Mental health was never meant to be carried alone, as a diagnosis, or as something to be fixed in a small fluorescent lit, sterile room.

When you consider what mental health truly is, much like physical health, it is multifaceted, holistic, and complex. For generations, as far back as ancient civilizations, emotional and psychological well-being existed within the community. It was shaped through relationships, shared responsibility, spirituality, and a deep sense of connection to something larger than oneself. Here in Onondaga County, we are on the land of the Haudenosaunee, whose way of life reflected these values. Their communities were built on contribution, mutual support, and collective care.

Over time, we drifted far from this. Mental health became stigmatized, private, and often burdened with shame. Seeking support was seen as a sign of weakness or instability. Care moved behind closed doors and into isolated spaces, disconnected from the environments where life actually unfolds. Support became fragmented, and people were left to carry more on their own.

In many ways, I believe we are being called back to that collective, connected approach. Today, mental health care is more widely understood as preventative, strengths-based, and essential to overall well-being. It has the potential to elevate not just how we cope, but how we truly live and thrive. And yet, while the language has evolved, the structure often has not. Many therapists still operate in silos. Care continues to take place in isolated, disconnected settings.

As a therapist for over twenty years, I know this is not where lasting change happens.

At CNY Mental Health Counseling, we believe mental health is deeply personal, but it is not meant to exist in isolation. It is shaped by our relationships, our environments, and the communities we move through each day. Because of this, we have built our model of care around the belief that people thrive when their care is connected, integrated, and supported beyond the therapy room.

This belief has guided every decision I have made in scaling CNYMHC. It has shaped not only how we provide therapy, but how we have chosen to grow.

For ten years, I had a solo practice in DeWitt, in a small second-story office above Dr. Michael Giordano, a well-respected chiropractor. It was there that I reconnected with my passion for supervision when a colleague asked for support in pursuing licensure. Through that experience, I rediscovered how powerful it is to invest in the growth of clinicians, and I began to see the broader impact we could have by expanding beyond a solo practice.

CNY Mental Health Counseling was established in 2020 at Jennings House Wellness Center, a historic schoolhouse in the heart of Manlius, during the height of the pandemic. In response to the growing need for mental health support, we deepened our partnerships with local schools and nonprofit organizations. We grew quickly, expanded to six clinicians, and soon outgrew that space.

From there, we expanded into our Fayetteville location on Chapel Street. Over the past four years, we have continued to grow and now support a team of eleven clinicians.

Our growth has always been intentional, not only in size, but in depth. We now offer specialized programming in areas such as eating disorders, ADHD and executive functioning, neurodivergence, and neurofeedback. This allows us to provide care that is thoughtful, targeted, and responsive to the real needs of the individuals and families we serve.

Our commitment extends beyond the therapy room and into the community itself. Through ongoing collaboration with area physicians, school counselors, businesses, and local organizations, we are building layers of support that reach people in meaningful and accessible ways. This includes preventative mental health education, large group wellness initiatives, and smaller, focused workshops that help individuals and groups navigate both expected and unexpected life transitions.

We have had the privilege of working with individuals as young as four and as wise as ninety-seven. We support couples, families, co-parents, and even business partners. Across all of this work, one truth continues to emerge. Growth and healing do not happen in isolation. They happen when people feel supported, understood, and connected within the systems that shape their lives.

We also made the intentional decision to invest in clinical leadership by bringing on a Director of Clinical Programming, whose sole focus is the development and support of our clinicians. When our counselors are supported, challenged, and continually growing, the quality of care deepens for every individual, couple, and family we serve.

We know that mental health does not live in a single hour each week. It lives in our homes, our workplaces, our relationships, and in the moments of change that shape who we become.

One of the clearest reflections of where we are headed is the opening of our third location at Heritage Landing in DeWitt, bringing this work full circle to where my own journey began.

This expansion allows us to deepen our impact in a meaningful way. With the addition of ten new therapy rooms, we are able to meet the growing need for care within our community, while continuing to support individuals, couples, and families across all stages of life.

At the heart of this space is something even more important: a 1,000 square foot community space we have named The Circle at Heritage Landing.

The Circle was intentionally designed as a place where people can come together. It is where therapy extends beyond the individual session and into shared experience. It is a space for workshops, trainings, and small group conversations that invite deeper reflection, connection, and growth.

It is also a space for collaboration. We continue to work closely with area physicians, school counselors, businesses, and community organizations, and The Circle provides a place for that work to come to life. It allows us to gather, to learn from one another, and to build more integrated systems of support for the people we serve.

With an anticipated opening in June 2026, in The Circle, the goal is not simply to provide information and offer support, but to create connection and to strengthen the networks that make lasting change possible.

This space represents what we believe the future of mental health care can be–not isolated, but connected. It should not be limited to one setting or provided by one person, but it needs to be integrated into the fabric of everyday life.

This is the work that matters to all of us at CNYMHC. We don’t want to simply help people cope, but our goal is to help our clients and those we serve to connect, integrate, and truly thrive. We believe in the opportunity for people to come full circle, not only within themselves, but within the broader community as well.

The way we deliver care will continue to evolve. Our partnerships will deepen. Our programming will expand. Our presence within the community will grow. The Circle will continue to be a place where that growth is shared.

If you are a member of this community and have ideas for programming, are interested in hosting a workshop, or are looking for a space to bring people together in a meaningful way, we welcome the conversation.

What will not change is this: no one is meant to do this alone, and the future of mental health care must reflect that.

We are here for it. And for you.

This is Leslie Hereba and I, joining forces and chatting about how to make CNYMHC deepen our impact on the clients we serve and the community as a whole.  Leslie is the former owner of Hereba Mental Health Counseling in North Syracuse, and she is our new Director of Clinical Programming at CNYMHC.  Leslie’s role is focused on the development of the counseling team by offering supervision, clinical training, and practice development programming.