In 2011, I opened the doors of New Seasons Counseling, Training, and Consulting with a simple conviction: that culture is not background information in mental health care. It is essential to the health of each person. Over the past fifteen years, that conviction has shaped the work of New Seasons.

 

What began as a small private practice has grown into a professional training and consulting platform dedicated to helping clinicians see more clearly the cultural, historical, and contextual forces that shape the lives of the people we serve.

 

What happens when cultural history is treated as relevant information? How do we avoid misreading survival as pathology? What does ethical care look like when history, identity, and context are fully acknowledged?​

 

As New Seasons marks fifteen years, this moment is less about looking back and more about recognizing the ongoing work of expanding the clinical lens. The work continues.​​​—

 

LaVerne Hanes Collins, PhD, NCC, LPC, LCMHC, BC-TMH, MAC 

Founder & CEO · New Seasons Counseling, Training, and Consulting