Heritage Health Services / The Grief Warrior Project
About
It’s pretty basic: communication is key.
Anger & Anxiety Classes:
Listening, and understanding what the client is actually saying (not just what the counselor thinks is being said), and then providing feedback are a major part of communicating. So although the anger and anxiety sessions, while one-on-one, are offered more like classes than therapy you will have plenty of opportunity to discuss the jumble of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make up the emotions of anger and anxiety.
Grief Support Services:
The Grief Warrior Project, a division of Heritage Health Services, offers both peer counseling by a mental health professional in managing anger and anxiety, and more specifically is focused on supporting those who have been devastated by complicated grief, which is often the result of a family member’s suicide. Here, too, communication is critical.
Fees: $45 per hour with Linda, your coach/peer counselor. Insurances are not accepted. Even for those individuals who do have insurance, if you're still under your deductible, your per-session fee with a counselor would likely be twice this.
Your sessions can be held individually with Linda at the Heritage Health Services offices, or by phone or via telehealth.
Linda has worked in the mental health field for decades, but because her Masters Degree is in Adult Education, not social work or counseling, her coaching services are not reimbursable by insurances.
Other Services.
Office and Project Management:
Heritage Health Services provides a wide range of consulting and management services (both on-site and virtual) for counselors, social workers and other therapists. Staying on top of all of the many details involved, and communicating where we are with them all, is a major part of developing and maintaining our clients’ confidence in our work, especially as what we do involves most aspects of a highly confidential field. We carefully safeguard the protected health information (PHI) of our clients’ clients and ensure all areas of our work are HIPAA compliant.
You can find a detailed description of the extensive services Heritage Health Services offers (both short term projects and on-going office and practice management) by checking out our website, and following our blog at https://www.heritagehealthservices.org. Our clients have been relieved to be able to focus on the clinical aspects of their practices, while leaving the tedious billing, collections, organizing, follow ups and so forth to us.
Here's more information:
Our free Tuesday night support group for survivors of suicide loss has been on hiatus for quite some time. We had expected to start up again in this year but due to the on-going pandemic, that hasn't happened despite the need being even more intense than in previous years.
Also, because the death of a family member, especially a spouse, can leave the survivor with a myriad of financial and other loose ends to clean up at the exact time that one has difficulty concentrating and following through, we can additionally provide short or long term grief case management services for a fee as well.
You can find more information about The Grief Warrior Project at https://www.warrior-project.org.
Background.
On her mother's side, Linda Snyder is the 7th generation of her family to live in Maine, and the 5th on her father’s side. Originally from Oxford County, Linda is a Maine girl through and through. She grew up on a small farm with vegetable gardens, hayfields and all the assorted farm animals, and learned the value of hard work as a child.
Over the years, Linda has had a great, challenging career that’s spanned earning her undergraduate degree in Psychology (with Education & Sociology minors), a Master’s degree in Administration of Adult Education Programs, and working as a trainer & educator, a mental health policy consultant for the state, a housing developer & grant-writer for a non-profit, a Realtor®, a radio & social media marketing administrator, and years ago, as the CEO of an $8.7M mental health services company.
Linda has owned a Maine-made products gift store, an espresso café and was once a member of a farmer’s market cooperative, selling vegetables & baked goods to the public. She has also been a real estate investor/developer, at one point owning 50,000 square feet of commercial office space and over 2 dozen residential units, as well as a property management company.
Linda has won several awards for business development and for more than three decades has been active as a community, municipal and state government volunteer. She served on the board of the Androscoggin Chamber of Commerce for 6 years and the Bridgton Chamber for two, was President of the Auburn Business Association for two years, President of the board of Pottle Hill, Inc. (an agency for individuals with intellectual disabilities), the board of Common Ties Mental Health Services Coalition, and has served on the boards of LA Arts, the Lewiston Downtown Advisory Board, and the Mayors’ Joint Services Commission (on Lewiston-Auburn Collaboration), among many others.
In May of 2009 Linda was appointed by then-Governor John Baldacci to the Maine Regulatory Fairness Board, which was charged by the Legislature with listening to citizen complaints about unfair and aggressive tactics by state regulatory agencies. (That board was disbanded by the next administration.) In 2010 Linda joined the City of Auburn’s Citizen Advisory Board; she was appointed to the City of Auburn’s Ethics Panel on April 1st, 2013.
In 2008, Linda married John Snyder, her 7th grade sweetheart, 40 years to the day after they first met as pre-teenagers. Tragically, devastatingly, she was widowed 8 years later. She now dotes on her grandchildren, as well as her daughter, son-in-law and other family members, and two obnoxious but well-loved rescue dogs, Rudi the Roo-Monster and Miss Millie Mouse. Animal rescue was a shared passion with John; together they fostered and adopted many rescue dogs, including John’s beloved Mr. Budro, a wire-haired dachshund who died shortly after John did.
Whether she’s acting as your office manager, grant-writer or organizational consultant, as a peer counselor, mentor or support person, or is indulging her own eclectic interests, Linda brings a lifetime of intensive business and social work experience, as well as enthusiasm and a love of learning, a detail-oriented style and a genuine interest in those around her.
Anger & Anxiety Classes:
Anger and anxiety classes are an area in which we find a great deal of satisfaction in connecting with others and helping identify ways to make your life less complicated and more fulfilling. What? Less complicated? More fulfilling?
Absolutely!
Both anger and anxiety can create significant problems with personal relationships, at work, and elsewhere. Let’s get this under control!
Expect your classes to include a combination of humor, theory, nudges and homework, because that’s how we roll!
Grief Support Services:
Providing grief support services, particularly around suicide, is the result of having lived through the devastation of losing my beloved husband to death by his own hand. I know how it rips apart your entire world— and how the ability to connect with someone who understands at the deepest level can help you get through the brain fog and anxiety.
Being able to slowly begin to believe that you are not totally and completely alone, that there are others who have lived your nightmare, is like a lifeline. We all need hope that there is life at the end of this tunnel. And as it turns out, yes... eventually there really is life after such a horrendous loss. It may not get “better” but it does get easier.
Office & Project Management:
The professionals for whom my company provides office management and project-based services are busy and dedicated to their clients. They don’t have the time it takes to stay on top of all the little details, nor do they want to do that kind of detail-intensive, tedious work. With our services in place, they can focus on what they do best and just leave the rest to us.
For office management services (as opposed to short term projects) we generally start out by working intensively in the client’s office, getting to know the therapist and his or her systems as intimately as possible, before switching more to a “virtual” method of getting the work done. This “getting to know you” time is crucial because we aren’t here to change everything on you (although there may well be some changes), and we want you to feel confident that we can and will get things done the way you want them done.
The current pandemic has made this a bit more challenging at times, but we engage in best practices as recommended by the CDC and are committed to keeping everyone as safe as possible.
Photos and videos
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
Anger & Anxiety Classes, Life Coaching:
For those looking to develop their skills in anger management, communicating with others, improving a relationship, or dealing with anxiety, the initial process is pretty easy for most people: We will sit down with you (either in person or virtually) to discuss what is working and what isn’t working for you, and ask some questions to see if you think we could be a good match.
This is where our background in androgogy (i.e. the education of adults) comes into play. We will help you learn the skills you need to meet your goals and create an action plan for success!
Grief Support Services:
When someone connects with us for what's known as complicated grief supports (when suicide is involved), we offer a combination of supportive listening, validation and providing resources & ideas for getting through what is almost certainly the worst period in that person’s life.
We will assure you of our service's confidentiality, our understanding of all the chaotic jumble of thoughts you surely have, and offer some insight into how we were able to live through a similar devastating experience.
Grief doesn't wait; so those needing our support shouldn't have to wait, either. We are here for you.
Office & Project Management for Clinicians, Therapists and Medical offices:
We will sit down with the clinician(s) to discuss what is working and what isn’t working in that practice, and ask a number of questions, which include:
A) Is your filing out of control?
B) Is there no time to chase down client co-pays, or insurances that haven’t paid?
C) Are the client charts up to date with case notes, assessments, and support plans, as well as other mandated sign-offs?
D) Have payments been reconciled?
E) Is the clinician making enough money to afford a vacation?
F) Are there policies in place regarding No Shows/Late Cancellations, after hours phone calls, and so forth?
G) Is the clinician aware of the three ways to improve a business’s bottom line, and are those being implemented?
H) How much time and money is the clinician or practice willing to commit to being less stressed and—as the old saying goes—working smarter, not harder?
The answer to these questions will help us develop a partnership that will be successful for both the clinician and Heritage Health Services.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Linda, the company’s owner, has an undergrad degree in Psychology with minors in Education and Sociology, and a Master’s Degree in administration of adult education programs (plus 18 post grad credits).
In addition, she has a commitment to lifelong learning, and has both attended and taught many, many in-person seminars and trainings, and has engaged in near constant research on the topics for the past several decades.
Linda has extensive experience as a business owner, and as a mental health professional where she has worked in multiple capacities from crisis hotline counselor to direct care to grant-writing and housing development to Central Office in what used to be called DMHMRSAS to CEO of a 200 employee agency, and other roles as well.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your services? If so, please share the details here.
Office & Project Management:
Our rates vary somewhat, depending on whether the service requested is a short-term, specific project or on-going office management, as well as whether the service is provided by Linda, or by a staff member. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.heritagehealthservices.org.
Grief Support Services:
Our fee-for-service individual, telephone or telehealth support service (when provided by Linda, a peer counselor or another coach through Heritage Health Services) is $45.00 per hour, payable with cash or via PayPal.
When such services are provided by a licensed clinician the fee is somewhat variable and depends on whether you're paying out of pocket, or with insurance and have a deductible or co-pay. For fee structure, see below under "Licensed Clinicians". Our clinicians are only licensed to provide therapy in Maine.
We also offer grief case management services, which vary in pricing but are generally in the $25.00-$30.00 per hour range.
Anger & Anxiety Classes, Life Coaching & Relationships:
Our fee-for-service individual, telephone or telehealth coaching and/or classes (when provided by a trained adult educator or life coach) are $45.00 per hour, payable via PayPal.
When such services are provided by a licensed clinician the fee is somewhat variable and depends on whether you're paying out of pocket, or with insurance and have a deductible or co-pay. For fee structure, see below under "Licensed Clinicians". Our clinicians are only licensed to provide therapy in Maine.
Licensed Clinicians:
Services provided by licensed clinicians (Maine residents only) are $75.00-$85.00 per hour cash price, or the customary and allowable rate paid by the insurances with whom the clinicians have a contract and after any deductible is met. Remember: ordinarily the insurer requires a co-pay to the clinician as well.
How did you get started in this business?
As mentioned above, Linda has worked in the social services and mental health fields for decades, in all aspects from direct care to CEO level management. Tragically, she became involved in grief supports - specifically those related to suicide - after the suicide of her own beloved husband in 2016.
What types of customers have you worked with?
Administratively, Heritage Health Services has provided long term office management services for two mental health clinicians since 2018, managing the day-to-day paperwork end of those practices, as well as several short term assignments with other professionals, including one 6 month project developing the budget and program design for a new service requested by a small mental health agency.
While working for other agencies in the mental health/social work field, Linda had adult and child clients at all ends of the spectrum, from psychotic and dangerous individuals to those with depression, anxiety, trauma, and suicidality, as well as individuals on the autistic spectrum.
Linda’s grief work has included both individuals who were suicidal, and family members grieving the loss of a loved one.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
In the office managment area, Linda was pleased and humbled to hear that a clinician’s husband stated that as a result of the work done by Heritage Health Services, the clinician was working fewer hours and was less stressed (but making as much money even with payments to our company—because we were staying on top of her billables), and that “hiring Linda’s company was one of the best professional moves she’d ever made”. WOW!
What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a pro in your area of expertise?
Office & Project Management:
Find a company or consultant who really understands your business, and can provide the added value of giving suggestions based on experience and good business practices. Don’t worry about high tech, a brilliant website or fancy words. And make sure that person can and will communicate with you!
Grief Support Services:
Find someone who has been through what you've been through. There are counselors who are very good at what they do, but if they don't have this particular experience, you may not connect as well with them as you need to at such a vulnerable time in your life.
Anger & Anxiety Classes, Relationships & Life Coaching:
Most licensed clinicians, as well as good teachers/coaches, are well-versed in helping you deal with life issues, so the key here is to find someone you can connect with, who inspires confidence that they get YOU and what you’re living with, and who can help you develop the skills you need to be successful on your own.
What questions should customers think through before talking to pros about their needs?
Office and Project Management:
Some questions for clinicians interested in office supports include:
a. How much money am I able to commit to this project? (Knowing that I only need to bill about an hour for every three hours of Heritage Health Services’ time...)
b. How much am I able to let go of, and let another person manage on a day to day basis for me?
c. How able to take suggestions for different methodologies am I?
d. Am I able to let someone else see the mess my recordkeeping is in? (Ha! When Linda was younger and working two jobs, married and with a young child while also serving on several committees and pursuing a 2nd Master’s degree, she would clean her house before letting the housekeepers in! Does that sound about right?)
Grief Support Services:
This is why one needs a grief support person... the brain fog, the confusion, the lack of motivation, the anxiety and fear... they're all hard to think through. This is a time when you need someone who is kind and gentle, and who will listen and understand as you repeat the same things over and over. You may need someone to provide direction but then find you can’t follow through, so the person you talk to should have an understanding of how hard that process is.
Anger & Anxiety Classes:
Both anger and anxiety can cause major disruptions in one’s life.
Too often, people reach out for an anger counselor or classes because of a specific incident that either scared them, or because they were forced to by the courts (as in a domestic violence situation). Unless the person is really committed to identifying why and how his/her anger causes trouble, the process can be frustrating for both the client and the counselor. Anger, because it is often a defense mechanism covering up deeper feelings, is typically rationalized and justified in a way that other thoughts and behaviors are not. Therefore, it is important to ask oneself: Do I really want to do the hard work it takes to make changes? Am I able to be honest with a counselor? How much time and effort—and money—am I willing to put into this?
With anxiety, the questions are similar but there usually isn’t the same kind of self-protectiveness and rationalizing that one finds with issues involving anger... even though anxiety can manifest as being sharp or abrupt, or even angry. Ask yourself the same questions as above, and then reach out for help!