Meet Monica Mehalshick, therapist and founder of The Nourished Nest
By Talia Bina
Photo of Monica Mehalshick
Monica Mehalshick never had the same day twice.
She wakes up at 6:15 with her 10-year-old son and her two “fur babies” to get ready for the day.
As she drops her son off, she gets to work. “Most of the time I am checking email and following up on some stuff when I'm in the car line.”
Her day then consists of a 20-minute Peloton workout before she sees her clients.
Mehalshick’s therapy private practice, The Nourished Nest, began as a “napkin idea” 12 years ago to create a practice that “not only provided really good quality therapy, but also allows free licensed clinicians to really get the basis of private practice and an opportunity for [future] clinicians to get their feet wet.”
Mehalshick and her sister were adopted through Catholic charities at a young age. They would often have check-in visits with Naomi, an elderly social worker in her 70s.
“One of the things that really inspired me is that she had this wall of all the kids that she had helped with their adoption. And I remember her just saying, ‘I'm a social worker. I love being able to help people.’”
Mehalshick wanted that, too.
“The initial desire was to just want to make a difference and really want to have that self-fulfillment every single day,” she said. “I remember going to a college fair and talking to some of the recruits for my undergrad and just wanting to learn more about the human mind and why people do what they do.”
Once Mehalshick became a licensed clinical social worker like Naomi, she began working with nonprofit organizations, primarily with substance use. When working with various levels of care, such as impatient detox, she was able to see the grassroots of an organization. From there, Mehalshick created The Nourished Nest.
What The Nourished Nest provides is unique. Not only has Mehalshick built a family, but she has built a family of therapists that have different backgrounds, focuses and specialties. It’s inclusive to all.
“Every single person that we serve can access to therapy, whether it’s at a sliding scale, whether it’s under your insurance or whether we covered its cost. When life happens, we don’t just send you the bill.”
Mehalshick’s intention to provide accessible and inclusive therapy is undoubtable. While The Nourished Nest is a business, her focus differs from the usual business goal to make as much profit as possible, and she views herself as a therapist over a business owner.
“I can call myself the owner and the CEO, but I am still just a therapist and that’s just how I introduce myself.”
Mehalshick still has a client load that she is dedicated to and can’t see herself ever ending that.
“I kind of think it’s almost like telling a mechanic that they’re never gonna work on a car,” said Mehalshick. “I can’t imagine ever stopping providing therapy, so I still do see clients during the day. And then, most of my day is being a support: checking in on staff, making sure that they have what they need.”
And when the work day is over, Mehalshick focuses on herself and her family.
“When I pick up my son, the rest of the day is really just about him. We have dinner and we definitely play a lot of Battleship. I’ve learned the importance of tapping out,” said Mehalshick. “You have to find that balance of urgent versus important — if you are always available to everybody, and that’s the business included, it becomes your everything.”
From personal experience, Mehalshick has learned to be present when it matters — she has been close to the edge of burnout and that taught her what’s important to her.
“I want to shop at Target and not have to check an email. I want to walk the dogs and not run into the stop sign. All of those self-care habits have been an eye-opener,” she said. “I have to slow down because it will take everything from you.”
She found her therapy in running, and even trained for a half marathon in November. She
typically participates in various runs for causes throughout the year, and she loves to cook, bake and eat (don’t we all).
“I really think I should be on the Food Network,” Mehalshick finally admitted.
One of the special qualities Mehalshick exhibits is cultural humility. The American Psychological Association defines cultural humility as “an ability to maintain an interpersonal stance that is other-oriented (or open to the other) in relation to aspects of cultural identity that are most important to the [person].”
Mehalshick learned, through experience, what cultural humility really means. When she was in Ghana for her Ph.D. residency, Mehalshick realized how “naive” she was.
“I was terrified when I got off the plane. I had never been to Africa and I just had a completely skewed perception of how it was,” she said. “It was such a reality check of how much I didn’t know.”
When in Ghana, Mehalshick and her classmates attended an after-school program where the kids had no shoes.
“One of my classmates in the cohort was like, ‘Oh, my husband works for Adidas. We should probably figure out who we can send donations to.’ And the teacher was really offended. She was like, ‘Why would you do that?’ We didn’t realize that that was probably not culturally appropriate.”
“What we have to realize is that sometimes, we want to fix the problem with what solution we think works.”
As Mehalshick recognized, it doesn’t work like that. With more and more people seeking therapy, it’s important for therapists to keep up with cultural awareness. That is, not trying to fix problems “the Western way.” Providing services to clients in a culturally-appropriate and accepting way is vital. Mehalshick views herself as the “man in the radio.” She believes that her clients do their own work — they have the driver’s seat and she is simply there as a guide.
While Mehalshick has created a successful and accepting business, there have been instances in which she felt that her abilities were being diminished due to her identity. And what The Nourished Nest family spreads is empowerment — to each other and to clients.
“I have worked in roles where it is a very male driven room. And I’ve sat in meetings where it’s been encouraged to be seen and not heard, and I am one of those people where that does not happen,” she said. “I will tell you with zero filter how I feel, what I’m there for and that I’m not going anywhere.”
Mehalshick prides herself on being bold. It started when she was young, and now, her therapeutic style reflects this empowering personality.
“I went to an all girls private school where I was empowered. I was told to be proud of my gender ... if you think you’re badass, be badass, act badass, speak badass ... say what you want to say and if you know you need to back it up, have your s--- ready ... but I will never be quieted for my fiercess.”
“You have to experience life and walk through a door and walk out of a room with two things: grace and integrity. And if you can do that, you can still have no filter.”
Mehalshick wants all the therapists at The Nourished Nest to feel bold and empowered. She acknowledges that often therapy is a very “thankless” job, and she tries to show her appreciation each day. She is grateful for the unique niches that the therapists have and strives to allow each of them to be bold whether their ideas work or not. That’s the excitement of being a therapist: that you never have the same day twice.
