History
MEA Cares has offered private counseling and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services since 1995. The counseling office was established initially by MEA Medical Clinics, and its doctors’ desire for a mental health resource for the patients that they served. From that inception came the identified need for an EAP in the community. What MEA Cares has today is a balance between a private counseling practice and a regional Employee Assistance Program.
Staff
Laura Lewis, LPC, NCC is the EAP Coordinator at MEA Cares. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor as well as a National Certified Counselor. She obtained her Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Mississippi College and later went on to study clinical counseling and psychology in their Doctoral of Professional Counseling program. She has previous experience addressing a broad range of mental health and medical issues while working as the Adult Program Coordinator for partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs. She also served as a Medical Officer for a detention center and has experience providing care to clients from a wide scope demographically.
Laura enjoys working with all age groups and populations. She has experience in the treatment of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, depression, chronic pain, grief recovery, identity building, marital issues, and comorbid medical issues. Other areas of interest include eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorders, as well as eating disorders NOS), trauma recovery, and personality disorders.Laura provides individual, family, and marital services, and she primarily utilizes cognitive behavioral, dialectal behavioral, brief solution focused, and systemic approaches in her clinical treatment. She enjoys helping clients gain a renewed sense of hope and purpose for their lives.
Chris Cothern, MS, LPC-S, LMFT, is a Clinical Therapist.
Chris has many years of experience in mental health services. He earned his Masters of Science in marriage and family therapy from Mississippi College in 1994. He became a Licensed Professional Counselor in 1996 and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in 1998. Additionally, Chris has enhanced his credentials by becoming a Board Qualified LPC Supervisor for the State of Mississippi.
Counseling, for Chris, is a calling and he enjoys working with individuals, couples, parents and families. He has gained vast experience in assisting individuals facing emotional and psychological challenges. He believes that his role is to meet individuals where they are, identify support systems, encourage, motivate, educate and assist in their development of coping skills that will alleviate current struggles but also provide skills to enhance their future. Areas of particular interests include: working with adolescent and young adults dealing with depression, anxiety, self-esteem, grief and loss, anger, anxiety, low motivation and difficulty managing stress.
Prior to beginning his work at MEA Cares, Chris worked as the Director of Child & Adolescent Services and the Director of Staff Development & Training for a partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient program and as a Regional Director for a national health management corporation.
Emily Lehigh is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work from the University of Louisiana at Monroe followed by a Master of Social Work degree from Grambling State University in 2006. Emily has over a decade of experience helping individuals and families navigate challenging times in their lives. She has worked with children, adolescents, and adults in a variety of settings including Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, School Based Mental Health, Intensive Outpatient treatment, and Hospice. Prior to coming to MEA Cares, she was the Child Program Coordinator at a partial hospitalization program where she provided individual and group therapy for children, adolescents, and adults. Her professional interests include child and adolescent behavioral problems, family and relationship issues, self-esteem, and stress management. Emily believes in a strengths-based, person centered approach while utilizing a blend of Cognitive Behavioral therapy, Solution-Focused therapy, and Mindfulness.
Office Hours:
Monday – Friday,
8am- 5pm
Ridgeland and Jackson
Contact Information:
For more information
or to set up an
appointment with
a Counselor,
call (601) 898-7520 or
1-800-844-6503.
Patient Satisfaction Survey
We would like to know how you feel about the services we provide so we can make sure we are meeting your needs.
Please know all responses will be kept confidential and anonymous.