By Christine Grove
Contributing Writer

Impactful.  Transformative. Restorative. Accessible.  

Since April 2019, New London Counseling Center has provided a much needed spotlight on normalizing and providing access to mental health in our community.  What began as  the vision of the pastoral staff at Christian Life Center to financially support a counseling center in our area, has grown to New London Counseling Center’s main office in New London and services in the Avon Grove School District,  The Garage Youth Center in Kennett and Avondale and The Lighthouse Youth Center in Oxford.  Although not affiliated with the Christian Life Center, they provided the incubator for the amazing organization that exists today.   With a mission to make mental health care accessible to everyone so no one is turned away for financial reasons.  They offer a generous sliding scale fee structure based on household income and number of dependents.  To date, no individual seeking therapy has been turned away because of financial barriers.  

Providing individual, group and family therapy is the core of New London Counseling Center but their staff is out and about as well.  Normalizing mental health means bringing programming and workshops to the community.  NLCC can also be seen at community events including the Oxford Halloween Parade, Penn Township Days and Oxford First Fridays.  

The numbers are impressive.  Since opening in 2019, NLCC has seen over 1,300 clients in their office with 13,630 sessions.  Since starting their partnerships with The Garage they have seen 65 students and in the Avon Grove school district, over 200 students for a total of 2,586 sessions.  They currently have 3 full time therapists assigned to Avon Grove School District.  New partnerships with The Lighthouse, local churches and a Health Minds, Healthy Workplace series with the Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce are providing additional resources in the community.  

The true impact is felt by their clients.  “NLCC helped me when I was in a very desperate time and situation.  When no one else would.  Just having someone care and listen to me brought back hope and clarity that my daughter and I were going to be okay.  Therapy has been a wonderful learning experience and is helping in so many ways.  Many blessings to them and thank you for everything.  Words alone can’t express how grateful I am”.

With integrity, humility and authenticity, NLCC is rooted in the values of compassion, commitment to quality care, collaboration and community.