Welcome to All Well
(Shared with permission) In 2012 I was stationed in Europe. During my time there, one of my closest friends and coworkers developed substance use addiction. In between work and home I spent many hours sitting on the third floor of a State Hospital listening to my friends back story of how his substance use escalated to hospitalization. An eventful deployment to the Middle East, a challenging relationship, a diabolical leadership experience, and lack of stability and consistency in his community within the military were all contributing factors. Experiencing these events back to back made his healing journey a significant challenge. Each time I left the hospital, I would sit in my car and think about the big picture. There was a clear connection between the disease of addiction, the lack of meaningful community to support him, and a clear lack of health in his professional and personal environment. Without the appropriate support and treatment in these areas I watched my friend ride the waves of addiction for 12 more months until he ultimately left the service and sought treatment in the US. He remains a dear friend who is heathy, at peace, and kicking ass in a high profile agency working with heavy machinery.
I was 22-23 years old when I found myself navigating resources for addiction, OCONUS (Outside the Continental United State) substance use treatment, and mental health resources to support my friend in our community. At the time-we could not access quality care in the area we lived, worked, and operated. We did our best to find treatment options in neighboring countries but each facility found it challenging to meet his complex needs. At the end of the journey I knew I wanted to invest my time, energy, and creativity in partnering with others in navigating their complex life experiences. Particularly for individuals that have experienced complex trauma-meaning multiple, prolonged, and interconnected traumatic events in any developmental phase of life. Healing is not a linear experience. Recovering and healing from complex trauma requires integration of the brain, mind, body, and spirit. Over the last 14 months I have quietly been building my private practice to support others in their healing journey. Founding All Well has been a privilege. I have taken my academic and clinical experience from pediatrics to adult inpatient care to build an authentic space where I can serve a wide variety of clients. I have also drawn from my own personal professional military and law enforcement service to facilitate a practice that supports my law enforcement, military, and first responder community, as well as their incredible families. Thank you for reading my first blog and learning a bit about my heart for founding All Well. I intend to share a weekly blog focused on result/solution focused mental health topics. I plan to cover topics related to complex trauma, relationships, communication, depression, anxiety, evidence based protocols for healing, using the outdoors for nervous system regulation and more! I’m so grateful you are here thank you for joining me on this journey.
Brooke Garcia, MSW, LSWAIC
