Community Highlights: Meet Lisa McCraney of Healing Hearts Counseling & Consultation, and Lisa Speaks Too

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa McCraney. 

Hi Lisa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I founded Healing Hearts Counseling & Consultation Services, a nonprofit counseling service based in Akron, Ohio, in 2014. When we first began, I’d been working in the mental health field for approximately 10 years and saw several people start and stop services for a variety of reasons. I began to feel a tug to begin present “help” differently for people who were hesitant and turned off about traditional counseling services already being offered. I knew that people could and would trust the counseling process if they felt seen, heard, and safe. So began Healing Hearts with the mission to help hurting people journey through the healing process. 

In early 2020, I founded LisaSpeaksToo, LLC, where I provide Keynote and motivational speaking, group and workshop facilitation, and emotional wellness consultation services. As an Advanced Online Grief Recovery Method Specialist, one of my more popular offerings is the Grief Recovery Method program. After nearly 20 years as a clinician, I am finding that not every person who is “identified” and referred to me for counseling is in need of a clinical diagnosis. Many just desire a safe space to “woosah,” be heard and validated, and can typically settle into their own helpful conclusions. Lisa Speaks Too, LLC allows me to take the counseling and emotional wellness message and mission that Healing Hearts’ began to larger audiences faster. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it has not been a smooth road, but I will say that it has grown to be satisfying. I am a person who believes in ‘story’ and ‘narrative,’ and I believe that each chapter plays a level of importance to the chapter you’re reading today. That helps me to put the where and how we started story into a positive perspective because I truly believe there were learning and growth lessons along the way. 

When mentees sit with me to hear how I got started, I always tell them, “Never let passion alone lead the way because passion without wisdom is costly.” When I started Healing Hearts all I knew was that I wanted to help people feel better. I knew nothing about business, I had no business plan, and didn’t understand business structure and setup or the difference between what kind of business Healing Hearts should be. I was led more by passion than anything else, and in the beginning, could only see healing hearts through the lens of ‘ministry.’ I chose ‘nonprofit’ because it seemed like the correct route to serve the way I felt in my heart, but I was not well-versed on the how and whys. Financially, I struggled; I didn’t want to charge for “healing” services, and when I did eventually charge, I only assessed a $25 a session fee. I could not reconcile in my mind that ministry and business did not need to cancel each other out, and thus, I was cheating myself in so many ways. 

Another hurdle that I had to overcome is the loneliness that comes from entrepreneurial “leaps of faith.” For the most part, I was alone in the beginning. I didn’t have or know of a business mentor. I just told myself, “God will show me what to do,” and then waited in the wings as if this magic helper would simply appear one day. No one magically appeared, but I did eventually meet others who helped me over the years. When I first began, I was more of a ‘traveling counselor’; I met clients at local Panera Bread restaurants and reserved the community room in several libraries. I traveled between Akron, Canton, and Cleveland daily, and $25 per session was barely keeping gas in my car. I really started to feel the sting of that when people canceled or ‘no-showed’ after I drove all that way. I have come a long way from those hard days! 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Healing Hearts Counseling & Consultation and Lisa Speaks Too, LLC?
Healing Hearts CCS is made of up of our founder, Lisa McCraney, LPCC-S, and a part-time contracted Therapist, Felicia Johnson, LPC. We are tenants of The Well CDC; Lisa’s office is located inside of The Well on E. Market Street and Felicia’s cozy quarters is housed within The Well’s Workforce Development site located on Beaver Street. We provide both in-person and teletherapy sessions. Lisa’s schedule varies throughout the week, with both day and early evening appointments available. Felicia typically sees clients in the evening and on Saturday. 

Lisa frequently works with clients who are navigating through symptoms typical in anxiety, depression, daily life management, self-esteem/self-worth, and those seeking to find their authentic voice through the noise of life. While most of my clients are women of all ages and background, men who have come through Healing Hearts doors have all expressed extreme satisfaction with being able to seen, heard, and validated in their concerns as well. My days and services provided vary: any given day can contain individual counseling clients, an occasional couple/marriage counseling client, a Grief Recovery Method group, or a Mental Health group workshop/facilitation. Each of these services can be offered in person or virtually. 

Felicia has a heart for doing trauma work. Her typical clients are those looking for ways to process emotions and behaviors associated with traumatic life experiences, to identify and understand the impact of trauma, re-establish safety, identify triggers, and develop healthy coping skills. She sees male and female clients as well. Felicia also presents emotional wellness groups in collaboration with community partners of Healing Hearts. 

Healing Hearts is a private pay-only agency. Our intake session is $175, and Individual Counseling Sessions after that are $100. Lisa is paneled as a provider with some EAP (Employee Assistance Programs), which will typically cover 3-6 sessions for clients who qualify. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t necessarily believe in luck. I do believe in divine connections and alignment. I pray often that Healing Hearts CCS and Lisa Speaks Too, LLC would be a blessing to all who we encounter. I know the work I do and the message I carry is both necessary and timely, and I see my offerings as gifts from God. I am a firm believer in the biblical Proverb that says, “your gift will make room for you and place you before great men” (Proverb 18:16). One of the blessings of my story and journey with Healing Hearts is that it has grown by word of mouth and positive experience. People are being blessed by the work that I do, and they tell others about it. When people hear me speak, they tell me how encouraged they are, and then they tell other people about me. Most of my referrals come from someone else passing along a message or note that I’ve shared with them and telling their people to call me too. I will forever be grateful for that kind of growth and exposure. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hope2healing.org
• Instagram: instagram.com/hope2healinghearts