"The Extra Mile"
When I was referred to Sarah McGuiness, it was with great hesitation that I called to speak to her about my daughter. I had enough resources in the industry that I really thought I could “place her” on my own. After explaining our situation hearing her genuine and sweet voice on the phone, I knew instantly that I would have to work with her. Within days, she had some places (boarding schools) for us to go and visit. Unexpectedly, we had a crisis happening with my son at the same time. I turned to Sarah and she immediately went into action with him and found the best fit for him. What I loved most about Sarah, is that she just doesn’t place your kids and leave you. She stays with you throughout the placements. We were having some concerns with my son and she took it upon herself to fly to the program to just “lay eyes on him” and meet with his therapist in person. My older daughter had some issues at the beginning of her school year and she and Sarah spoke on the phone a lot...she helped me and her in ways that I could have never gotten through myself. We, then moved my son to a boarding school, and Sarah fought for the best place for him, once again. I will forever be grateful for Sarah and Mark. They, undoubtedly go the extra mile.
When I was referred to Sarah McGuiness, it was with great hesitation that I called to speak to her about my daughter. I had enough resources in the industry that I really thought I could “place her” on my own. After explaining our situation hearing her genuine and sweet voice on the phone, I knew instantly that I would have to work with her. Within days, she had some places (boarding schools) for us to go and visit. Unexpectedly, we had a crisis happening with my son at the same time. I turned to Sarah and she immediately went into action with him and found the best fit for him. What I loved most about Sarah, is that she just doesn’t place your kids and leave you. She stays with you throughout the placements. We were having some concerns with my son and she took it upon herself to fly to the program to just “lay eyes on him” and meet with his therapist in person. My older daughter had some issues at the beginning of her school year and she and Sarah spoke on the phone a lot...she helped me and her in ways that I could have never gotten through myself. We, then moved my son to a boarding school, and Sarah fought for the best place for him, once again. I will forever be grateful for Sarah and Mark. They, undoubtedly go the extra mile.
Therapeutic Consulting - "No longer alone..."
Sarah McGuiness was exactly the person we needed at such a desperate moment in our parenting. Our children were self-sabotaging in different ways. We were completely overwhelmed, and had no idea what more to do. A school professional introduced us to Sarah - a huge turning point in the life of our family. We immediately felt like we were no longer alone in this struggle.
Sarah used her vast knowledge and network of the world of therapeutic interventions to help us navigate every step of the process: from transport to wilderness to residential treatment. We live overseas and having someone as caring and responsive as Sarah involved with our family - and advocating for our family when needed, has been invaluable along this journey. We feel so incredibly grateful to Sarah for her combination of professionalism and compassion throughout the process. Our family is now more connected, healthier and on a better track. Sarah's advice about programs has lead us to a place where we learned valuable communication skills in our family, and we feel hopeful for the future and well-being of our two teenagers.
- Catherine and John M.
Sarah used her vast knowledge and network of the world of therapeutic interventions to help us navigate every step of the process: from transport to wilderness to residential treatment. We live overseas and having someone as caring and responsive as Sarah involved with our family - and advocating for our family when needed, has been invaluable along this journey. We feel so incredibly grateful to Sarah for her combination of professionalism and compassion throughout the process. Our family is now more connected, healthier and on a better track. Sarah's advice about programs has lead us to a place where we learned valuable communication skills in our family, and we feel hopeful for the future and well-being of our two teenagers.
- Catherine and John M.
Crucial SupportSarah McGuiness has been a very crucial support during our struggle to find answers. Our 12 year old son was going through a really tough time with depression, school refusal, and gaming addiction. We knew we could no longer provide him with what he needed at home. We had tried counseling, creating an IEP at school and even a treatment program near us but it was not what our son needed and only made things worse. My friend told me about Sarah and how she really helped her family find an effective program when her son was going through something similar.
On our first call we learned so much and Sarah’s expertise really helped us navigate the overwhelming choices we faced. She guided us and answered all of our questions with compassion knowing this was a really difficult decision to make. Ultimately we ended up in a great wilderness program with the perfect counselor for our very bright son who had shunned all other counselors. Following wilderness we needed to find the right therapeutic boarding school. We found one we thought would be a good fit but as it turned out it didn’t offer enough support for our son. We were unfamiliar with the workings of how these programs work and took our concern to Sarah. She saw exactly what was happening and went to bat for us. When we didn’t get the results we needed Sarah quickly got us on board with another school. We checked it out and transferred our son that weekend with great success. Now our son is at a school that is helping him move forward, learn new life skills and find happiness again. And we are very grateful for that. And thanks to Sarah working with our IEP team at our local school she helped us get our district to cover the cost of the school which means he will get the support he needs until he is ready to come home. We are so very glad to have found Sarah. Her compassion and experience has really helped carry us through this journey. Thanks Sarah!!! |
Therapeutic ConsultingMy ex-husband and I worked with Mark and Sarah in the summer of 2017, in support of our daughter, who was just fourteen. Her year-long struggles with depression and anxiety had become frightening, and we knew that something significant needed to change -- and urgently. However, I was paralyzed by the magnitude of figuring out what to do for her. We needed to make a really critical decision, which would directly affect her future, and we needed to make it in a matter of days, and on a topic about which neither of us had any knowledge (and therefore no confidence in our opinions).
Mark and Sarah's help was invaluable. They listened, they empathized and understood, and they provided a short list of recommendations and explained the rationale for each. Based on that help, I took our daughter to a shorter-term facility sight unseen, which started her on a better path; a month later, also on short notice, we took her to a longer-term facility where she has received expert and caring treatment and has responded extraordinarily. Without Mark and Sarah, I don't know how we would have made a decision about her placement -- and I'm certain that our choice would not have been anywhere near as effective as these placements have been. It scares me to consider what path we might be on today, without having had their help. - Meg In the fall of 2018 we were faced with a very difficult situation . Our 18 year old son who was a freshmen in college was hospitalized twice after being found incoherent from overuse of alcohol and marijuana and brought in by ambulance. When we received the second call we were desperate and didn’t know what to do. Our son was an a student , athletic and very social . By the grace of God we were referred to Sarah McGuiness at Thrive Treatment Consulting who helped save our son and provided emotional support and guidance that saved our family from imploding. Our son is back at school and thriving. Had it not been for Sarah I don’t know what we would have done. Our trust in her and now our friendship is deep rooted as she has guided us through the worst of times and celebrated the best of times. I can honestly say without her we would not have made it through this very rocky journey. Any family in a similar situation with their child, needs help. Thrive is the place to reach out to because no family can get through these times without the experience and support of someone who really cares about your kid. Thrive really sees your child through your eyes and compassionately gets you through some very rough times
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Start-up Support
"Just call him Superman and be done with it. Mark flew into Asheville on the first day of team-building for our program, and with surgical finesse, identified the most critical issues and helped us to address them. He quickly moved us through identifying our core values, and showed us how these inform everything we do. With his insightful and deliberate instruction, we were able to identify to best way to build a positive culture for staff and clients. We could not have been more pleased with the outcome of the two-day workshop, and consider ourselves extremely lucky to have hired this sensitive super-consultant."
LG Hall - Program Owner
"Just call him Superman and be done with it. Mark flew into Asheville on the first day of team-building for our program, and with surgical finesse, identified the most critical issues and helped us to address them. He quickly moved us through identifying our core values, and showed us how these inform everything we do. With his insightful and deliberate instruction, we were able to identify to best way to build a positive culture for staff and clients. We could not have been more pleased with the outcome of the two-day workshop, and consider ourselves extremely lucky to have hired this sensitive super-consultant."
LG Hall - Program Owner
Organizational Analysis
...Thrive helped us accomplish these goals and a whole lot more. In fact, let me mention here that I plan to do annual consultation with Mark going forward to make sure we’re continuing to improve the program and expand our reach in the broader community.
Before I explain the consultation process, let me just say that because I’ve worked in the field for so long, I have a certain degree of arrogance/ego and often think “I’ve seen it all” and “know” just about everything. ...(Read More) CASSIDY COUSENS, CATC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR |
I have known Mark for many years and have appreciated his friendship and integrity. I saw him present about a year ago at a conference on leadership and was even more impressed with him than I already was. He really "got" how leaders in behavioral health have to always shift priorities, and how vision and culture can drive an organization and lead to less stress and better results.
I hired Mark to do an evaluation with my team and he hit the nail on the head. His report was incredibly helpful, and months later we are still relying on it and making changes based upon it. While visiting our program, Mark was unobtrusive, respectful, and helpful. He "fit in" for a couple days with us and learned from the inside what we needed to work on. Mark is very understanding and encouraging. He "gets" what I need as a leader and how to coach me. He is persistent and pushes me to grow while understanding the need for timing. He is a great collaborator. It's been a great experience working with him! Josh White, MA, LCMHC, CGP, WPA Founder / Executive Director |