PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Two Portsmouth men are turning experiences from their own lives and work in the community into a new mental health resource.
George DeGroat and Geravis Brown are the co-founders of Inspire You Counseling, a new mental health practice on Crawford Street in Portsmouth.
DeGroat said growing up in London Oaks Apartments, mental health care was not something he and others around him regularly discussed.
“Growing up in London Oaks, we didn't have people telling us we needed therapy,” DeGroat said. “With all the crime and the violence that has been going on, we realize that trauma with these young men is a problem.”
DeGroat previously worked in gang prevention in Newport News. He said that work showed him how much unresolved trauma people were carrying.
“I felt like they didn't have that outlet of seeing their best friend, seeing their brother, seeing their uncle die,” DeGroat said. “It wasn't a lot of help for them.”
DeGroat said some of the people he worked with also wanted to see Black therapists, but had trouble finding them.
“They wanted to see Black therapists, but a lot of them told me, 'man, we don't have any, there's none available,'” DeGroat said.
DeGroat and Brown eventually went back to school to pursue careers in mental health. Brown said DeGroat was the one who first came up with the idea of opening a practice.
“He came with the idea once both of us started to go back to school to pursue our LPCs and LCSW,” Brown said. “If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't have even thought to begin to open up my own practice.”
Brown said his motivation is also personal. He said he had dealt with depression since childhood.
“I had been dealing with depression from as early as 10-11 years old, and in my house it wasn't something that we talked about, as in many Black households,” Brown said. “Thank God that things are changing now.”
The practice will serve clients across Portsmouth and Hampton Roads. DeGroat said the founders also want to make sure Black men know the practice is available to them.
“We do want Black men to know that we exist, because 1% of therapists are Black men,” Degroat said. "I wanted to build it uniquely around Black men.”
For DeGroat, the goal goes beyond opening a business. He said he wants young people from neighborhoods like the one where he grew up to see that there are different paths available to them.
“You can go to school, you can get a degree, you can start a business,” Degroat said. “It can happen for you, you can do everything right.”
Inspire You Counseling will have its grand opening Sept. 28 on Crawford Street in Portsmouth.
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