rich Bennett 13:37
I'm sorry. 

Jenn Aguglia 13:38
and sunsets are just phenomenal. 

Rich Bennett 13:39
Oh, yeah. 

Jenn Aguglia 13:39
It's a very spiritual place. 

Christina Darwin 13:41
It is. 

Rich Bennett 13:41
Yeah. 

Jenn Aguglia 13:43
So this program that was created was to treat substance use disorders primarily. And that's something that we've continued to this day to do and to really work on refining. And we've branched out over the years into the prevention aspect. I know that you mentioned you have talked with our clubhouse. 

Rich Bennett 14:00
Mm hmm. 

Jenn Aguglia 14:02
Staff members in the 

Rich Bennett 14:03
Twice, 

Jenn Aguglia 14:03
past. 

Rich Bennett 14:03
I think. 

Jenn Aguglia 14:04
The clubhouse. I, I love the clubhouse that treats well doesn't treat. It serves adolescents ages 12 to 18 that are still in high school. And it's an after school program. It's free to Maryland residents or Harford County residents. And it's really a prevention arm for Ashley. So the idea is that we're assisting children who are impacted by substance use. 

Rich Bennett 14:29
Right. 

Jenn Aguglia 14:30
And then we also have the Roots project, which is where we've inserted peer recovery specialists in Hertford County, Middlesex. 

Wendy Beck 14:38
Yeah, we've talked to them. Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 14:39
Yes, 

Wendy Beck 14:39
we. 

Rich Bennett 14:40
that was that is awesome. 

Jenn Aguglia 14:42
It's so exciting. And the response that we've gotten has just been so positive. We've been embraced, which was really exciting. 

Rich Bennett 14:48
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 14:48
Well, And like you said, these kids have been impacted by addiction, but they're also at risk. 

Christina Darwin 14:54
Absolutely. 

Jenn Aguglia 14:55
Lutely. 

Wendy Beck 14:55
The main thing, and I'm really happy that they are putting, you know, peers in the school because that is that's groundbreaking. We've never had that before. 

Jenn Aguglia 15:06
It really is. And I haven't heard of other areas even doing that. So it's something new that we're doing that we haven't seen before. 

Rich Bennett 15:13
All right. So the behavioral health women that make sure I get behavioral, 

behavioral health and wellness. 

Jenn Aguglia 15:21
Yeah, actually. Behavioral health. 

Rich Bennett 15:22
Ashley. 

Jenn Aguglia 15:23
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 15:24
Behavioral Health and Wellness program. You said that started October 1st, but that's strictly virtual, right? 

Jenn Aguglia 15:31
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 15:32
All right. So why virtual? 

Christina Darwin 15:34
We found that during the pandemic, like you were saying earlier, during COVID. 

Rich Bennett 15:38
hmm. 

Christina Darwin 15:38
Mental health skyrocketed and such. So we received a lot of patient feedback saying that they enjoyed the opportunity to go virtual because it eliminated a lot of the barriers they were facing. So if you consider who we were treating, many people have a legal history, may have DUI, not having 

Rich Bennett 15:54
Right. 

Christina Darwin 15:54
a license. There's no transportation. How are they? Get to the Bel Air location without adequate transportation. Another issue is after work hours. So if you're working a traditional 9 to 5 work. Many mental health clinics close at 430 5:00. So we have sessions into I mean, I've seen people at 8:00 at night. 

Rich Bennett 16:17
Wow. 

Christina Darwin 16:18
Yeah, I'm just really. Just trying to do what I can to support 

Rich Bennett 16:22
Yeah. 

Christina Darwin 16:22
any buddy experiencing. 

Rich Bennett 16:24
So who are you? 

Jenn Aguglia 16:27
You can contact. 

Rich Bennett 16:27
Tact. They actually had to. 

Jenn Aguglia 16:29
People can. 

Rich Bennett 16:30
For this. How did they get in touch with you? 

Christina Darwin 16:32
So we have a main phone number. 

Rich Bennett 16:34
Well, that helps. 

Christina Darwin 16:36
4102732301

. The easiest way, in my opinion, is to get in contact with us if you would like to schedule an appointment. Is to go online at our Web site. There's a self scheduler rate on the website. You just scroll down to the bottom. So that's how we know who to actually treatment dot org. It's a backslash and then it's mental dash health. 

Rich Bennett 17:00
Okay. 

Christina Darwin 17:01
So it gets right on there. Scroll down to the bottom, then click. Request an appointment. 

Rich Bennett 17:04
So is this open for anybody or just people that are in recovery or. 

Christina Darwin 17:08
Nope. 

Everyone in Maryland, you must be a maryland resident because that's where our licensure limits us to write. But anyone in Maryland. So you. 

Wendy Beck 17:16
About insurance. 

Christina Darwin 17:18
Insurance. We accept Medicaid, which 

Wendy Beck 17:19
Okay. 

Christina Darwin 17:20
that was a huge barrier a lot of times when I was trying to access our current patients to mental health. A lot of people didn't accept. 

Wendy Beck 17:27
Maggie? Yes. 

Christina Darwin 17:28
Or they were waitlisted, for I've heard of waitlists for 90 days or more. That's. Really difficult for them to receive the care. So again, yes, we accept Medicaid and we are also contracted with care first. We're just waiting. We're finalizing a little bit of the details. But I'm hoping in the next two weeks or so I will be able to start enrolling patients with care first as well. 

Rich Bennett 17:50
What about as far as age? 

Christina Darwin 17:51
18 and older. Yes. Thank you for asking that. It's always one thing I forget. 

Rich Bennett 17:56
What about as far as you mention, 

Jenn Aguglia 18:00
You care 

Rich Bennett 18:00
care first. 

Jenn Aguglia 18:00
for some medication? 

Rich Bennett 18:01
But what? 

Jenn Aguglia 18:01
What about? 

Rich Bennett 18:02
Like the. 

Jenn Aguglia 18:03
VA. 

Christina Darwin 18:04
Other commercial insurances. So we're working on getting really panel with anybody. 

Rich Bennett 18:08
Right. 

Christina Darwin 18:09
We've 

Jenn Aguglia 18:09
You. 

Christina Darwin 18:09
selected numerous insurances. We're just waiting to hear back. 

Jenn Aguglia 18:13
I can take a little while. 

Christina Darwin 18:14
Yes. 

Jenn Aguglia 18:16
So one of the barriers, right? 

Christina Darwin 18:17
For sure. 

Rich Bennett 18:19
If somebody doesn't have insurance. 

Christina Darwin 18:20
Somebody doesn't have insurance, so. 

Wendy Beck 18:23
Will you help them enroll in Medicaid and that type of thing or do? 

Christina Darwin 18:26
Oh, yeah. Well, definitely. 

Wendy Beck 18:27
Definitely connecting 

Christina Darwin 18:27
And 

Wendy Beck 18:27
with. 

Christina Darwin 18:27
with resources. Absolutely. 

Jenn Aguglia 18:32
And. 

Christina Darwin 18:33
Any way we can support. 

Rich Bennett 18:35
Go ahead. Since this is your 

Wendy Beck 18:38
I'm just listening. No, you're fine. You're fine. No, this is 

Rich Bennett 18:42
baseball. 

Wendy Beck 18:42
okay. 

Rich Bennett 18:43
This is something that I 

you and I have talked about this a lot with anxiety and depression and went through. 

Wendy Beck 18:54
And I feel like it since COVID. I'm sure it was, you know, as. don't want not use the word popular, but it was affecting a lot of people prior to that. But then we had the catalyst of COVID, which has put a lot of our youth in this anxiety and depression state, you know, and we could go on and on about this forever because I'm, you know, cell phones and COVID and all of these things that have created this anxiety and depression in our youth, and there's not enough resources. So now when you're doing this, you know, you're you're not only focusing on substance abuse. So if someone can come to you that's just struggling with anxiety or depression or bipolar disorder, does it does just you cover like all of that. 

Christina Darwin 19:42
Yes, we offer again free consultation. So an assessment process is where we really detail the treatment to the needs of the patient. So. 

Wendy Beck 19:51
So I had someone come and say, I'm not really sure if 

Christina Darwin 19:54
If 

Wendy Beck 19:54
I 

Christina Darwin 19:54
I 

Wendy Beck 19:54
need 

Christina Darwin 19:54
need 

Wendy Beck 19:55
counseling. 

Christina Darwin 19:55
counseling, but would you be willing to complete an assessment with me to determine if I do? Absolutely. Whatever you need. 

Rich Bennett 20:01
So what makes you guys stand out from the other programs out there? Besides the fact that it's you, Christine. 

And Jen. 

Christina Darwin 20:13
I know, right? Jen, you wanna. 

Rich Bennett 20:15
Teena marie. 

Jenn Aguglia 20:16
You should though, because she's the provider. He. 

Rich Bennett 20:18
No, I'm saying the people would. 

Jenn Aguglia 20:20
Oh, yeah, absolutely. 

Rich Bennett 20:23
Gear two VP You sit back and do nothing. I mean. I mean, I didn't. 

Jenn Aguglia 20:26
My. 

Christina Darwin 20:27
Oh, my God. Oh, did you do? 

Rich Bennett 20:29
Do nothing. I meant I'll shut up that. 

Wendy Beck 20:32
You didn't keep digging yourself in that hole. 

Well, okay, so. 

Jenn Aguglia 20:37
I mean, I do. I have an answer. I have an answer. So what makes a stand out? Well, one of the things that we are really trying to do, one of our goals at Ashley, is to provide comprehensive care. One of the things that we know is that if an individual needs access to other services, they're more likely to stay in. Treatment and receive care if it's ones with the same provider or agency. If you refer them out, they may not follow through. 

Rich Bennett 21:03
Right. 

Jenn Aguglia 21:04
So if we know that outcomes are better, if you remain engaged in care and we know that you're more likely to remain engaged in care if your organization offers different services that you need, then it just makes sense to us to be able to offer those services. 

And then as far as what Ashley really provides that's different is we really are always trying to improve. We have our own research team on. At our residential location where we're publishing research articles, we're gathering data and information to help change the world of substance use disorders. And as we're doing this, we're also working on integrating new evidence based practices into our curriculums. So the better that we can improve in all areas is going to really it's going to trickle down and impact everything 

Rich Bennett 21:55
Right. 

Jenn Aguglia 21:55
that we do. 

Christina Darwin 21:56
Can I add to that? 

Rich Bennett 21:59
Yes, go ahead. 

Christina Darwin 21:59
Thank you. 

Wendy Beck 22:01
Don't listen to him. 

Christina Darwin 22:03
Trying to take them lightly. I'll I'll be able to by the end of the interview, I'm sure. So listen here. 

Jenn Aguglia 22:09
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 22:10
Okay. 

Jenn Aguglia 22:11
Syria's. 

Christina Darwin 22:13
He said, What sets us apart? 

Wendy Beck 22:14
We're trying to. 

Christina Darwin 22:15
Myself here, John. 

Rich Bennett 22:15
You're a lot more comfortable, 

Jenn Aguglia 22:17
Now. 

Rich Bennett 22:17
aren't you? 

Jenn Aguglia 22:18
I told you 

Rich Bennett 22:18
You 

Jenn Aguglia 22:18
to. 

Rich Bennett 22:18
don't have to be nervous. 

Jenn Aguglia 22:19
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 22:20
Now, let me turn your microphone on. 

All right. We're listening. 

Christina Darwin 22:28
So like I said. 

I can't take you seriously at this point. Right. 

Rich Bennett 22:33
I'm 

Christina Darwin 22:33
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 22:34
sorry. 

Christina Darwin 22:35
You're totally fine. So myself, I really pride myself in education and 

Rich Bennett 22:40
As 

Christina Darwin 22:40
bettering 

Rich Bennett 22:40
you should. 

Christina Darwin 22:40
myself, too. Better supports patients. Right? So Jen said earlier that we really see a lot of trauma with this substance use disorder. And that's no different when you just I mean, substance use disorder is a mental health disorder, right? However, people with mental health disorders, absent of substance use disorders, also experienced trauma trauma. 

Rich Bennett 23:03
Yeah. 

Christina Darwin 23:04
Sorry. Therefore, I was just trained in EMDR. If you're unfamiliar, I'll let you know in a second. I went to I went to Florida and completed 40 hours of training to become 

Rich Bennett 23:17
To 

Christina Darwin 23:17
training. 

Rich Bennett 23:17
Florida. 

Christina Darwin 23:18
Yes, it was either Florida or like. Nebraska. 

Rich Bennett 23:24
Oh, okay. So 

Wendy Beck 23:25
I'd. 

Rich Bennett 23:25
he. 

Christina Darwin 23:26
Yeah. I mean, that was really easy for me. Really easy decision. 

Jenn Aguglia 23:30
So what's EMDR? 

Christina Darwin 23:32
Right. So EMDR is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. So in a nutshell, 

works on the memory by way of bilateral stimulation. Bilateral meaning both sides of the body or both side of the brain, Right? This can be done with eye movements, as can be done with tapping any type of bilateral stimulation. You could be stomping your feet, whatever serves you best. So reworking these memories is traumatic events or beliefs that could be real and beliefs doesn't have to necessarily be trauma based. It could be something having to do with anxiety. It's helpful for many different conditions and then after that is complete. 

Wendy Beck 24:16
Well, wait a minute. Let me let me ask some questions about this. 

Christina Darwin 24:19
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 24:20
Okay, so you bring the person back to the place of trauma, and then you do these techniques that what does that do? Rewire the brain at the time 

Rich Bennett 24:31
More. 

Wendy Beck 24:32
of the technique. 

Christina Darwin 24:33
Yes. 

Wendy Beck 24:33
Okay. 

Christina Darwin 24:34
We call them adaptive thoughts. 

Wendy Beck 24:37
Okay. 

Christina Darwin 24:37
Adaptive beliefs, more positive beliefs. So we take these maladaptive or negative beliefs and re rewire them. I'll use your word your your word, Wendy, into more powerful. Of beliefs. However, anyone yourself included, if you're interested at all on MDR, I definitely encourage you to go on YouTube, search some videos. There is a lot of people that go on there and give their experience with it. 

I was honestly amazed during the training I had to get it done to myself like I was a participant in the. The session. So I was like, Oh, it was. I was like, This feels like sorcery, but I like it. It is. 

Rich Bennett 25:16
lady owned the first time I ever heard of Tapping. And she. 

Jenn Aguglia 25:22
He told me how. 

Rich Bennett 25:23
How she does it all the time. But and how exactly I think she said it even helped her gain a half inch or something because there was something wrong with her where it's like. Yeah. 

Christina Darwin 25:37
Oh, slouching. 

Rich Bennett 25:38
I don't know if it was slouching or whatever, but all these it's mortgages to help with your mental. 

Jenn Aguglia 25:43
To help. 

Christina Darwin 25:44
Oh, there's a lot of benefit. 

Rich Bennett 25:45
Yeah. Your physical condition as well. 

Christina Darwin 25:48
It's the neural network. 

Rich Bennett 25:49
Yeah, it's amazing. I mean, I was just blown away when this young lady was telling me all about their. 

Christina Darwin 25:56
Was very awesome. 

Rich Bennett 25:57
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 25:57
You do that via telehealth? 

Christina Darwin 26:00
Virtually. 

Rich Bennett 26:01
Yeah, it's it's not that hard. And there's I think there's a couple of places on your head where you tap, Right. 

Christina Darwin 26:07
I've never done the tapping on the head, per se. Usually the only way that I. 

Wendy Beck 26:13
It is just one. 

Christina Darwin 26:14
With the eye movements 

Rich Bennett 26:15
Okay. 

Christina Darwin 26:15
tapping on the shoulders 

Rich Bennett 26:16
Shoulders. 

Christina Darwin 26:17
like it's butterfly tap. 

Rich Bennett 26:18
Right. 

Christina Darwin 26:19
But many therapists do this aren't trained in EMDR just because it's soothing, right? 

Rich Bennett 26:24
Yeah. 

Christina Darwin 26:25
So when you're doing EMDR. 

Wendy Beck 26:27
Are they tapping on themselves? 

Christina Darwin 26:28
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 26:29
Yeah. Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 26:30
Well, I don't know. I'm going to have. 

Christina Darwin 26:31
So. 

Rich Bennett 26:32
Oh, you'll be blown. 

Christina Darwin 26:33
Sure. Yeah, there are many clinicians. The clinician that trained me would tap on us. I don't feel comfortable tapping on someone else. I mean, I don't have to. Thankfully, because I'm virtual. But in school we were just so ingrained, like, don't touch the clients. The. 

Rich Bennett 26:50
Right. 

Wendy Beck 26:51
Right. 

Christina Darwin 26:51
Whatever. So I just don't. Now, if my patient were to say, like, Will you please tap all my legs, I can't do this. I don't have the ability to move my arms. Of course, like I'm 

Wendy Beck 27:01
Right. 

Christina Darwin 27:01
right there. Dire circumstances, right? Like, I'll help you be well, because there's no other alternative. But that would just have to be an extenuating circumstance. 

Rich Bennett 27:10
So when you 

Jenn Aguglia 27:12
You learned about 

Rich Bennett 27:12
bad. 

Jenn Aguglia 27:13
that and 

Rich Bennett 27:15
How 

Jenn Aguglia 27:15
how all. 

Rich Bennett 27:16
often do you. 

Jenn Aguglia 27:16
You try that now. 

Rich Bennett 27:17
On yourself. 

Christina Darwin 27:18
All myself. 

Jenn Aguglia 27:19
Yeah. 

Christina Darwin 27:20
I haven't tried it on myself. 

Jenn Aguglia 27:22
It's happy. 

Christina Darwin 27:23
Oh, the tapping for soothing. Yeah. I thought you meant, like, the whole protocol. No, There is a protocol for therapists to use on themselves. That's what I thought you were referring to. I was like, Man, you really did do some research on it. 

Rich Bennett 27:35
Well, actually, no. What is? 

Jenn Aguglia 27:36
Is the protocol for that. 

Christina Darwin 27:38
Protocol for yourself. 

Jenn Aguglia 27:39
Because I knew. 

Rich Bennett 27:40
Though, being a therapist, that's got to be hard because you're. You're here. So many people. There. There. 

Jenn Aguglia 27:49
Problem. 

Rich Bennett 27:50
And I. 

Jenn Aguglia 27:52
I. 

Rich Bennett 27:52
I got credit to you because during the way I'll be able to do it, I would have so much anxiety and depression built up just from here in the. Wendy, I'll tell you, I'm a freaking crybaby. 

Jenn Aguglia 28:05
I. 

Wendy Beck 28:06
Say that. 

Rich Bennett 28:07
It's how. 

Jenn Aguglia 28:09
Do you? 

Wendy Beck 28:11
Separate. 

Jenn Aguglia 28:12
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 28:12
Yes. 

Jenn Aguglia 28:12
You 

Rich Bennett 28:12
Are you 

Jenn Aguglia 28:12
sell 

Rich Bennett 28:12
self-aware 

Jenn Aguglia 28:13
yourself 

Rich Bennett 28:13
and 

Jenn Aguglia 28:13
and. 

Rich Bennett 28:14
care for yourself as well? 

Christina Darwin 28:15
It took a lot of work. 

Thankfully, while I was in grad school, I set a good foundation for self care and I've stuck to it. The worse I'll waver from that is like giving up my 12:00 lunch to accommodate somebody that needs to meet me on their 12:00 lunch because I'll eat right. 

Rich Bennett 28:31
Yeah. 

Christina Darwin 28:32
I'll be fine. Boundaries are so important. 

Rich Bennett 28:36
Yeah. 

Christina Darwin 28:36
That's the biggest, biggest in my self-care. 

Rich Bennett 28:43
You're. 

Christina Darwin 28:44
But other than that, I take care of myself. Like, obviously physically, mentally. 

Wendy Beck 28:47
Right. 

Christina Darwin 28:48
Therapists 

Rich Bennett 28:48
You 

Christina Darwin 28:49
see 

Rich Bennett 28:49
had. 

Christina Darwin 28:49
a therapist? Yes. 

Rich Bennett 28:52
Go ahead. 

Wendy Beck 28:53
No, I know. I'm. I'm just listening. 

Christina Darwin 28:56
She's like, I'm content. You want 

Wendy Beck 28:58
So 

Christina Darwin 28:58
to. 

Wendy Beck 28:58
how many people are enrolled in the program currently and is there, you know, a need for more people? Like when I say need, do you have the capability of handling more clients? 

Christina Darwin 29:10
Right now. We've been doing very well, thankfully. Right now we're about half capacity. 

Wendy Beck 29:14
Okay? 

Christina Darwin 29:15
So this program and actually programs in general are designed as the need increases. We grow with that, right? 

Wendy Beck 29:23
Mm hmm. 

Christina Darwin 29:23
So, for example, our outpatient location in Bel Air is currently hiring a therapist to fill the need there and reach more patients, better serve the community there. We're going to do the same thing here. We're actually already exploring another therapist for our program. 

Wendy Beck 29:38
And then that kind of answered the next question about the expansion of the program as needed. 

Christina Darwin 29:42
Oh, yes. Yes. 

Wendy Beck 29:44
As needed, which I can't imagine that that's going to stop or start reducing at any any point, especially now that they're including the substance abuse with the mental health now like that before, you always had your mental health over here and then your substance use and then they co-mingled them together, which I think is good and bad. So, you know, it's a fine line, but I feel like if you're in a substance abuse treatment center and you discover that some of these underlying, you know, reasons for your use or whatever was a result of mental health, you guys will have the capacity to just kind of do the handoff, like you said. 

Jenn Aguglia 30:23
Yeah, absolutely. 

Wendy Beck 30:24
Yeah. 

Christina Darwin 30:24
It's best to treat both simultaneously anyway. 

Wendy & Rich 30:29
You're listening in the conversations with Rich Bennett. We'll be right back. 

Wendy, I understand that Rage against Addiction is doing something very important. A monthly donor program. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Absolutely. We are hoping to get our supporters to join us in providing a monthly donation. It can be $5 or it can be more whatever you can afford. Really allows us to help plan and increase our fundraising efforts. Well, why should people become a monthly donor? What are they doing to help? Their monthly contributions? Let us plan for long term projects and respond quickly when urgent needs arise. And I'll give you an example. We had the need for a new mattress, right? And we've also had urgent needs for refrigerators and washing machines and all of that kind of stuff that comes up. So they tend to need to be replaced. And our women deserve to have the things that they need. So with the monthly donor program, technically, anybody can do it for any amount either because Rage Against Addiction always needs something. I know I've known you for years now, and there's times you've told me you guys needed furniture, unique clothes. And also you're not getting the grants that you used to or the contributions that you used to. So this monthly donor program will definitely help a lot. Yes. So somebody becomes a monthly donor. What is there anything that they're getting in return besides, of course, helping those that need it? I know you guys have like an excellent newsletter where they automatically subscribe to our newsletter so you'll know what's going on. You can kind of track our progress here. Success stories, know the data, and like how many women we serve each year and just be a part of something bigger. So with this tool, I guess they're also going to be because of the newsletter, they're going to be one of the first ones to find out about events coming up, like the memory walk and run the Basket Bingo and any other future events that you're doing, the podcast that you do. Yes. So they're going to be tied in right away. Yes. All right. So how can they become a monthly donor? You can go to our Web site and that is Rage Against Addiction, dot org and go to our donate button. And on there, you will have the option to become a monthly donor. And you can put in any amount that you want your commitment, big or small, empowers our mission and changes lives every single day. Visit us at Rage Against Addiction dot org to become a reoccurring donor and join us in making a lasting impact. Thank you for your compassion, generosity and belief in a brighter future. Together, we can make a difference. Join us today. 

Rich Bennett 33:40
So with Ashley, and correct me if I'm wrong, but they. 

Anybody can go to Ashley. Doesn't matter where you're from. Right. 

Jenn Aguglia 33:50
Correct. 

Christina Darwin 33:50
The inpatient after. 

Rich Bennett 33:51
So do you think that this program will eventually be open to people, even out of state? 

Jenn Aguglia 33:59
Yeah, I'd love that. There's a number of reasons why. Right now we're in Maryland, but the big one is just the licensing piece 

Rich Bennett 34:06
Right. 

Jenn Aguglia 34:07
that. Christina had really hinted about. And there's different compacts that are trying to form the professional counselors. They have a compact that was passed, but it's been slow going in implementation because you have to get all the other states to approve and 

Wendy Beck 34:23
So you have to be you have to be licensed in every state where you practice. 

Jenn Aguglia 34:26
correct. 

Wendy Beck 34:27
Okay. 

Jenn Aguglia 34:27
Correct. 

Wendy Beck 34:28
And then there's different. 

Jenn Aguglia 34:28
Mm hmm. 

Wendy Beck 34:29
That kind of thing. 

Jenn Aguglia 34:30
And the social workers. They tried to pass the compact last session and it didn't pass. If they're going to bring it back again. 

Rich Bennett 34:37
The compact. 

Jenn Aguglia 34:38
It's a compact, a multistate compact. So what that means is I'm licensed in Maryland. I can only practice with patients who are physically located in Maryland. Now, I also got licensed in different states so that I would be able to, as long as those states are okay with me being physically located in Maryland, but to treat their patients that are physically there. So for us to expand, we have two options. One is we license the clinicians in different states for the states that they that they'll be able to. And just make sure with those states that it's okay with their own boards that the person who's providing the therapy is out of state and doing this virtually. Or we wait for the compact, when then those states that are participating, it's open and we can. 

Rich Bennett 35:25
Why do you think that is? I mean, mental. 

When it comes to. 

Jenn Aguglia 35:30
The mental health and I. 

Rich Bennett 35:32
I would think no state practice. It practices it differently. I mean, why? 

Wendy Beck 35:39
Isn't it? 

Jenn Aguglia 35:40
So. 

Rich Bennett 35:41
Federal thing. 

Jenn Aguglia 35:42
Yeah. I mean, that's a that's a really great question and there's a bunch of different factors with that. One of the pieces is we have different regulations for our profession per the state, for what we need to do with something called mandated reporting, which is where we have to contact the authorities if someone's suicidal or homicidal or if there's a risk to children or to vulnerable adults. It's there's nuances. Yeah, it's different. And then there's there's the other complication of ensuring that the provider knows how to contact the emergency services in that location and how to contact those. Because if I pick up the phone and I call 911, I'm getting my local EMS. I'm not getting the EMS for the person in New Jersey that I'm working with. 

Rich Bennett 36:26
Okay. 

Jenn Aguglia 36:26
So there's those nuances there. I'm sure money is a part of it. Everyone's. Every state has different rules about education for their providers and what they need to get their masters in counseling or their masters in social work. So they also need to make when you get endorsed by another state, they need to make sure that your education matches their expectations of education. That their continuing education that you go on matches what they have it for. Expect 

Wendy Beck 36:51
So 

Jenn Aguglia 36:51
to. 

Wendy Beck 36:51
like it's state governed and, you know, you guys almost would want to have like your mental health umbrella like at a federal level if. 

Christina Darwin 36:58
Put it in that 

Wendy Beck 36:59
Perspective. 

Christina Darwin 36:59
right. 

Wendy Beck 37:00
But it's not everybody. Every state is governs itself. And then having the them come together makes it a little more difficult. 

Jenn Aguglia 37:09
But it's another barrier for care, because right now, if you have someone who's going away to college in a different state. Provide or not might not be able to see them. And do they want to have that conversation about their life with a new person that they're not going to trust instead of the one they've been working with for a while? So we're in full support of the compacts, the licensing compacts for both the professional counselors and the social workers. And hopefully that's something that will get started soon. But if not, as we grow, we're going to get licensed in other states and we will expand whatever states patients need us. 

Wendy Beck 37:42
That makes sense. 

Christina Darwin 37:43
So. 

Rich Bennett 37:44
So with that they 

Jenn Aguglia 37:45
You 

Rich Bennett 37:45
had. 

Jenn Aguglia 37:45
have to live in Maryland? Mm hmm. 

Rich Bennett 37:47
You mentioned the college. 

Jenn Aguglia 37:47
Which part? So if they're going 

Rich Bennett 37:49
Went 

Jenn Aguglia 37:49
to 

Rich Bennett 37:49
to college in 

Jenn Aguglia 37:49
California. 

Rich Bennett 37:49
California. But their physical. 

Wendy Beck 37:52
Address. 

Rich Bennett 37:52
Address is here. Marilyn, would they still date? Why? 

Jenn Aguglia 37:56
It's 

Rich Bennett 37:56
They don't. 

Jenn Aguglia 37:56
where they physically 

Wendy Beck 37:56
Where they. 

Jenn Aguglia 37:58
are at that moment. 

Christina Darwin 37:59
Yes. Where your feet are on the ground. I know. 

Jenn Aguglia 38:02
And different states are different. Florida has a very easy track towards getting a telehealth provider licenses different from their regular provider license to different states or. And things to make it easier. But it's very much determined by the state that you're practicing in in the state that the person physically located in. 

Wendy Beck 38:19
I didn't know that. 

Jenn Aguglia 38:20
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 38:21
You know, I. 

Wendy Beck 38:21
I mean, I actually had a friend and she was a therapist and she was talking about that being license thing. But it kind of went over my head because it wasn't relevant. So now I get it. It's. It's state governed. 

Rich Bennett 38:38
Here's a scary question, though. So let's say I've been dealing 

Jenn Aguglia 38:44
With 

Rich Bennett 38:44
with. 

Jenn Aguglia 38:44
you for years. 

Rich Bennett 38:46
And now I am going to college in California. Why do I keep picking cattle? 

But what? 

Christina Darwin 38:55
Subconsciously, it's. 

Wendy Beck 38:58
She's analyzing. 

Rich Bennett 38:59
Put my. But the address on my ID is still my. 

Jenn Aguglia 39:05
You know. 

Rich Bennett 39:05
If I'm in Maryland or not, if it's done virtually. 

Christina Darwin 39:08
Honesty policy. 

Wendy Beck 39:11
They probably have to fill something out in the beginning saying that you're in the. 

Jenn Aguglia 39:15
Yeah, 

Christina Darwin 39:15
Your address. 

Jenn Aguglia 39:16
right. 

Christina Darwin 39:16
Every time I join a session, I ask. Well, I mean, I can recognize now if they're at home or if they're Or wherever they are. But if I don't, I'm like, Where are you right now? 

Jenn Aguglia 39:25
Yeah. It's one of the things that. 

Wendy Beck 39:26
Technically, he couldn't. Calling. 

Rich Bennett 39:28
Ooh, wow. 

Wendy Beck 39:29
And keeping their. 

Christina Darwin 39:29
Last year, an Ocean City, Maryland, Wendy. 

Rich Bennett 39:33
Are you serious? 

Christina Darwin 39:35
Yeah. If someone's on vacation in Ocean City, Maryland, I. 

Rich Bennett 39:37
No, no, no, no. I. Sure. Let's see. Let's see. Location. I'm down in New Orleans, I. 

Jenn Aguglia 39:43
I can't call 

Rich Bennett 39:44
Are 

Jenn Aguglia 39:44
you. 

Rich Bennett 39:44
you? 

Christina Darwin 39:44
You can call me, but we cannot have a therapy session. 

Rich Bennett 39:47
How. 

Jenn Aguglia 39:50
Wow. 

Rich Bennett 39:51
Wow. That. That's. Yeah. That bad? 

Wendy Beck 39:53
Well, in this world where everything is virtual, I really feel like that needs to change. 

Christina Darwin 39:58
We're hoping we're really. 

Jenn Aguglia 39:59
I mean, you're thinking about the fact that I read there's 340 people to every one mental health provider. Mental health therapist. 

Wendy Beck 40:08
I'm not surprised. 

Jenn Aguglia 40:09
And that's actually an overestimation of the mental health therapists, because not everyone's accepting new patients and not everyone's practicing. 

Rich Bennett 40:16
342 one. 

Jenn Aguglia 40:17
Hundred and 42 one. So if you think about those numbers, it's going to be different because different states and population have a different amount of providers per area. But there is a dire need for more providers. So why wouldn't we support? 

Wendy Beck 40:31
Right. Virtual. 

Jenn Aguglia 40:32
Virtual and. 

Rich Bennett 40:32
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 40:33
Interstate. 

Rich Bennett 40:34
I am sure. 

People with mental health problems is growing up, especially since COVID election year. 

Jenn Aguglia 40:43
Yo, yo. 

Rich Bennett 40:44
Happened with everything is going on in the world right now. I'm sure it's even on. 

Jenn Aguglia 40:48
Bigger, right? 

Wendy Beck 40:49
Do you guys have phone addiction treatment? Yeah. No, I'm serious. 

Jenn Aguglia 40:53
It's something that we absolutely need. 

Wendy Beck 40:55
I. I feel like. I feel like our youth needs that. 

Jenn Aguglia 40:59
Yeah, and 

Rich Bennett 40:59
Even. 

Jenn Aguglia 40:59
we touch on it. 

Rich Bennett 41:01
lot of the adults do too. 

Wendy Beck 41:02
Well, yes. And maybe the lonelier ones are the ones that have, like, you know, smaller support. 

Rich Bennett 41:08
Mhm. 

Wendy Beck 41:08
You know, they kind of go towards their phone. 

Christina Darwin 41:11
I don't use social media on the weekends, and I encourage a lot of my patients to do what I call social media sober. So either set daily limits, but the social media sober initiative is take one week where you don't use socials at all. And then when you go back to re-engaging in the social. Most of them have decreased their engagement with the socials. 

Wendy Beck 41:29
That makes sense. 

Rich Bennett 41:30
That's why most time when I'm on, I'm on. 

Jenn Aguglia 41:33
As the business. 

Wendy Beck 41:35
Well, I mean, I have to do a lot of stuff through my phone for work. And because, you know, most people that are entrepreneurial or have their own business, like you never stop work. 

Christina Darwin 41:46
I look at that differently, though? 

Wendy Beck 41:48
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 41:48
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 41:48
Because I sometimes I'm like, Oh, my God, 

Christina Darwin 41:51
Like 

Wendy Beck 41:51
what's 

Christina Darwin 41:51
the. 

Wendy Beck 41:51
the weather? Let me look at my phone. What? You know, everything. Everything. I don't have to talk. 

Christina Darwin 41:57
I don't use Tik tok. I have it, but I don't. 

Wendy Beck 41:58
My daughter has. 

Rich Bennett 41:59
I haven't been able 

Wendy Beck 41:59
It's 

Rich Bennett 41:59
to. 

Wendy Beck 41:59
like, Oh, yeah. 

Jenn Aguglia 42:01
Well, one of the things that makes it harder is that on your phone there aren't queues to finish. Like you read an article, you read a book, there's chapters. There's the end of the article. But when you're on the phone and you're scrolling, there's no queues to stop. So you have nothing that tells your brain like, Oh, I should set this down now and walk 

Wendy Beck 42:18
Right? 

Jenn Aguglia 42:18
away. 

Wendy Beck 42:19
No. 

Jenn Aguglia 42:19
And so it's easy to get sucked into it. 

Wendy Beck 42:21
Or you have your routine. I'm checking my Facebook there, check my Instagram. I'm checking my email. Oh, I got a text. Let me look at the text and then, oh, let me see what happened on Instagram, you know, because it's like now it's like a cycle and you're you're checking all of the the hot spots on your phone, which there is a lot o you're get you get a notification that your game wants you to play. 

Christina Darwin 42:41
I know. 

Jenn Aguglia 42:42
Reinforce. 

Wendy Beck 42:42
Yeah. 

Jenn Aguglia 42:43
With your brain. 

Rich Bennett 42:44
You could turn off those negative. 

Wendy Beck 42:45
I don't have any games. 

Rich Bennett 42:46
Okay. 

Wendy Beck 42:46
But, I mean, I was like, What? 

Jenn Aguglia 42:48
So your brain's getting this rush, 

Wendy Beck 42:50
Right. 

Jenn Aguglia 42:51
this dopamine rush every time these things happen. And so that just reinforces continuously. Look at my phone. What's going on in my phone? 

Wendy Beck 42:57
And if you misplace your phone and like literally like you, you get a panic, you know, because years ago and here I'm going to date myself. You had your house phone. So if someone needed to get in touch with you, they called the house. And if you weren't home, you just weren't able to get in touch with that person. Now, if someone reaches out to you and like, let's say it's my mother or my sister and they can't get in touch with you, everybody's in a panic because you're used to being so accessible. And when you're not. It's automatic panic. But, you know, there used to be. 

Rich Bennett 43:34
Text right away. 

Wendy Beck 43:35
Yeah. So that becomes that also that rush, you know, we're like, oh my gosh, where's my phone? You know, the whole world is going to fall down and I'm not going to know about it. 

Christina Darwin 43:43
Is there some opportunity to rework some irrational thoughts? 

Wendy Beck 43:48
I'm not saying they're my irrational thoughts. 

Christina Darwin 43:50
no, no. In general, it's 

Wendy Beck 43:52
Yeah. 

Christina Darwin 43:52
like we are conditioned. 

Wendy Beck 43:53
Right. 

Christina Darwin 43:54
To everybody's. 

Wendy Beck 43:55
Worst 

Christina Darwin 43:55
It's that. 

Wendy Beck 43:55
case scenario. 

Christina Darwin 43:56
And they're in contact with them right now. Right. And if we're not in contact with them, there's something very. 

Wendy Beck 44:01
Something wrong? 

Jenn Aguglia 44:02
But then that also really illustrates how things have changed with technology that have increased the anxiety that we experience as a culture 

Wendy Beck 44:11
Yes. 

Jenn Aguglia 44:11
because now we're expected to be accessible 24 seven It used to be we could have these breaks, these steps away, and it wasn't a whole to do. So what does that do for us in our anxiety, our emotions now that we have to always be on call? 

Wendy Beck 44:28
I think I'm going to do the social media sobriety. I don't know, like when I'll start, but what does it how do I do that with work? 

Christina Darwin 44:36
So with work that's considered work, right? I'm talking about just like, aimlessly scrolling. 

Wendy Beck 44:43
Or I could just commit that if I'm going to be working, I need to do it on my computer 

Jenn Aguglia 44:47
Or just set down your phone after work hours. 

Wendy Beck 44:50
Yeah. 

Christina Darwin 44:51
I always forget you can access like Facebook and such. Oh, my God. 

Wendy Beck 44:55
That's true. 

Christina Darwin 44:55
Verbal. 

Wendy Beck 44:56
Yeah. I don't. 

Christina Darwin 44:57
I try not to use it, Richard. On and on. It's not me forgetting that I can use the computer to access the Facebook. It's that I just try not to use. 

Wendy Beck 45:05
Right. 

Christina Darwin 45:06
Look 

Wendy Beck 45:06
Is 

Christina Darwin 45:07
at. 

Wendy Beck 45:07
that. wave of addiction. 

Jenn Aguglia 45:09
Oh, I'm sure. 

Christina Darwin 45:10
Yes. 

Wendy Beck 45:12
Yeah. Oh. I already know it's a motivator. For one thing, you've got these teenagers and probably, you know, as young as middle school that are that are addicted. People were giving their babies phones to keep them quiet in the in the grocery cart. 

Jenn Aguglia 45:29
I mean, we. 

Rich Bennett 45:30
We had. And this still baffles me. I don't understand why schools. Allowed students to start bringing their phones in. 

Wendy Beck 45:40
I don't know. 

Rich Bennett 45:41
I mean. 

Christina Darwin 45:42
Was having to do with the parents. 

Wendy Beck 45:46
Wanting to be able to get in touch with their child. 

Christina Darwin 45:47
We're like after school activities. Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 45:51
No safety in a safety thing. I mean, I know I didn't have a cell phone when I was a teenager. Didn't exist. 

Jenn Aguglia 45:58
We had the payphones. 

Wendy Beck 45:59
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 45:59
Yes. 

Wendy Beck 45:59
Yeah. Then. Then it went into the pager. We had the pager for like a minute. And then you 

Christina Darwin 46:03
Go 

Wendy Beck 46:03
thought. 

Christina Darwin 46:04
to the school guidance. 

Wendy Beck 46:04
Really cool. 

Christina Darwin 46:05
Can I use your phone to call my mom? 

Wendy Beck 46:07
She's paging me. 

Rich Bennett 46:09
I remember going to school and our friends, they had the little thing. He had the crank hand. That old. 

Wendy Beck 46:14
Well, they were they I think they had payphones in the school. So you had to you know, you had to have change and all that stuff. 

Christina Darwin 46:23
Change. Yeah, 

Wendy Beck 46:24
Yeah. 

Christina Darwin 46:24
that's what I'm. 

Wendy Beck 46:25
Coins. 

Quarters, Dimes. Nickels. 

Rich Bennett 46:29
We had. 

So for those of you listening, we're recording this November. What is today? November? 

Wendy Beck 46:37
November 20. 

Christina Darwin 46:38
20th. 

Rich Bennett 46:39
20th. 

Wendy Beck 46:39
Want it. 

Rich Bennett 46:39
Oh, my God. I should. going to get killed for this because I got a text this morning from we all did family from my sister saying that it would have been my mother's 90th birthday. 

Wendy Beck 46:51
Your mother's birthday was on November 20th. 

Rich Bennett 46:52
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 46:53
Oh. 

Rich Bennett 46:53
So I said, Yeah, I tried to call her. 

Christina Darwin 46:59
Dark humor. 

Rich Bennett 46:59
Yeah. They? My sister replied back. Well, did she answer like a busy signal or what? I said I tried to call collect. Then he hit me. A lot of people. The nieces. Probably like. 

Wendy Beck 47:15
Last. 

Rich Bennett 47:15
What is. 

Wendy Beck 47:16
Or was it busy? That's not even a thing. Well, I got you can. Is it? 

Jenn Aguglia 47:22
Collect. 

Christina Darwin 47:23
Sometimes 

Rich Bennett 47:23
Because 

Christina Darwin 47:23
I. 

Rich Bennett 47:23
when I was in the Marine Corps, I would call 

Jenn Aguglia 47:25
Paul 

Rich Bennett 47:25
home 

Jenn Aguglia 47:25
who 

Rich Bennett 47:25
a lot. And I'm. 

Jenn Aguglia 47:26
collected 

Rich Bennett 47:27
And 

Jenn Aguglia 47:27
the. 

Rich Bennett 47:27
then after a while, my parents told me to stop. 

Jenn Aguglia 47:30
Because the phone bill. 

Rich Bennett 47:30
Those over overzealous. 

Wendy Beck 47:32
my gosh. 

Christina Darwin 47:33
Oh, you had to get crafty with when you say your name. 

Rich Bennett 47:35
Yeah, well, 

Christina Darwin 47:36
Bob, 

Rich Bennett 47:36
I learned 

Christina Darwin 47:36
we. 

Rich Bennett 47:36
that after. 

Christina Darwin 47:37
It's a boy who's. 

Rich Bennett 47:38
Look, I. 

Jenn Aguglia 47:39
Mom, come pick me up. What 

Rich Bennett 47:41
If 

Jenn Aguglia 47:41
if that 

Rich Bennett 47:41
I was 

Jenn Aguglia 47:41
was 

Rich Bennett 47:41
in. 

Jenn Aguglia 47:41
in for a while? 

Rich Bennett 47:42
But when you first get 

Jenn Aguglia 47:43
You want to talk to? 

Rich Bennett 47:45
But, you know. 

Wendy Beck 47:46
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 47:49
It's that it's a lot on your mental health, especially going away from home for the first time. That's one thing. At least when I was in. 

Jenn Aguglia 47:58
The. 

Rich Bennett 47:59
Military didn't have therapists. That I can think 

Jenn Aguglia 48:03
Go 

Rich Bennett 48:03
of for. 

Jenn Aguglia 48:03
for the recruits to talk to. 

Rich Bennett 48:06
The drill instructor was your therapist. He would say, Suck it up and work. 

Jenn Aguglia 48:12
For what it's worth, there's been a lot of improvement in. 

Rich Bennett 48:15
It's been. 

Jenn Aguglia 48:15
Stigma. 

Rich Bennett 48:16
Yeah. 

Jenn Aguglia 48:17
For mental health specifically. 

Rich Bennett 48:18
Oh, big time. 

Jenn Aguglia 48:19
Where now you have people talking about their mental health. Sincere, open way. And I was reading something about how ages 18 to 29, they are the highest growing population of those who are talking about their mental health and accessing. 

Rich Bennett 48:36
Really? 

Jenn Aguglia 48:37
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 48:38
What do you do when someone doesn't want. Like, you know, you have a family member and they're just so resistant to getting any kind of therapy. Like, what would you what would you say to the family? Like, you know, how do you convince somebody that they need to talk to someone? 

Christina Darwin 48:54
So I don't really do a lot of the convincing approach. I just acknowledge and say, I'm here for you when you need the support. I really want you to know that the support is there. However, you need to say it because it is scary for a lot of people to acknowledge that there's an issue at all. And then even after overcoming that, to go and find the support. 

Jenn Aguglia 49:15
I think modeling too, like if you want your loved one to get care, show that you're also open to it as well for yourself. And that can be a really great way of changing minds. 

Rich Bennett 49:29
What about as far as switching therapies? Let's say you 

Jenn Aguglia 49:32
You 

Rich Bennett 49:32
have. 

Jenn Aguglia 49:32
have a family member. 

Rich Bennett 49:33
The murder. 

Jenn Aguglia 49:34
What is everybody 

Rich Bennett 49:35
And they've been doing it for years, 

Jenn Aguglia 49:36
you? 

Rich Bennett 49:36
but it doesn't seem like it's really making. 

Jenn Aguglia 49:38
Making the difference 

is a good idea for. 

Rich Bennett 49:42
For them to switch to a different therapist. Perhaps you. 

Christina Darwin 49:45
If that's what they're interested in. I mean, if it's a re speaking in hypotheticals, if this is a family member because I would like. To know if it's for a family member. Maybe they're saying that it's not working. It is working. I also encourage everyone to speak with their therapist about their relationship, to navigate that a little bit and see if there is something really underlying that they don't want to touch on. But I always recommend people to speak with their therapist first and then if it's not working and it's truly not a match, but if you're saying for years I 

Wendy Beck 50:20
Well, 

Christina Darwin 50:20
am. 

Wendy Beck 50:20
if the person thinks that it's working, but the family isn't seeing a difference, Is that more what you're talking about? 

You know, you can't make anybody do anything. 

Rich Bennett 50:31
I know. 

Wendy Beck 50:31
You really, truly can't. You can't. You can't force them into treatment. You can't force them to get mental health. All you can do is, like you said, lead by example or be supportive in your own way. And that is through love. You know, because I feel like there's that whole tough love thing. You know, everybody was just like, you know, suck it up and and deal with it. And you know, not not now. We're we're more compassionate. We are we're showing empathy. We're saying we might not understand, but we're here for you. And that is completely new. When I grew up, we didn't we didn't die. Like my parents were good people, but we didn't we were not coddled at all at all. 

Christina Darwin 51:12
We also didn't talk about mental health issues. 

Wendy Beck 51:14
No. 

Rich Bennett 51:14
No, No, we didn't. 

Jenn Aguglia 51:16
Now we have the words for our kids are taught, knowing what anxiety feels like, what depression feels like. And I think that's a beautiful thing because once you can label your emotions, then you can start to know what you have to do. 

Wendy Beck 51:27
Okay. Okay. 

Rich Bennett 51:29
How off. Somebody's going through. 

They say going through. Yeah, they all are going through therapy, right? 

Christina Darwin 51:36
Engage in. 

Rich Bennett 51:37
Okay, So how. 

Jenn Aguglia 51:38
Seeing a therapist. 

Rich Bennett 51:41
It was like once a week. 

Christina Darwin 51:43
Typically it's once a week. 

Rich Bennett 51:44
Okay. 

Christina Darwin 51:45
If somebody comes in and they're really needing some additional support, more than one hour, 45 minutes, whatever the session length may be, then I would be open to seeing them more than once a week. It just honestly, it depends on the need. And that's really what Ashley's goal is with this program is tailoring the needs to the patients. 

Wendy Beck 52:04
Not just worried about like your insurance is only going to cover 13 sessions, so. 

Christina Darwin 52:10
Right. 

Rich Bennett 52:11
So I've never asked this question before. 

Jenn Aguglia 52:15
Somebody like. 

Rich Bennett 52:16
Me. 

Jenn Aguglia 52:16
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 52:18
I went through depression, anxiety, and it was actually suicidal. I learned to control. But I never. I never seen a therapist. So would I still be a candidate to talk, talk to you or whatever? 

Jenn Aguglia 52:33
Absolutely. Anybody could benefit from therapy, even if it's just to talk through problems or 

Rich Bennett 52:39
Right. 

Jenn Aguglia 52:40
experiences or just feelings that you're having. There's no reason. 

Wendy Beck 52:45
Even even if you need just assistance if your loved one is struggling with. That's a lot of thing. I can't help you. But I might need someone to help me know how to handle the situation. 

Rich Bennett 52:57
Right. 

Wendy Beck 52:58
That's relevant. 

Christina Darwin 52:59
Sorry. I love that you said that, because that's another association of stigma with mental health. We think that we only need mental health therapy if there's something wrong with us. 

Rich Bennett 53:08
Right. 

Christina Darwin 53:08
Right. But there's many people that I work with that are doing well and like to keep this connection. To have some money to bounce things off of that does not know them personally, that listens and doesn't say, Oh, you're experiencing this. Me too. This this in this happened like that's very invalidating. We want somebody to listen to. I'm here for you. Whether you're telling me that you just made sprinkle popcorn or you're telling me that your dog passed away. We're here for both, right? 

Rich Bennett 53:38
Hmm. I think I might have to give you a call. 

I mean, it's. 

Like last night, I got a text from somebody about this pamphlet that went out to everybody in Sweden. Yeah. About for being prepared for war and all this. 

Wendy Beck 53:59
Oh, my. 

Rich Bennett 54:00
I couldn't sleep. 

Christina Darwin 54:00
Places like. 

Rich Bennett 54:01
Or and it was the anxiety was kicking in, something that hasn't happened in a long time. And I feel. 

I was feeling helpless because, yes, I'm old now, but I feel like I it's like I'm no longer in a. 

Jenn Aguglia 54:20
Military. 

Rich Bennett 54:21
How would I? 

Jenn Aguglia 54:22
I protect my family. 

Rich Bennett 54:23
Family or anybody around me. And that's all I kept thinking about, especially when you're this close to APG and DC as well, you know, And it's just. Like I. 

Wendy Beck 54:34
Turn something on in your brain. 

Rich Bennett 54:36
Yeah. And I think if I'm lucky, if I got maybe three or 4 hours of sleep last night. 

Jenn Aguglia 54:41
Thank you. 

Rich Bennett 54:42
You. Macha, please. 

Jenn Aguglia 54:45
I think the big thing here, though, is that you're not the only one that feels this way. 

Rich Bennett 54:49
Yeah. 

Jenn Aguglia 54:49
And you're not the only one that goes through this. And so that's where the mental health therapy really plays a good role is, because there's going to be a lot of feelings to navigate and a lot of fears. And this helplessness, they're talking about, this hopelessness. And so having someone to just process it with. 

Rich Bennett 55:04
Mm hmm. 

Jenn Aguglia 55:05
And then making a plan for how do I survive the day to day without driving myself crazy. Therapist can help you with that. 

Rich Bennett 55:13
Okay. The other thing is to and this is just me, like I never registered for the VA, yet I knew there were some. What do you call. 

Wendy Beck 55:23
Programs. 

Rich Bennett 55:24
Yeah, but disabilities that I could get but I just never had because I figured there's other veterans out there that need it more. And now. 

Jenn Aguglia 55:32
Three. 

Rich Bennett 55:33
342 everyone. Therapist And I'm thinking, Well, why? 

Wendy Beck 55:37
I don't want to take a spot. 

Rich Bennett 55:38
Yeah. 

Jenn Aguglia 55:40
A lot of people that could benefit from care aren't accessing it. And I'm sure they're thinking the same 

Rich Bennett 55:44
Yeah. 

Jenn Aguglia 55:44
thing. Gangs. 

Rich Bennett 55:45
Christina Looks like she's ready to throw something at me. 

Christina Darwin 55:47
I'm like, Oh, my God. That's not your responsibility. Your responsibility is you. 

Rich Bennett 55:54
I just. 

Wendy Beck 55:56
Oh. 

Rich Bennett 55:57
Would you stop? Oh, God. What I. 

Christina Darwin 56:00
No serious. 

Jenn Aguglia 56:02
They're 

Christina Darwin 56:03
There could be many benefits that you're not experiencing. They have room and they're like, We're waiting for your pitch. Come on. 

I know it's difficult. 

Rich Bennett 56:13
She. 

Christina Darwin 56:14
Reach out. 

Rich Bennett 56:15
Like, I'll get you, and you'll be like, Okay. 

Jenn Aguglia 56:16
Okay. Rich, do you 

Rich Bennett 56:17
You had 

Jenn Aguglia 56:17
have. 

Rich Bennett 56:18
that old reel to reel tape so you can hit play records. 

Christina Darwin 56:21
A track. 

Wendy Beck 56:28
Well, I think that what we're really. Is that meant to? 

Rich Bennett 56:32
Anybody could pick Aldridge. 

Wendy Beck 56:35
Mental health is on the rise and so are the providers there. They're adjusting to the need and this is a good example of that with the telehealth. And, you know, telehealth was really, really important during COVID and even, you know, after because people were still scared to go out of their homes and stuff like that. Can you tell me or whether or not is there is there value to face to face that, you know, you're missing in the telehealth? I mean, there may or may not be. And it doesn't matter if it is, but like some people would feel, I don't know, like more connected personally when you're face to face with someone. Is that. 

Christina Darwin 57:16
I know. Saying. 

Rich Bennett 57:17
Yeah, I know what you're saying. 

Christina Darwin 57:19
I only know what she's saying because this is 

Jenn Aguglia 57:21
But 

Christina Darwin 57:21
what. 

Jenn Aguglia 57:21
I was. 

Christina Darwin 57:22
Afraid of going to telehealth because I had been in person for the four years that I was with Ashley and I was like, Oh my gosh, I'm not going to have this connection. I'm not going to be sharing their space. I experience none of 

Wendy Beck 57:33
None 

Christina Darwin 57:33
that. 

Wendy Beck 57:33
of it look good. 

Christina Darwin 57:34
None of it at all, thankfully, because, like I 

Wendy Beck 57:37
I 

Christina Darwin 57:37
said. 

Wendy Beck 57:37
said, I was like, What? 

Rich Bennett 57:39
I would say I know personally for me if I'm. 

Jenn Aguglia 57:44
I just need. 

Christina Darwin 57:45
He just looks at me and laughs. Now see? 

Rich Bennett 57:47
But if. Well, I only because now I know you. But in person I'd be comfortable too. But if it's somebody I've never met before, I think I would be more comfortable. 

Jenn Aguglia 57:55
For all. 

Rich Bennett 57:55
To them virtually then in person. 

Christina Darwin 57:58
I've heard that, too. And I've heard that they've experienced anxiety and the ability to meet with someone virtually opened the door for them for therapy because they're able to be in that safe space of safe space, excuse me, whether it be in their home or in their office or car. What? 

Wendy Beck 58:13
Right. 

Rich Bennett 58:14
Mm hmm. 

Christina Darwin 58:15
Wherever they feel safe and comfortable. 

Rich Bennett 58:17
So where where are you hoping to see this in five years? 

Christina Darwin 58:21
I'm hoping that I have at least five clinicians working under me, if not more. 

Rich Bennett 58:27
How many you have now? Just you. I thought you said you were bringing 

Jenn Aguglia 58:32
We're 

Rich Bennett 58:32
some. 

Jenn Aguglia 58:32
in the process. 

Rich Bennett 58:32
Are you? 

Christina Darwin 58:33
In the process. Yep. But it's still just me. 

Rich Bennett 58:37
How many? How many patients? A patient's. Right. 

Christina Darwin 58:40
It is. That's what we 

Rich Bennett 58:41
Okay. 

Christina Darwin 58:41
use the term patients just to same. 

Rich Bennett 58:45
Right. 

Christina Darwin 58:46
Across the continuum of Ashley. So right now I am at a specific number I believe is 17. 

Rich Bennett 58:53
17. 

Christina Darwin 58:53
I just know I'm halfway there. 

Jenn Aguglia 58:56
And some some individuals will come weekly, some will come biweekly or monthly. The frequency is going to be very individualized. So it's hard to put a number on how many people per clinician. 

Christina Darwin 59:06
Right. 

Rich Bennett 59:07
Ah. Clinician. 

Jenn Aguglia 59:09
Admissions 

Rich Bennett 59:10
as I say. 

Jenn Aguglia 59:10
therapist. 

Rich Bennett 59:12
Ali therapist better. 

Jenn Aguglia 59:14
Sounds like. 

Rich Bennett 59:16
Are you capped? How many 

Jenn Aguglia 59:17
People you 

Rich Bennett 59:18
can 

Jenn Aguglia 59:18
can have. 

Rich Bennett 59:18
have? And one time, in other words. 

Jenn Aguglia 59:21
I mean, I'm 

Rich Bennett 59:21
I'm 

Jenn Aguglia 59:21
sure. 

Rich Bennett 59:21
sure you don't want to take on 100 people. 

Christina Darwin 59:24
Oh, no, Daphne. A hundred people. 

Jenn Aguglia 59:26
think we're shooting for like 30 around 

Rich Bennett 59:28
30. 

Jenn Aguglia 59:28
that. 

Rich Bennett 59:29
Like. Like a class. Like 

Jenn Aguglia 59:30
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 59:30
a teacher in class. Okay. She still gives you that more one on. 

Wendy Beck 59:34
Well, a a work week is typically, you know, 9 to 5, 40 hours. So that would be 10 hours. I mean, I'm sorry, 30 hours with patients and then. 

Rich Bennett 59:45
Right. 

Wendy Beck 59:46
For whatever you have to probably do scheduling and paperwork. 

Rich Bennett 59:50
Tapping. 

Christina Darwin 59:51
Filling all that fun. 

Jenn Aguglia 59:52
Yes. 

Christina Darwin 59:53
There's variation, too, in the length of time 

Wendy Beck 59:55
I'm 

Christina Darwin 59:55
of 

Wendy Beck 59:55
on 

Christina Darwin 59:55
the 

Wendy Beck 59:55
the 

Christina Darwin 59:55
sessions. 

Wendy Beck 59:55
session. 

Christina Darwin 59:56
So some might see some. In 5 minutes, I may see another person for an hour. So it really just depends. And to Jim's point, it's hard to put a number on it. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:03
Yeah. 

Christina Darwin 1:00:04
As many as we can help while also being able to take care of ourselves and give them the best. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:09
I said when 

Jenn Aguglia 1:00:10
When 

Rich Bennett 1:00:10
somebody 

Jenn Aguglia 1:00:10
somebody 

Rich Bennett 1:00:11
came. 

Jenn Aguglia 1:00:11
contacts. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:12
You. 

Jenn Aguglia 1:00:13
But they need to be prepared are assurance. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:17
I. D. 

Christina Darwin 1:00:18
Right. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:19
What else? 

Wendy Beck 1:00:20
You need to be in the state of Maryland. 

Jenn Aguglia 1:00:22
Yeah. And they need to have a reliable Internet connection, 

Rich Bennett 1:00:25
Ooh. 

Jenn Aguglia 1:00:26
a device that they can access to either their phone or tablet or computer or something that they can. We need to see them and they we need to be able to hear them. 

Christina Darwin 1:00:35
Right. 

Jenn Aguglia 1:00:36
And then 

Christina Darwin 1:00:36
Space. 

Jenn Aguglia 1:00:37
a secure space where there aren't other people around. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:41
Hmm. Okay. And credit card. 

Christina Darwin 1:00:44
Not necessarily. It depends on the insurance. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:48
Okay. And how do people get in touch of you again? 

Christina Darwin 1:00:51
You can either call 

4102732301. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:55
One more time. 

Christina Darwin 1:00:56
410273. 

Wendy Beck 1:00:58
Three, two, three. 

Christina Darwin 1:01:00
Zero one. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:01
Cornell Albers. You're in the. 

Christina Darwin 1:01:04
I am the. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:07
You get a real person, you get Christine, I mean. 

What's. 

Christina Darwin 1:01:12
The website. W. W. W. Ashley treatment. Dot org. Backslash. Mental dash. Health. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:22
There's no one 800 number yet. 

Christina Darwin 1:01:25
The main number is one 800, but we're trying to be unique 

Rich Bennett 1:01:28
Or am I? Who is that? Is 

Christina Darwin 1:01:29
now. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:29
that an old thing to me? There's 800. 

Wendy Beck 1:01:32
I don't know. I really I think it wasn't an 800 number like toll free. 

Christina Darwin 1:01:37
Yes. 

Jenn Aguglia 1:01:37
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:38
Everything. 

Wendy Beck 1:01:38
No, everything's. 

Christina Darwin 1:01:39
Yes. So the impatient has the 800 toll free number because. They serve the entire wherever whoever wants 

Rich Bennett 1:01:46
Right. 

Christina Darwin 1:01:46
to come to the inpatient facility. 

Wendy Beck 1:01:48
Right. 

Christina Darwin 1:01:48
Right. 

Wendy Beck 1:01:49
Not specifically for Marilyn. 

Christina Darwin 1:01:50
Right. But for actually behavioral health and wellness, we have that Marilyn number just to keep with the trend of we're only serving Marilyn residents. 

Jenn Aguglia 1:01:59
For. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:59
For now. 

Christina Darwin 1:02:00
For now. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:01
That's got. I have a feeling. 

Christina Darwin 1:02:03
I hope so. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:04
I hope so, too. Because a lot I mean, there's everybody throughout my body, throughout the world needs it. Ashley is such I mean, great. 

Wendy Beck 1:02:15
Prestigious 

Rich Bennett 1:02:16
Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 1:02:16
facility. Honestly? 

Rich Bennett 1:02:18
Especially when it comes to addiction recovery. And with this part now. I could see it blowing up and you guys just making waves. Like crazy. Do you have any more questions for. 

Wendy Beck 1:02:31
I don't think so. No, but I think it's cool. I think it's good. I think it's needed. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:37
Do you really have anything like that? Anything you want me throw on Memorex. So you. 

Christina Darwin 1:02:42
No, I did want to just inform you all that I read the last release from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and over 1 million Marilyn residents lack access to quality mental health care. So, Ashley. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:58
How many? 

Christina Darwin 1:02:59
Well over 1 million. 

Wendy Beck 1:03:00
Lacks 

Christina Darwin 1:03:00
Right. 

Wendy Beck 1:03:00
access because they are not they're not utilizing it or lax access because they don't have the ability to have a provider. 

Christina Darwin 1:03:12
So they didn't specify. 

Wendy Beck 1:03:14
Okay. 

Christina Darwin 1:03:15
They just said that over 1 million Iraqis. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:16
Haitian. 

Wendy Beck 1:03:18
It could be a combination of both. 

Christina Darwin 1:03:19
Oh, of course. Yeah. 

Wendy Beck 1:03:20
There's people that are untreated. There's tons of untreated mental health. 

Christina Darwin 1:03:24
Absolutely. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:24
Look at the home. I mean, look how many homeless are in Maryland, too. 

Jenn Aguglia 1:03:27
There's so many barriers to accessing treatment. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:29
Yeah. 

Jenn Aguglia 1:03:30
So that's we're trying to do our part to break those barriers down and increase the accessibility. Yes. 

Wendy Beck 1:03:36
Thank you. 

Jenn Aguglia 1:03:37
Thank you for having us. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:39
Yeah, And you guys got to come on again. This is something I would. 

Jenn Aguglia 1:03:43
We need to talk. 

Wendy Beck 1:03:44
Let's do MDR like. 

I'm scared of mice, so maybe we need to do some. 

Christina Darwin 1:03:54
Mice. Mice are your friend. 

Wendy Beck 1:03:56
No. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:58
Christine. 

Jenn Aguglia 1:03:59
It to the station where we bring them. 

Wendy Beck 1:04:01
You know, I never. 

Christina Darwin 1:04:03
No, it's not that. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:05
Tina. Jane, thanks so much. Next, what have you come? 

Jenn Aguglia 1:04:08
Come out here when it's warmer. When. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:09
Wendy wears her sandals so that way we can have the mouse come up and just like her to. 

Jenn Aguglia 1:04:19
Well, thank you for having. 

Wendy Beck 1:04:20
Thank you. 

Christina Darwin 1:04:21
Only if it's Mickey Mouse. 

Wendy Beck 1:04:23
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:24
Thank you for listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. I hope you enjoy today's episode and learn something from it as I did. If you'd like to hear more conversations like this, be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. And if you have a moment, I'd love if you could leave a review. It helps us reach more listeners and share more incredible stories. Don't forget to connect with us on social media or visit our website at conversations with Rich Bennett. Com for updates, giveaways and more. Until next time, take care. Be kind and keep the conversations going.