Dr. Ruth Whitely works to 'help in a holistic way'
Jan. 28—Fueled by a passion for helping children, teens and families through challenges, Dr. Ruth Whitely is a licensed professional counselor and the principal owner of the Mental Health Clinic of Greenville as well as the Longhorn Arena & Event Center.
Through the adjoining facilities, one of the clinic's main specialties is equine, or horse-assisted, therapy.
"I often like to say that I can learn more about people by watching them work with horses than I can through a regular therapy session in the office," Whitely said.
"Horses are like a mirror, because if a person is a little high strung, the horse will probably distance themselves from that person as if to say, 'Calm down, then we'll talk," Whitely added. "So, one of the things horses can help people with is getting better at navigating boundaries."
Through the program's "equine immersion experience," Whitely works with individuals and groups that include at-risk teens, military veterans, and families working to resolve serious issues.
In her group sessions with veterans — which are also open to police, firefighters and other first-responders — Whitely enlists the help of U.S. Navy/Army veteran Steve Neal and partners with Hunt County-area veterans support organization Twin Rotors Mission.
"With the veteran and first-responder group sessions, which we have on the first and third Monday of every month, they don't need to be regular clients with us and they don't have to make an appointment for the group sessions. All we ask for is proof that they are a veteran or a first-responder," Whitely said. "Although we won't turn any veterans or first-responders away if they show up, we prefer to limit the sessions to about eight-10 people, to keep the experience more personal.
"Twin Rotors, who we're partnered with because they really wanted to find an effective therapy for veterans, have been really good at coordinating and having multiple activities for vets to do on other nights," Whitely said.
Whether it's working with veterans, at-risk teens, families, couples or individuals, one element of equine therapy that Whitely sees as especially beneficial is sharing the horses' individual stories with people to strengthen that connection.
"King (one of the facility's small horses) has a big scar near his hip where he was ran into a gate by another horse that was bullying him," Whitely said. "He's healed and recovered well, but his story is something that people, who have been bullied themselves, can relate to.
"Spirit (another one of their horses), on the other hand, was alone for eight-10 years after a pasture mate of his had died. When we got him and he saw other horses, he got so excited that we were actually worried because he was almost overwhelmed with happiness after several years of loneliness," Whitely continued. "His story can be relatable to those going through grief or isolation."
In addition to equine therapy, the Mental Health Clinic's specialties include neurofeedback and play therapy.
Neurofeedback is a method of "brain training" in which a cap fitted with sensors is placed on a client's head. The sensors are connected to computer software that detects and records brain activity as the person plays a video game or watches a movie. If the software detects "normal brain waves," the movie or game will play correctly, but if it detects "abnormal brain waves," the movie or game will flicker or freeze, and the process is supposed to train the brain (as the "ultimate computer") to regulate itself to keep those disruptions from happening. Neurofeedback is sometimes used as a treatment for conditions ranging from attention deficit disorder to depression.
As for play therapy, while many may associate it with children, Mental Health Clinic of Greenville is also offering "geek therapy" to some of its older clients, in which therapy is assisted with roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons (D&D).
"Through our D&D group, we use it as a medium to help people with things like social skills and social anxiety," Whitely said.
"It's all about helping kids and families in a holistic way," she added.
Whitey's driving desire to help people largely grew from a tragedy in her own life.
About 25 years ago, she lost a nephew, Billie Joe Snow, to suicide.
"I was in my mid-20s, and I didn't even have my high school diploma at that point, but I wanted to become a counselor so I could help kids and families," Whitely said. "So to do that, I had to go to college, and to do that, I had to get my GED first. Then I went to A&M-Commerce.
"It (Billie Joe's death) definitely set me on this path," she added.
Whitely, who now holds a Phd, has taught classes at Texas A&M University-Commerce and has taught in various other counselor training programs.
While therapy is the driving force behind Whitely's mission, she also offers the Longhorn Arena as a venue for a variety of events that include horsemanship workshops, barrel racing, livestock showing practices, and cow dog competitions. She's even rented out the venue for weddings and quinceañeras.
The venue hosts these events to help bring in more money to help the mental health center continue to offer its services.
Most recently, on Jan. 6, the venue hosted its first concert featuring The Frontmen, a supergroup comprised of lead singers from well-known country bands Lonestar, Restless Heart and Little Texas.
"It went great for our first concert event," Whitely said. "We're currently working on getting a few comedians here for a future event, so we can hopefully continue to expand into hosting more performances."
