CLINTWOOD, VA – APRIL 2, 2021 — Outpatient counseling, substance abuse counseling and trauma-focused counseling are among the treatment options available through Propel Counseling Group LLC. The company recently received a $9,000 Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) seed capital grant.
Operated in Clintwood, Va., by licensed professional counselors Kimberly Carroll and Heather Lynch, Propel Counseling Group opened in October 2020. Carroll and Lynch bring a combined 21 years of work in the mental health field and in addition to seeing clients at their clinic location, they also make house calls.
“VCEDA was pleased to approve a seed capital matching grant for Propel Counseling Group LLC,” said VCEDA Executive Director/General Counsel Jonathan Belcher. “Helping entrepreneurs to start and grow their business ventures is the primary reason the seed capital matching grant program exists. Propel Counseling Group LLC has plans to do just that and projects 10 full time and two part-time employees.”
In addition to the substance abuse counseling and trauma-focused counseling the business provides, parenting and life skills counseling are also available. Both Carroll and Lynch are certified in group counseling and as grief counselors and they also hold certifications in other fields including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Individual, family and anxiety counseling are also available. Telehealth options are available and house calls may be arranged through their the Propel Counseling Group service options.
Lynch holds a bachelor of science degree in psychology from UVA Wise. She completed her master’s degree in counseling at East Tennessee State University. Lynch previously served as a director of the Office on Youth in Dickenson County and later worked in the counseling field at Family Preservation Services.
Carroll holds a master’s degree in professional counseling from Liberty University and she completed her undergraduate work at Evangel University in Springfield, Mo. Carroll had been a stay-at-home Mom, working from home in the graphic design field before she decided to go back to school to seek her degree in counseling. She had known Lynch from church and actually began to work for Lynch at Family Preservation Services as she completed her internship prior to graduation.
In deciding to open their own counseling service, Carroll and Lynch noted that with the closure of a large private provider of health services in the Clintwood area in September 2020, unmet mental health service needs existed in Dickenson County and in surrounding counties.
“I’ve always enjoyed giving back to the community and in this instance, Kim and I saw a need and wanted to fill it,” Lynch said. Carroll agreed.
“The VCEDA grant has been very helpful to us,” Lynch continued. “It gave us the cushion we needed to buy materials we need for curriculum in our parenting classes and for the trauma-focused and dialectical behavior therapy.”
Propel Counseling Group LLC accepts major insurances and has established a network of referral services with area physicians.
Carroll and Lynch worked with the Small Business Development Center at Southwest Virginia Community College on the development of Propel Counseling Group LLC’s business plan and application to VCEDA. The Dickenson County Industrial Development Authority wrote a letter of support for the project.
Propel Counseling Group LLC is located at 160 Courthouse Lane in Clintwood. For more information, interested persons may visit propelcounselinggroup.com or their page on Facebook.
About Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and Southwest Virginia’s e-Region: The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1988 to enhance and diversify the region’s economy and help create jobs, markets Southwest Virginia’s e-Region and its focus on electronic information technology, energy, education, emerging technologies, and entrepreneurship. VCEDA is a unique economic development organization that manages funds for economic development projects from a percentage of the coal and natural gas severance taxes paid by coal and natural gas companies that operate in the region. Located in southwestern Virginia, the region includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton. www.vceda.us or www.e-Region.org.
About the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority Seed Capital Matching Grant Fund: VCEDA region for-profit businesses one year and under with less than 10 full-time employees are eligible to apply for dollar-for-dollar matching grants up to $10,000 from the VCEDA Seed Capital Matching Fund. Applicants work with the Small Business Development Centers at Mountain Empire and Southwest Virginia community colleges to prepare the applications to VCEDA that include detailed business and financial plans. Businesses must be located in or plan to operate in the VCEDA region in southwestern Virginia that includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton.