Black Mountain Counseling Center to host events for Mental Health Month in May

The Black Mountain Counseling Center is partnering with several local businesses to raise awareness for Mental Health Month in May.

Mental Health Month takes place in May of each year, and Black Mountain Counseling Center Clinical Director Shana Brown said the goal is to raise awareness.

“It’s about raising awareness about mental health and mental wellness and really a lot about reducing stigma,” Brown said. “Be more inclusive when it comes to mental health.”

Brown said it is as important to care for one’s mental health as it is to care for physical health.

“Mental health is not on par with medical health and we don’t think about it through the same lens, but those things are very connected,” Brown said. “Make it as important to take care of yourself mentally as we do physically, it’s really the big end goal.”

The Black Mountain Counseling Center started when Blue Ridge Mental Health closed in 2007. Founded by current Executive Director Ellen Begley along with Jack Culbreth and Bill Christian, what is now the Black Mountain Counseling Center was formed to provide the Swannanoa Valley with mental health services.

Begley said the center works with all clients, regardless of their ability to pay. Black Mountain Counseling Center accepts private insurance, Medicaid and Medicare and offers a client assistance program for those who are not able to pay. According to the 2023 annual report, 21% of clients utilize the assistance program.

Begley said donations from the community help fund the client assistance program and getting mental health care to those who need it.

“When we get donations, all of it goes into that client assistance program,” Begley said. “All that comes through to support people that otherwise might not get the help they need due to financial reasons.”

Begley said Black Mountain Counseling Center currently has nearly 200 active clients with an average of 90 to 100 sessions each week. Begley said this is an increase of 32% of sessions from last year at this time to now.

The center has 10 counselors on staff and is looking to hire more.

Begley and Brown said Black Mountain Counseling Center always accepts donations that go toward helping those in need get the mental health care they need, but donating and volunteering is not the only thing that can be done to help.

“You can start small by just talking about it in your own social circles and family circles,” Brown said. “Really just bringing it more into your everyday life.”

To support the counseling center in May, several businesses are hosting events or donating a percentage of sales to Black Mountain Counseling Center:

• Beradu will host a benefit event May 8.
• Dough House donated 10 cents per doughnut throughout the month.
• Dynamite Roasting Co.’s coffee bar location will donate the profits of the specialty branded Black Mountain Counseling Center coffee.
• My Father’s Pizza will donate a percentage of sales from the first weekend in May.

The Black Mountain Counseling Center will be at the following locations at the end of April and throughout May:

• April 27, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.: Pioneer Day at the Mountain Gateway Museum in Old Fort
• May 4, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.: Black Mountain Tailgate Market
• May 8, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.: Food memories collage night at Beradu
• May 11, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.: Black Mountain Tailgate Market
• May 18, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.: Black Mountain Tailgate Market
• May 18, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.: Old Fort Tailgate Market
• May 25, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.: Black Mountain Tailgate Market