Embrace, Connect, Heal
Vision Statement:
At Interbeing we envision a world where mental health is nurtured and strengthened through the power of healthy connections. Our vision is to create a society where every individual feels supported, valued, and understood, free from the constraints of stigma and judgment. Through our programs and initiatives, we strive to empower individuals and foster resilience through the creation of safe spaces, empathy, and vulnerability. We envision a future where individuals feel empowered to seek help without fear or judgment, where healing is a collaborative journey fueled by compassion and solidarity. Together, we envision a world where healthy connections nourish the soul, fostering a society where everyone can thrive mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Why we do what we do?
Mental health impacts each and every one of us, either directly or indirectly. Suicide, mass shootings, incarceration, recidivism and psychiatric hospitalization rates are at an all-time high. The common denominator amongst all of these issues is uncared for mental health issues.
1 in every 5 individual suffer from mental illness, yet very little is done to increase mental health awareness and provide help for healing. Even without being diagnosed with a mental illness, we all experience some form of anxiety, worry, depression/sadness. We all experience grief, transitional fear, feelings of being overwhelmed with life’s demands, and we often lack the knowledge or the skills on how to cope in a healthy manner.
According to the Washington Post, there were more school shootings in 2022 than in any year since 1999, with a total of 46 shootings (this number only calculates shootings during school hours). It is reported that in 2020, there were more deaths by firearms than by auto accidents for children between the ages of 1 and 19.
Statistics show that individuals across all age groups are experiencing higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and bullying, now more than ever before. This leads to an increase in not just suicide attempts, substance abuse, and violence, but also the chances of these individual dealing with more severe mental illness if gone untreated.
What does that do for our society? These alarming statistics show the immediate need to come together and tackle mental health in our society.
How does Interbeing end the cycle?
We end the cycle by creating mental health awareness and educating our communities on the importance of treatment and seeking help when needing.
Our founder
”I have a million reasons as to why I do what I do, but my biggest reason and motivator is my son. My biggest drive is the idea that I can leave the world a better place for him and for all of the children who have to grow up in it. For every hurt soul that got lost in the chaos that has been created, we are all those individuals, we all have a story, but we do not have to continue this cycle. I chose to turn kindness into my career”- Angelica Aristizabal (Angie).
Angie is an LCSW and has been in the mental health field for several years. Her passion has always been to create a healthy change in the world by helping those she interacts with. Our founder is a firm believer that what we all seek is to be seen, be heard, and to be accepted for who we genuinely are. When neither of these things happen, we feel disconnected from ourselves and from others, causing this to manifest into sadness, anxiety, and other mental health symptoms.
Her passion has taken her far from where she ever imagined it would be, starting off as wanting to be a school teacher in order to provide a healthy foundation for children in low income communities. Since then, Angelica has ventured off into the field of mental health working with clients with a wide range of concerns including depression, anxiety, relationship issues, parenting problems, career challenges, physical and emotional abuse, active hallucinations and delusions, the LGBTQ population, suicidal/homicidal ideation, and many more.
She has provided individual and group therapy for both youth and adults in outpatient and inpatient facilities. She has worked with grade school children through higher education teaching them the fundamentals of mental health, the importance of self-care while surviving in unhealthy environments and battling societal demands. Angie has had the priviledge of working directly with the court system, providing mental health services to individuals transitioning from a correctional facility into society, and individuals that are incarcerated but are deemed incompetent (or not mentally well enough to stand trial). She has also worked with individuals that require a State Hospital level of care, experiencing severe mental illness that does not allow them to function successfully in society without proper care.
And within her years of experience, she has seen that the most common denominator in her clients has been untreated mental health issues from childhood.
The variety of clients that our founder has worked with has given her the opportunity to test the theory that connection heals, regardless of the struggles we may be experiencing.
Simply by creating these “Vortex” moments that facilitate vulnerability and allow for others to be seen, whether in an individual or group setting, I have seen the most miraculous changes in individuals despite their level of mental health needs.
