11 Jan How Psychologist Ann Monis Mastered Both Entrepreneurship and Mental Wellness

When Ann Monis is asked about the composition of her clientele, the impact of the past few years—the COVID-19 era—is legible on her face. “Three years ago, I would have been able to answer your question very easily,” she says. “I would have said that the bulk of our practice was servicing assisted living facilities and nursing homes via geriatric psychology. But in the last few years we’ve shifted so much. People need a lot more treatment and it’s no longer age-limited—we treat adolescents, adults, and we’ve just received a grant for children under 8.” Monis’ Fort Lauderdale-based practice, Transformative Health Care Solutions, cares for all generations—from toddlers to the elderly, with the need increasing at every age level—and region. Monis explains that with the expansion of her practice into Georgia and South Carolina, its former name, Mental Health Center of Florida, has morphed into its current, more expansive incarnation. But don’t look for outposts in places like Atlanta. Monis tends to focus on pockets where the need is greatest. “These are remote locations and they’re the toughest to staff with doctors,” she says. “Actually, we have a need for clinicians in every location, including Fort Lauderdale.” Monis employs clinicians throughout the state, including in Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa/St. Petersburg, around 100 in all. As for the Fort Lauderdale base, it contains 35 treatment rooms distributed in four buildings, “but with quite a lot of telehealth”—a sign of the times. Monis talked to SFBW about telehealth, the stresses of the sandwich generation, having an entrepreneurial mindset, and so much more. Let’s get right into this convulsive era of ours. What has changed in your practice? Pre-COVID-19, seeking mental health treatment was a bit more of an exception—in other words, if things got really rough, you came in and you got help. Since the pandemic, it’s more the norm. Many people are not feeling great, so talking to someone has become less unusual. In some circles, people might suggest, “Have you considered talking to someone about this?” And the response would be, “No, it’s not that bad.” But now, because mental health is such a topic, if someone suggests talk therapy, the response is different: People will say, “I have” or “I am” or “I tried it online.” There are so many different outlets. The shift for us is that it’s less of a stigma. People are not as intimidated as they once were to ask for help. It’s more of a household discussion. We’re getting these phone calls into the office, a lot of outpatient, a lot of people calling in for help.