BILLINGS — Not everyone can afford therapy sessions, but one Billings counselor is offering a solution through her practice. beautiful directions counseling is currently offering free therapy with three graduate student interns.
As a mother, artist and educator, it was a lifesaver for Billings native Angel Shandy.
“Being an adult, being a parent, and having a full-time job brings different situations,” Shandi Wednesday said at Beautiful Directions Counseling in downtown Billings.
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Shandy has a lot to juggle along with anxiety and depression, and external stressors in society don’t help.
“We just need to love people, not strangers. That’s what’s hurting me the most right now, because politics, wars, LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, all these things… Because there are so many elements like that in that,” Shandy said.
She was able to get through it with the help of Alison James, a certified medical counselor and owner of Beautiful Directions Counseling.
“There’s a lot of practice where you’re like, this is something I can control, this is something I can’t control,” Shandy said.
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She started attending Beautiful Directions 5 months ago.
“I feel like I have more control over myself and can maintain some control over my thoughts and moods,” Shandy said. “We also worked with doctors to discuss drug options and more.”
This is a service the clinic is providing free of charge to Shandy.
“I have a responsibility to give back what was given to me. I’m very grateful. I’m also grateful to the therapists who have been involved with me,” James said.
James became a therapist after overcoming his own mental health struggles.
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“A lot of it had to do with the fact that I myself spent a lot of time in therapy overcoming childhood trauma and overcoming addiction,” James said.
She opened Beautiful Directions in 2019 and expanded last December. She currently has eight therapists and three graduate student interns armed and ready to serve the community.
“The interns just see people for free. They’re supervised by a clinician with over 40 years of experience, so he’s part of the process,” James said. I also plan to discuss what I discovered with the interns.
One of those interns is David Eichler.
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“I think I’m the oldest intern in Billings. I’m 57 years old,” Eichler said. “I’m studying clinical social work and counseling.”
After changing jobs several times, Eichler said he finally found his purpose, especially since he has direct experience in the mental health field.
“I have bipolar disorder. I first went to treatment 24 years ago, and I can speak pretty clearly about mental health and the power of mental health counseling,” Eichler said. “I’ve spent a lot of my life promoting other people’s dreams and other people’s balance sheets. And this is sitting in a room with humans, and none of that is as important as the rest. That is not important.”
This practice is ready to involve the community.
“15 years ago, my life was a mess. I was very depressed, very suicidal. I was very addicted, very lost. I had a lot of unresolved trauma and I was seeing a therapist. Her name was Kay Flynn.” My life was a mess, and she had this sign on her wall, and it was a velveteen rabbit, and I… I was coming to a therapy session and looking at it…and one day I said, “I really like that.” “That sign, that picture,” and she got up and pulled it off the wall. He took it off and gave it to me. That in itself was a very touching gesture. “That article about that sign is now hanging in my therapy office,” she said. James. “I’m a big believer in the power of people and the power of therapy… We care about people being safe more than money, so we go see people for free.”
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“There are ways to get help without being financially crippled, and there are people who are willing to help our community that way,” Shandy said.
Beautiful Directions Counseling is located at 100 N. 27th St. in downtown Billings. The phone number for the clinic is 406-927-4838.
