Covington’s Mainspring Wellness wants to make therapy and mental health treatment less intimidating.
Established in 2014 by Chris Morandi and Matt Arnzen, Mainspring Wellness transitioned from focusing mainly on court-ordered treatments to becoming a comprehensive private practice.
Morandi said he focuses on curating an inviting office environment that enhances the patient’s experience.
In a discussion with LINK nky, Morandi described Mainspring’s “three-pronged approach,” which includes traditional outpatient services, school-based therapy and consulting, alongside working with the court system.
“Our focus, and I think just generally the focus, has been more on mental health in terms of, ‘here’s where we are and here’s how we live the life that works best for you,” he said. “How do we get more mentally healthy instead of ‘let’s just talk about the problems work on fixing individual problems.”
The business originally started as a side hustle, with Morandi and Arnzen both working full-time in community-oriented mental health roles. Eventually, the duo decided to focus their efforts on starting their own private practice, allowing them to offer patients access to innovative mental health treatments and therapy sessions.
“The goal became ‘how do we create a private practice but give access to folks who don’t normally have it,’” Morandi said.
Environment is everything for Morandi. Sometimes, mental health treatment can suffer from negative stereotypes surrounding treatment centers and offices; think windowless rooms and suffocating fluorescent lights.
Today, Mainspring Wellness is located inside a historic building at 526 Philadelphia Street in Covington. The building, erected in 1878, is across the street from Goebel Park in Covington’s Mainstrasse Village neighborhood. Its offices are flush with natural sunlight that beams through several windows, which can help humanize the tone of oftentimes serious conversations.
“We bought this building because we got an awesome courtyard out there right next to the park,” Morandi said. “The entire vibe is ‘come relax.’ You’re sitting in a living room. You’re not sitting in a doctor’s office.”
Senior Clinician Kristen Bjerke, who works out of a loft space on the building’s third floor, concurred with Morandi’s sentiment regarding treatment environments.
“Your environment plays such a large role in your mood,” she said. “The difference on a person’s nervous system sitting under a fluorescent light for an hour with white walls versus getting some vitamin D is noticeable.”
This mentality has led to some of Mainspring’s most innovative treatments. Bjerke, specifically, offers eco-therapy sessions, where she takes clients outdoors, participating in activities like walking, gardening and grounding. Bjerke said there is scientific data that backs up outdoor activity aiding progress in therapy sessions.
“When you’re taking a walk outside, you get the same bilateral stimulation of stepping right, stepping left, and so that activates a lot of similar areas in the brain that help us process on a different level than we would just sitting there and thinking about something,” she said.
Other innovative practices offered by Mainspring include therapy dog sessions and art therapy.
Looking ahead, Morandi said Mainspring’s goal is to expand its clientele and experiential therapy offerings. Besides the business side, Mainspring’s mission remains the same: to continue to change the perception around therapy through innovative practices.
“One of the things I’ve been saying is, primary care for mental health, going to the gym for your mind – this is how we should be thinking about therapy,” he said. “Not like going to the doctor because you’re ill. It’s more about wellness; how do we get mentally, emotionally healthy?”
