HGI Counseling is committed to working with our community to reach those who need our services the most. We have a long history of partnering with governmental and non-profit groups including the Department of Domestic Relations, Child Protective Services, the Alliance of Community Assistance Ministries, the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District, and the Greater Houston Long Term Recovery Committee on Hurricane Ike.
We are very proud of the relationships we have established throughout the community, and hope to make more connections in our city and beyond as we continue to provide collaborative counseling and training to individuals and families within our community.
The collaborative counseling methods HGI Counseling offers are built on the belief that people possess the strengths and expertise to manage their personal and professional lives in a healthy, productive manner. But everyone faces problems—from minor concerns to major obstacles—that can make life difficult. And sometimes all it takes is a neutral sounding board or compassionate helping hand to get past those problems. We work with our clients in a respectful, cooperative manner to help them develop unique ways of accessing their own natural ability to address concerns and solve problems.
Disaster Mental Health
HGI Counseling had a strong presence in the Greater Houston Long Term Recovery Committee on Hurricane Ike, a group started by the United Way. Through this committee, we were able to provide a variety of clinical counseling programs to survivors of Hurricane Ike, provide training for case workers on the psychological issues following disaster, and to make important connections within the disaster response community.
Many of our staff members have training and experience in mental health disaster response and volunteered at Red Cross sites during Tropical Storm Allison and in the immediate aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Some also worked in Bosnia during the Balkan War and in India with refugees of ethnic and regional conflicts. The HGI Counseling team is uniquely skilled in the area of disaster response because of our expertise in a variety of related counseling methods, including collaborative therapy and working with families in crisis.
Before Hurricane Ike, HGI Counseling pioneered the Rolling Conversations Project (RCP), a mobile mental health unit that provides counseling services to people displaced by natural disasters. The unit, donated to HGI Counseling by the AmeriCares Foundation, a Connecticut-based disaster response organization, contains two counseling offices and a waiting/registration room. During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the RCP traveled to several locations in the affected communities to serve people without transportation, or those unable to navigate the city streets. Currently the RCP is not in use, but we are exploring funding options to get it back on the road in the near future.
Thank you to the American Red Cross
HGI Counseling cannot begin to thank the American Red Cross for funding that has made it possible for HGI Counseling’s staff to continue working with Hurricane Harvey victims. Thank you Red Cross!