How to Treat Mental Health Like Physical Health with Solace Counseling
Guest name: Amanda Wurst & Tabitha Steiner
Business name: Solace Counseling
Mental health isn’t separate from physical health—it is health.
In Part 1 of this two-part series, Lauren Brunetti sits down with Amanda Wurst and Tabitha Steiner, co-owners of Solace Counseling in Erie, Colorado, to talk about accessible therapy, preventative mental health care, and supporting families in every season.
While we discuss the importance of treating therapy like an annual physical—proactive and preventative—we also acknowledge that many in our Erie community are walking through very real crises right now. Mental health care matters in both seasons: when you’re building resilience and when you’re simply trying to get through the day.
In this episode, we cover:
Why “mental health is health” — and what changes when we treat therapy like an annual physical
Life transitions that often bring people in: parenting stress, trauma, divorce, diagnoses, recovery, relationship strain, or simply wanting clarity
The truth that therapists don’t give answers — they guide clients toward discovering their own answers
How families are systems — and when everyone does their own work and reflection, the entire system benefits
Reducing the financial barrier to care through tiered pricing and the HEAL Grant (Helping Erie Access Light) — especially important for youth, where suicide remains a leading cause of death
Stay tuned for Part 2 as we continue our conversation and explore neurodiversity — what it means and how it may be showing up in your family and/or in our community.
This episode is your reminder: If we treated mental health as both preventative care and essential support during crisis, what might shift in your life—or your family’s?