Insight Carolinas
Dr. Ashli Kurian (CEO) and Dr. Kevin Kurian (CFO) founded Insight Carolinas in 2022 to improve equity and accessibility of mental health care, specifically quality and timely psychological assessment across the lifespan, for individuals and families across the Carolinas. Meghan Smith, MBA (COO) and Weston Smith, BS (CTO) joined the leadership team in 2023 to streamline insurance billing and IT. While there are needs for mental health services in general, there are particularly large service gaps for assessment and therapy services, particularly for people wishing to use their private insurance or Medicaid benefits for payment. We find it unacceptable that many in North Carolina are left waiting many months or even years for diagnoses to access much-needed treatments. Our assessment providers have years of experience assessing a broad range of mental health concerns from developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, to mood disorders (e.g. depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder), to trauma, to behavioral concerns, to executive functioning concerns such as ADHD, thought disorders (e.g. schizophrenia spectrum), and personality disorders. Our therapy providers specialize in treating mood disorders, trauma, and substance use disorders.
The mission of Insight Carolinas is to provide timely psychological services across the lifespan, for individuals and families in the Carolinas.
In the first 2 years of operation, Insight Carolinas has provided services to 1,500 unique clients and as we add more providers to our team our capacity is rapidly growing! We are fulfilling our mission to bridge the service gap. As mid-career psychologists, Dr. Kevin and Dr. Ashli Kurian have combined conducted over 4,000 assessments for children as young as 18 months to older adults (aged 70+). Each hold licensure in North and South Carolina. Dr. Ashli Kurian holds additional certification from IBCCES as a Certified Autism Specialist. Each member of our team from our psychometrists who assist in testing, to our intake team, to our office manager have been carefully selected for their professionalism and passion for our joint mission of expanding access to quality, timely assessment services. At Insight Carolinas our services are not limited to clinical assessment, we also offer individual therapy services for children and adults. Seeing the need for a quality therapist who will take insurance benefits, Insight Carolinas added psychotherapy to our service offerings in Spring 2024. In Spring 2025, we are expanding to include service for Veteran & Military Families.
North Carolina Psychological Association
NCPA is the primary professional association for psychologists in North Carolina. We speak collectively as an organized voice for psychologists when there are legislative actions or other circumstances that we believe pose a threat to the well-being and mental health of North Carolina citizens.
North Carolina Psychological Association advocates for psychology as a science, a profession, and a means of promoting human welfare.
Current projects include:
-Licensure issues
-Trans-affirming care
-Parity Enforcement
-Justice-oriented laws
NC Providers Council
The North Carolina Community Support Providers Council [doing business as The North Carolina Providers Council] was incorporated as a 501(C)(6) in 1997 in an effort to coordinate providers of mental health, intellectual/developmental disability, and substance use disorder services (MH/IDD/SUD). The Council initially started as a volunteer organization, but in 2004 hired Bob Hedrick, M.A. Ed. as its first full-time Executive Director and lobbyist. Bob served as Executive Director for 15 years. The Council was North Carolina’s first association to establish an ethical standard for MH/IDD/SUD providers. That standard promoted putting all other issues aside to focus on working together on behalf of the people supported and ensuring the quality of and access to community-based services. The Council’s Code of Ethics became the template used in the creation of LME/MCO Provider Network Councils’ ethical standards.
The Providers Council established key platforms critical to the assurance of quality services, and they remain guiding principles for North Carolina’s providers of community services. Through a grant from the NC Council on Developmental Disabilities, The Providers Council supported competency-based training and specific mental health services training, and for several years sponsored training on Person-Centered Thinking. The Providers Council has always promoted excellent training and collaboration for providers. This is accomplished through regular legislative updates, monthly and bi-monthly standing committees, quarterly Membership / Leadership Forums, and annual Conferences. As the Providers Council has promoted access to quality, community-based services throughout its history, it has focused on the efficacy of services provided. We recognize and believe that for ordered services to be effective in meeting people’s needs, those services must be sufficient in amount, duration, and scope, and that the rates paid to providers must also be sufficient to assure quality and continuity of care. Only by analyzing proposed legislative and regulatory changes can providers know how to advocate and inform General Assembly Members and DHHS officials. Hopefully, with the continuing guidance of the NC Providers Council, these tenets of a quality, community-based service system will endure as Medicaid Transformation continues to evolve. People with the most severe medical and behavioral challenges and other MH/IDD/SUD service needs must have access to services that are adequately funded and that support them in living as independently as possible in their communities across North Carolina.
Mission: Advocating For Providers and Those They Support
Cedar Oaks Clinic, PLLC
3 years ago, we were a team of 3. Now, we are a team of 23! At Cedar Oaks Clinic, we took a big risk! Starting with combining years of mental health research, suicide prevention studies, and reviewing models of care across disciplines. We then blended this with the data from a 2013 PhD - a cross-cultural analysis of almost 400 stories written by those who had made a serious suicide attempt, (Donnelly, 2013). We wanted to know not only what stopped individuals on the brink of dying but also what they thought would have helped/ is needed to remain motivated to find fulfilling ways to live. From this, we designed the Cedar Oaks Model of Care, which integrates multi-disciplinary cross-collaborations, peer support, art, music, nature, and enhanced environmental design. There was a big financial cost to doing this! We had to fund providers from disciplines that insurance would not cover. We met our initial goal of developing an action research project in an outpatient setting. Guided by a passion and up-to-date research findings whilst celebrating and including the knowledge and guidance from those of us with lived experience. Now, in 2025, we are focusing on sharing our findings and data with the mental health community. The results are extraordinary in terms of increasing quality of life and seeing our clients flourish in ways they never expected. We hope that sharing our findings will allow us to take this model further and guide insurance companies to fund this type of care. The factory line approach to mental health care generates large financial profits for a few but loss of life and poor quality of care for many. Our model saves money long term due to health care cost reduction, reduction in missing work/ school, reduction in risk of crime, and reduction in deaths by suicide. 2025 is the year for us to share our holistic approaches. We want to answer the questions of what makes this model different, effective, and sustainable and how we are improving quality of life. This year's publications will include our integrated ketamine program, intensive programs for individuals living and learning about a specific mental health diagnosis, medication management, and therapeutic approaches using stories and data from the field. Thank you for supporting us all! We love our community very much! Feel free to reach out to learn more from our therapeutic community, which works with over 3000 clients aged 5 – 95! Together, we really can! If a door closes, it is not the right door!
What makes us unique?
When you see a provider at Cedar Oaks Clinic, you will also have the support of our whole team behind you. We have decades of expertise across different domains of mental health. What makes us unique is our ability to lean on each other, learn from each other, and collaborate on your care to ensure we are finding the best path for you. This also helps us be more available to patients in crisis or when a provider may not be immediately available. Our mission is not to be a building of fragmented provider offices, but rather a coordinated care center where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Why we are called "Cedar Oaks Clinic?"
We wanted to choose a name that represents mental wellness and recovery. In many cultures, the Cedar tree symbolizes strength, protection, hope, support, and connection. Oak trees are some of the most loved trees and they represent strength, resiliency, wisdom, and knowledge. We believe each of these qualities is important for us all to achieve balanced mental wellbeing.
Our Approach
By learning from your history, your hopes, and your expectations, we will work with you to put a plan in place to support you with your mental health goals. Cedar Oaks offers a unique, integrative approach that leverages new research and the skills of its passionate multidisciplinary team of providers. This approach may include counseling, resiliency skills development, medication management, and other lifestyle recommendations. We recognize that becoming our best selves takes time. It is a journey that may require ongoing support. Our team will dedicate themselves to finding the right strategies to help you and your loved ones live your best lives.
Our Mission
The Cedar Oaks Clinic has been established to provide psychiatry and mental wellness support for all ages. Adults, family, and children are all welcome. We provide inclusive and holistic services, using the Cedar Oaks Model of Care, that include but are not limited to Medication Management, Diagnostics, Mental Health Counseling, Psychology, Education, Recreational Therapy, Health Coaching, Peer Support, Health Coaching, Parent Support, Drama Therapy, Art Therapy, Music Therapy, Case Management, Ketamine, Social Prescribing, and groups all using the Integrated Psychiatric Therapy approach. A team that liaises with you to understand your hopes and goals with strategies that suit your personality. All together and all in one space we support each other. Integrative Psychiatric Therapy - Cedar Oaks Model of Care - We put together an individual personalized plan to engage a group of providers. We plan and add providers who can holistically benefit you—for example adding exercise, coping skills, therapy, groups, and other therapeutic activities alongside traditional medication management.
Faith Connections on Mental Illness
The group was formed more than 10 years ago to address the stigma of mental illness and battle the sense of isolation and rejection. FCMI offers support and comfort to those living with mental illness and those who care for and support them through education and advocacy in the community and various faith communities.
Current initiatives:
Hosts monthly Connector Meetings on topics related to mental illness;
Sponsors a Clergy Blog; provides Crisis Line contact information
Hosts workshop on suicide prevention
Supports organizations such as NAMI Walks.
NC Child
While our name has changed throughout the years, our commitment to North Carolina’s children has never wavered. When NC Child began in 1983, we were known by another name: the NC Child Advocacy Institute. Later, the name changed to Action for Children North Carolina. In 2014, Action for Children North Carolina merged with the Covenant with North Carolina’s Children and we officially became NC Child. For more than 40 years, NC Child has worked with lawmakers, community-centered organizations, state and local health agencies, and parents and families to advocate for policies that improve the lives of all North Carolina children. NC Child championed policies that led to improvements in the state’s lead poisoning prevention program, which eliminated exposures to lead for thousands of children each year. NC Child was instrumental in the passing of “Raise the Age” legislation, which helps to keep teens in the juvenile justice system out of adult jails. NC Child’s advocacy efforts also helped lead to the establishment of the NC Child Fatality Task Force, where NC Child remains an active member.
In recognition of the impact healthcare access has on child and family health outcomes, NC Child stepped forward as a statewide leader in expanding Medicaid in North Carolina. NC Child served as one of the founding members of Care4Carolina, a statewide coalition dedicated to galvanizing support from healthcare organizations, business leaders, and community organizations and advocating for Medicaid Expansion. In this work, NC Child engaged with parents and caregivers across the state to uplift their experiences around health care access and ensured that family voices were included in advocacy efforts. Through NC Child’s leadership and involvement in this broad, bipartisan coalition, Medicaid Expansion was passed in North Carolina in 2023.
NC Child is a leading source of research and a reliable resource for policymakers and child advocates. In 1986, we were the first organization to release an annual state-level statistical report on children and families, called the North Carolina Children’s Index. In 1990, the Annie E. Casey Foundation designated NC Child as their North Carolina affiliate for the publication for their annual KIDS COUNT Data Book. In 1997, NC Child and the North Carolina Institute of Medicine (NCIOM) began partnering to release a biannual compilation of child health data called the Child Health Report Card. Through our Child Advocacy Network, Youth Advocacy Council, Parent Advisory Council, and EarlyWell Family Leaders Program, we engage with and uplift the voices of children and families in every corner of North Carolina. NC Child believes that community engagement, data and research, and engaging elected officials are key to creating lasting change for children in the State of North Carolina. For all our accomplishments over the last 40 years, none of them would have been possible without the dedication of child advocates across our state. From Murphy to Manteo, we are proud to partner with family and community leaders to advance policies that improve the lives of all North Carolina children.
RESEARCH AND DATA
Develop and vet policy solution options to address the key focus areas of early childhood education, child health and well-being, and family economic security.
POLICY DEVELOPMENT
Collaborate with legislators and administrators to promote policy solution options that positively impact the lives of NC children.
LEGISLATIVE AND ADMINISTRATIVE ENGAGEMENT
Expand the Child Advocacy Network to empower communities, ensuring that those most impacted are included in developing the policy agenda and can participate in advocating for that agenda.
COLLABORATION
Develop a comprehensive awareness campaign to increase the statewide impact of NC Child.
AWARENESS
Invest in building the organizational infrastructure
and resources needed for fulfilling our mission.
Mental Health America of Central Carolinas
Founded in 1933, Mental Health America (MHA) of Central Carolinas has been the voice of hope for those impacted by mental illness in the greater Charlotte area for over 90 years. Our mission is to provide help, offer hope, and promote mental wellness through advocacy, education and prevention. Mental Health America of Central Carolinas (MHA) provides mental health programs in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties and surrounding areas in North Carolina. Our programs seek to raise awareness, provide support, and end the stigma associated with mental illness.
MHA provides family support services to parents of children with behavioral, emotional or mental health needs; peer support for adults living with chronic mental illnesses; free counseling for those who can’t afford it; and mental health education and preventative trainings to the broader community. MHA’s programs bring together mental health consumers, parents, advocates and service providers to address systemic issues impacting mental health.
Pasadena Villa Outpatient Center-Raleigh and Chapel Hill
For 7 years Pasadena Villa has been expanding accessibility to outpatient treatment across the US. Pasadena Villa Outpatient provides comprehensive, holistic treatment for adults, 18 years or older, who struggle with mental health disorders, including but not limited to: Anxiety Disorders Bipolar Disorder Depression Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Trauma Psychotic Disorders Schizophrenia.
NAMI Durham
From Kitchen Tables to National Voices
In the early 1970s, small groups of family members, woman supporting seedling nationwide, began to gather around kitchen tables searching for support and understanding of their mentally ill family member, more often than not, a son. The majority of those meeting together were moms blamed by the medical profession that their parenting skills caused their child’s schizophrenia or other mental health disorder. NAMI was in the beginning and continues to be a volunteer-driven organization. In the late 1970s, some of these families gathered together in Madison, WI and decided to form state associations. Within the next few years, the state organizations decided to form a national organization named NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. What started as a small group of families gathered around a kitchen table has blossomed into the nation's leading voice on mental health. Today, we are an alliance of more than 600 local Affiliates and 48 State Organizations who work in your community to raise awareness and provide support and education that was not previously available to those in need.
NAMI Durham NC is an organization of families, friends, and individuals whose lives have been affected by mental illness. Together, we advocate for better lives for those individuals who have a mental illness. Our mission for NAMI Durham is to promote recovery and optimize the quality of life for those in Durham County affected by mental illness. Our vision for NAMI Durham is to be a community where mental health is recognized and an extra covering of support provided to individuals in Durham county affected by mental health challenges, leaving nobody alone in a time of need.
Current initiatives include: NAMI Connection NAMI FaithNet NAMI Family to Family NAMI In Our Own Voice Stress and Anxiety Support Group Public Education Meetings NAMI Smarts for Advocacy Community Events, Workshops & Training