Monmouth County Siblings Aim To Expand Access To Mental Health Care
Community Corner
Monmouth County Siblings Aim To Expand Access To Mental Health Care Robyn DeRespinis and Adam Novick said they're hoping to help others with their mental health counseling service, Inner Clarity Counseling.HAZLET, NJ — When Monmouth County native Robyn DeRespinis sat down to speak with her brother, Adam Novick, about her idea to start a mental health counseling practice, she said there were two main goals she wanted to achieve:
- She wanted an environment where she – and other therapists – could provide high-quality service for patients
- She wanted to build a practice that allowed for expansive access to mental health care
"Her thought was that if we could build an environment where therapists — at all stages of their career — had a home, a place that people want to work and where they can get paid, then we'd be doing a great service for the community," Novick said.
From there, Inner Clarity Counseling was born.
Though the company has seen significant expansion since its start, Inner Clarity's group practice first began with Novick and DeRespinis' partnership. When the siblings first told family they were planning to go into business together, they said they were met with some hesitation from relatives:
"We definitely got some feedback warnings from our family," DeRespinis said. "You know, just making sure if anything goes awry to 'please make sure you remember you're still siblings, you're still family.'"
Despite hesitation from family members, DeRespinis said the warnings proved to be unnecessary. She and Novick have been working to run and expand Inner Clarity for years, and said they work "extremely well together" as business partners.
"We were kind of pleasantly surprised that we've been working really well together," DeRespinis said. "You know, part of what's hard for me as a clinician is we're never really taught how to run a business. So the match with the two of us [Novick manages the business side of Inner Clarity], is really what's needed to run a very smooth practice."
Currently, Inner Clarity Counseling has offices set up throughout Hazlet, Tinton Falls and Maplewood, New Jersey. Though the company hosts plenty of physical locations, it also offers online services for those who can't (or prefer not to) attend in person.
As the company's founder, DeRespinis serves as the Chief Clinical Officer of Inner Clarity Counseling, while Novick oversees the company's business, marketing and finance.
"As we've grown, there's really been a need for me to build a mentoring system so new clinicians can get the support they need," DeRespinis said. "We've spent a lot of time over the years refining our system when it comes to onboarding new therapists."
According to DeRespinis, part of that onboarding process includes looking at a therapist's specialties, where their interest lies and what populations they want to work with among other factors to best match therapists and clients.
"We really focus on that client-therapist match," DeRespinis said. "It's something really important for us. Anywhere else, maybe therapists and clients are matched based only on schedule and every clinician sees everyone, but we want to recognize that it's important to match based on specialties as well."
In addition to matching therapists and clients, access to care is another important aspect of Inner Clarity's foundation.
According to Novick, limitations in reaching those who need care was one of the main issues he and DeRespinis wanted to address when building Inner Clarity. Deciding to take insurance as a form of coverage was one way they aimed to remedy that issue.
"We wanted to bring on a model that allowed for people to develop their careers as providers, but also bring access to care for people looking to use their insurance," Novick said. "You know? We wanted it so that people could use their insurance, come to Inner Clarity and get the care they need. And that vision is where we are today."
As natives of Monmouth County, DeRespinis and Novick said community support has been vital for Inner Clarity's growth.
The siblings said they tend to get referrals from friends and family, local schools, churches and synagogues, and other medical providers in the community — something that not only helps their expansion, but helps them get to know their patients and staff as well.
"We grew up in Manalapan," Novick said. "We've been in Farmingdale, Monmouth Beach, Freehold — and this is kind of the center where we've lived almost our entire lives."
"So we know this community very well," Novick continued. "And it's great to be able to give back to that community with these services."
