A Helping Hand of Wilmington

“The helping hand of Wilmington NC was an excellent source, the therapist Stephanie there, was Amazing to talk to! And I had no issues on being able to being comfortable to talk about things with Stephanie. She was very patient and willing to give me time to open up about things. I really appreciated that! Thank you guys at the Helping Hand of Wilmington you truly are helping others!”

“Finding the right therapist can be very hard but I got really fortunate to find my therapist at A Helping Hand of Wilmington. She listens and offers insight and a perspective that I may not have thought of! She helped me get through a very difficult patch in my life! I am grateful to have her!”

“I’ve never been the type of person to speak up about this kind of thing, but the overall experience I’ve had at this facility, mainly with my particular therapist has been extremely negative and unprofessional. I just wanted to reiterate that my main treatment plan is PTSD-focused, and I have a history of MDD. The reason I share this information is because I want to give perspective that if this situation were to have happened with a higher-risk caseload/patient (i.e., ideations/tendencies, destructive behaviors, etc.), the unprofessional conduct, lack of communication and accountability, and overall deficit of ethical responsibility is what not only drove me away as a client from one of your employed therapists, but now from your entire establishment. Healthcare and the field of psychology and mental health have always been patient-centered, and it appears that your employee has lost sight of that, I just hope that patients in the future don’t end up in worse condition, when they’re just begging the alleged professionals for help. Your therapist started PTSD CPT on me, warned ME not to miss sessions, SHE continued to reschedule/no-show our re-scheduled sessions almost every week, and when I would try and contact her or the office about it I would never receive any responses in return (“ghosting”). Please consider what you’re doing to your patients by doing this. In essence, she kicked the wasp nest, and walked away. She stirred up and triggered all of my PTSD, and then abandoned me. That’s why this is so significant to me, my mental health, and overall quality of life. So no, I’m not okay with “letting this one slide” and either continuing to see that therapist or see another one of your employees, because I already see who you are willing to employ and defend over your patients who you are supposed to be supporting and caring for. Update/Response: I’ve already taken those steps and spoke about those “alternatives”. The further communication with your team has done me more harm than good. If you actually want to help people, show up. Start practicing what you preach. Thanks for the help.”

“I’d like to share about my experience with Steph Sturges and Khristine Winstead. Steph has been my personal therapist for 5.5 months, and Khristine has been my family therapist for 2 months. Steph has been a life saver for me. She is a person who goes above and beyond our sessions, regularly checking in to see how I’m doing. If I need to reach her at any time, I can. She deeply cares about me, and I feel lucky to have found her at a time I really needed an outlet. Additionally, more recently, my family and I started sessions with Khristine. As a member of a family where we all tend to steamroll each other during conversation, Khristine’s calm, organized, and direct demeanor has helped my family learn to communicate more respectfully in a very short time. At the end of every sessions my mom says “Wow! she’s great!” If I could give them a million starts, I would. They provide the highest caliber of care.”