About HTW

Healing Towards Wellness was founded in 2019 when licensed clinical marriage and family therapist Emily Sterk began to notice a serious hole in mental health care in the Kansas City area, and specifically in her native Johnson County. With services available only for those in dire need or those with incredible amounts of expendable income, Emily realized the middle class was being squeezed out of mental health care.

And thus, the vision for Healing Towards Wellness was born. A wraparound approach to mental health that treats the entire person, regardless of that persons ability to pay. A non-profit agency that emphasizes community and total wellness without gimmicks or shortcuts.

Healing Towards Wellness is currently in phase 1 of it’s 3 phase plan to bring a community driven, person centered, and whole body focused mental health and wellness facility to Johnson County.

Healing Towards Wellness will engage a wraparound approach to wellness. The wraparound approach is beneficial because mental health concerns do not have a one size fits all answer. HTW will provide emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical health with an array of options focused on the whole body including traditional therapy, fitness classes, nutritional oversight, support groups, and workshops.

The suicide rate in Kansas continues to rise. Cases of eating disorders continue to rise. Depression and anxiety are at an all time high. There is a serious flaw in our mental health system that is leaving a core demographic unable to afford services, and worse yet, leading them to believe services are unavailable and that help is unattainable.

Healing Towards Wellness will eliminate that flaw, bringing affordable, accessible, compassionate care to those who need it. Our sliding scale allows clients to pay what they’re comfortable with so that costs of services is never an obstacle to true wellness.

Where does Healing Towards Wellness Fit?

The Future of HTW

Healing Towards Wellness has an ambitious 5 year plan to bring an intentional community living space and total wellness agency to Kansas City.
This plan includes:
A mentorship program with U.S. Veterans
A transitional living program for those aging out of the foster system
A fitness center with personal trainers on staff
Nutritionists on staff
Numerous additional mental health professionals on staff
Permanent location with room for fitness classes, group therapy sessions, and a fitness center

Healing Towards Wellness is a registered non-profit and relies on donations to keep costs low. As we grow and provide more and more services, donations are greatly appreciated. More information on how to donate can be found here.

Donorbox

Venmo

Founder’s Vision

Emily Sterk founded HTW after seeing a serious lack of options for middle class clients not in a crisis situation. Upon returning to the KC area, Emily began noticing a trend; practices were charging hundreds of dollars a session, with limited hours of availability and little to no focus on creating truly affordable, accessible treatment for those who need it. Creating a community minded mental health agency became her top goal, and that’s when Healing Towards Wellness was born.

Just a few short months later and Emily has created a robust plan to introduce a new face of mental healthcare in Kansas City. Through a whole body, person focused approach, Healing Towards Wellness will be that affordable, and accessible, agency that Emily realized was missing in her community.

Learn more about Emily here.