Community Highlights: Meet Tom Nelson of Ellie Mental Health of Overland Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom Nelson

Hi Tom, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Mental health has long been a passion of mine. When I first experienced depression, I didn’t have the language to frame what I was feeling. It all just felt very dark and isolating. Years later, when I finally found professional help, it was everything I didn’t know I needed! I realized how dangerous and damaging it was to go through those experiences in life without professionally trained help, and I’ve become very vocal and active in helping other people find help as well. Life is hard! And having a professional by your side to talk with through the ups and downs can make everything more manageable. When the opportunity came to partner with Ellie Mental Health and bring them to my own city, I knew it was exactly what I wanted to be doing with my life. Now I can advocate for mental health services in a much more robust way for people in my own community.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As smooth as rocky road ice cream! I’m not a trained mental health therapist myself, so my own knowledge has limitations. Fortunately, I hired a wonderful Clinic Director who is an expert in this space, and we are each able to thrive in the areas we specialize in. Meanwhile, we’re both trying to navigate the complexities of partnering with insurance companies to make therapy more affordable for everyone. We accept as many insurances as we can, and each one has its own fun way of doing things!

We’ve been impressed with Ellie Mental Health of Overland Park, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Ellie Mental Health is dedicated to filling the gaps in mental health access by creating genuinely inclusive environments that warmly embrace the diversity of our communities. Our unwavering commitment is to utilize all available resources to ensure equitable well-being outcomes for everyone.

Within Ellie, a team of highly skilled therapists with diverse specialties and clinical expertise is available to cater to the unique needs of children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families.

Our therapists possess a diverse array of skills and specialties, spanning areas such as anxiety, depression, marriage/couples counseling, family therapy, play therapy, eating disorders, mood disorders, grief and loss, trauma, EMDR, and LGBTQIA2S+ affirming therapy, among others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://elliementalhealth.com/locations/overland-park-ks/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/elliementalhealth_overlandpark
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Elliementalhealthoverlandpark/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@ellie_overlandpark