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Edward and Hope Huddleston of Corbin named their counseling center Winds of Change in hopes of help people find a new , healthier directions .
will share your story .’”
In the succeeding years , the couple has done exactly that — telling people how the process not only saved their marriage , Hope said , but their very lives .
“ I feel that everybody at some point in their live needs some type of counseling ,” she continued . “ If you ’ re not open-minded , you ’ d think that substance abuse is the biggest issue here but you will find that once you start treating for substance use disorder , it ’ s really mental health that led to the substance use disorder . So that ’ s why I feel so strongly about mental health , because I believe we ’ re missing it in two ways . I believe we ’ re missing mental health diagnoses early on and it ’ s leading to substance use disorder , and I also we ’ re missing it as far as teenagers .…
“ Just from our son and seeing all of his friends , middle school is the most detrimental time in their life . That ’ s what makes them or breaks them .”
Even before going into business , Hope encouraged anyone who came to her with a problem to seek counseling . She also considers it important not to give up if the experience isn ’ t satisfactory at first .
“ The counselor that we went to was actually my third counselor ,” Hope explained . “ I knew I needed help but I didn ’ t get what I needed at the other two .”
On her first visit with the second counselor , Hope was told not to come back until she had written down 10 things she liked about herself .
“ I never went back ,” she said . “ I spent another three years before I finally went to my last counselor . Had there been more counselors at that time , I probably wouldn ’ t have waited so long . If the word had have been out back then , I wouldn ’ t have waited so long .”
In addition to access to mental health care , stigma was another factor in Hope finding the help she needed .
“ Part of what I was dealing with myself mentally was a lot of guilt and shame ,” Hope said . “ At that time , when there was such a stigma and I was already dealing with guilt and shame , it was a huge step for me to be able to do that .”
Where some stigma remains , Hope sees that things are changing . The Huddlestons want Winds of Change to keep that momentum going .
“ We want it to be a safe space , where
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