2 DECEMBER 23, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Ridgewood business off ers accessible mental health services
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Get Right Wellness opened its
doors at 1025 Seneca Ave. in
Ridgewood earlier this year
and has been working to provide accessible,
aff ordable wellness services
for the community ever since.
Jessica LaHood and her business
partner Lauren Urban are psychotherapists
and licensed clinical
social workers. The pair saw a need
for accessible mental health care and
holistic wellness services in their
community of Ridgewood that would
break down the barriers to care.
“We both live in Ridgewood and
have lived in Ridgewood for some
time and love it here,” LaHood said.
“We want to be able to serve our neighbors
and make sure they’re getting
what they need to be well and access
healing. We just weren’t seeing very
much of that in the neighborhood.”
LaHood mentioned specifi c barriers
that many people face in accessing
care like fi nance and travel. Not only
are mental health services typically
very expensive, but the owners of Get
Right Wellness are also aware that
most care requires a train ride which
could take over an hour both ways, on
top of the hourlong appointment.
“For working folks, for parents, that
math just doesn’t make sense,” La-
Hood said. “We also know that people
might not be able to pay the full fee for
a therapy session or a healing session
but can still come and get what they
need.”
Get Right Wellness also started
the Equity and Healing Fund to cover
treatments or services for community
members who are in fi nancial need.
This fund will allow other, more
fi nancially stable, customers to help
alleviate the costs for those in need.
Get Right Wellness was supposed
to open its doors in March of 2020,
however, the pandemic made them
pivot to remote service. Nevertheless,
LaHood said it has been inspiring to
provide support during this tough
time.
“Everyone is hit so hard and certainly
our neighborhood isn’t any
diff erent,” LaHood said. “It’s been
great to see folks just walking by and
seeing our sign that we off er therapy
and reaching out to say that they need
support.”
As New York City faces recordbreaking
COVID transmission rates,
LaHood recommended that people
struggling should start by accepting
that this is a global trauma that we
are all reacting to together. Secondly,
LaHood encouraged people to stay
present in their space when they feel
overwhelmed by fi nding objects to interact
with to distract from the stress.
“For example, I might smell some
lavender oil or pick up a shell that I
have to feel the texture of it to shift
what’s happening in my nervous
system,” LaHood said. “Even though
things are really uncertain, we all
have some resources to take care of
ourselves.”
Get Right Wellness currently
houses several private-practice
psychotherapists and hosts diff erent
wellness classes like their weekly
lactation group. In the future, they
are looking to expand their services
to include things like acupuncture.
Jessica LaHood and Lauren Urban opened Get Right Wellness, located at
1025 Seneca Ave. in Ridgewood, provides accessible and aff ordable
wellness services. Photo courtesy of Jessica LaHood
Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc
Health Commissioner
Pediatricians recommend
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for 5-17 year olds.
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The FDA and CDC have found the Pfizer
COVID-19 vaccine to be safe and authorized
its use among children 5-17 years old.
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