Two Southern Utah Counseling Clinics set to Merge By Markee Heckenliable Two companies striving to provide therapy services to Southern Utah’s community are now merging together. Officials from St. George Center for Couples and Families and A Southern Utah Counseling Experience have decided to merge into one company, both sharing the name of “St. George Center for Couples and Families,” after it became evident both companies shared the same counseling values. St. George Center for Couples and Families is known for its services including individual therapy for teens and adults, couples therapy, children’s play therapy, family therapy, and group therapy. A Southern Utah Counseling Experience is also known for its individual and couple/marriage therapy, and it also offers substance abuse and domestic violence therapy. “The decision to merge really came out of the concept of synergy,” said Center for Couples and Families therapist Thurmon Thomas, AMFT. “Each clinic had some strengths which the other didn’t, and each clinic had some challenges which could be met through the merger.” Dr. Matt Eschler, a therapist for A Southern Utah Counseling Experience, said another benefit of the merge between these two companies is more specified counseling services. “We will not have one or two counselors that do several different things; we will have individual counselors that are well trained in specific specialties,” Eschler said. According to Eschler, there will be therapists who specialize in
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services such as marital conflict, emotional distress, domestic violence, substance abuse, anger management, and skills About the Author development therapy. Markee Heckenliable Chad Olson, clinical director and a is a 22-year-old senior therapist for the St. George Center for student at Dixie State University majoring in mass Couples and Families, said there are now communication to pursue eight therapists working for the merged her love for journalism. She’s company, making it the largest private the Editor-in-Chief for her outpatient clinic in Southern Utah. university’s newspaper, the Dixie Sun News. Besides her “When members of the community passion for writing, Markee call requesting counseling, we will be able is a dog lover and an avid to assess their needs and match them with coffee drinker. She plans on graduating from DSU in the best possible therapist to assist them 2018 with a bachelor’s degree. with their challenge,” Olson said. The clinic will also be accepting more insurance plans because of the merger. Thomas said they are now able to accept SelectHealth and many Blue Cross Blue Shield Association insurance plans. “This opens the doors for many people in our community to receive top notch care who may not have otherwise been able to afford it,” Thomas said. This merge will also allow for flexibility on where clients can be seen for services. With the merger, there are now three offices, with plans to open two additional offices in Hurricane and Cedar City.