RICHMOND, VA. — Shineforth Child & Family Services (formerly UMFS) is pleased to introduce LightWorks Counseling & Wellness. Located on Shineforth’s historic Richmond campus, LightWorks serves children, teens, young adults, caregivers, and families. Its programming includes expressive, talk and occupational therapies in individual and family settings.
LightWorks Counseling & Wellness is the newest program in Shineforth’s broader suite of services, which includes foster care and adoption, specialized K-12 education, and residential treatment for youth.
Sarah Hess Metz, LCSW, the Associate Director of Outpatient Services at Shineforth and lead therapist for Lightworks, said adding an outpatient therapy program was a logical next step for the organization. She cited Shineforth’s 126-year legacy of adapting to meet the changing needs of the community and the fact that the nonprofit has long provided youth and families with therapeutic resources as a supplement to its other services.
“Offering outpatient therapy is an opportunity to serve the community in new ways and share our expertise in mental wellness with more adolescents and young adults,” Hess Metz said.
“The support people need today is much different than when Shineforth was founded as a Methodist orphanage in 1900,” she added. “There’s greater demand in the post-Covid world for mental health resources, and that’s especially true for adolescents and young adults.”
Mentalhealthvirginia.org reports that Virginia ranks 32nd out of the 50 United States for overall youth mental health, 34th overall for children ages 12-17 who have experienced at least one major depressive episode in the past year, and 37th in youth who have serious thoughts of suicide.
“It’s important to meet people where they are,” Hess Metz said. “Right now, a lot of people are in a place where they could use a little extra support. That’s where Lightworks Counseling & Wellness fits in.”
At LightWorks Counseling & Wellness, we provide children, teens, young adults, and their caregivers with high-quality, trauma-informed care that’s tailored to their unique circumstances. We offer outpatient therapy and occupational therapy for individuals ages 5-26, as well as family therapy.
If you’re considering counseling or would like to learn more about Lightworks Counseling & Wellness, visit Shineforth.org/LightWorks or call 804.806.3636.
