Words From Our Founder MAx Fabry
Words from our Founder, MAx Fabry: a 20th Century Gal in a 21st Century Business
Mary Ann “MAx” Fabry is a graduate of the University of Oregon and holds a “Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor II” from the Addiction Counselor Certification Board of Oregon. Prior to becoming an addiction counselor, she worked as a qualitative researcher for ten years. She melds her research experience with her counseling skills to offer a selection of individualized services. She has a lucrative private practice, Lifestyle Changes, located in Eugene, Oregon, where she offers confidential individual substance abuse counseling with a focus on people that require total anonymity for addiction treatment. She also offers Transition Coaching for family individuals planning, or experiencing, major life changes. In addition, Ms Fabry develops and presents trainings, workshops, and classes that are focused on moving-on with life. ONLINE WELLNESS ASSOCIATION is her latest endeavor to expand her knowledge and experience in the field of addiction and transitions.
Research, both online and traditional academic, is showing that online counseling is becoming a credible trend. While online sessions have been limited to written interactions, therapeutic relationships have been able to be established that have indicated high satisfaction by therapists and clients. Technological innovations are encouraging therapists to expand their practices to the virtual world of the internet. The realm of audio and video addresses many of the subtleties of the human condition that cannot be expressed in written text. This technology is not only available, but also affordable; and, this technology is adding to growth of providing wellness services on the internet.
I was able to see the value of internet counseling which I have been offering clients for almost three years. When I first started e-mail was the most efficient way of interacting with my clients in Australia and England. Then, as I started getting additional clients, I learned about online phone services that incorporated web cams; and, chat rooms for real time counseling. Somehow, in three years I had accumulated clients in Australia, England, Alaska, California, Florida, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. These clients were all by personal referral. ‘Imagine if I actually started marketing for clients’ I thought one day. In the fall of 2005 it was time to move forward with developing a website to begin expanding my online therapy sessions. Technology had caught up to counseling online—we could now view our clients in real time. And, new generations are becoming virtual community members buying products, downloading music, seeking education—it was truly time for counseling, and other wellness practices, to move into the 21st Century. Banking on my three years of internet counseling experience, I decided to embark on an on-line counseling practice. I was ready to put a website up for my own private practice: Lifestyle Changes Counseling Services. As I was doing research to register as an online counselor, I was surprised, and aghast, that there was no specific organization verifying credentials, and, no one able to assure the potential client that I am, in fact, a real counselor, with real credentials. There did not appear to be any real organization to help keep the predators away from the potential vulnerable clients, and to make the internet immediate and efficient for potential clients to chose a wellness practitioner. The idea of developing a safe platform for practitioners actually hit me in the shower the morning I decided to bag the idea of putting my practice on-line. Talk about a scary thought! I went through the pros and cons of starting a new business that I, or anyone else, had limited knowledge about: developing websites, educating why and how, marketing a virtual business, and on and on! I talked to some friends, consulted a mentor or two. After thinking about the idea for a few days, I seized the opportunity to not only move my own practice, Lifestyle Changes, into the 21st century, but to also develop a platform that would be safe for professionals to offer legitimate services, and, potential clients to find legitimate professionals. I decided I wasn’t going to do this alone—I would invite the rest of the therapeutic community to join me. Thus, ONLINE WELLNESS ASSOCIATION (OWA) was conceived.
ONLINE WELLNESS ASSOCIATION was founded as a SAFETY platform for counseling online. In recognition of the diversity of healers, I wanted to include all professions involved in providing healing services. The challenge was to come up with an immediate way for someone stressed to know that they are choosing a legitimate practitioner. I came up with the ideal of the Seal of Approval after reading about the history of the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. The OWA Seal would follow the same path as the Good Housekeeping Seal. The goal was set: A OWA Seal on every practitioner’s website page on the internet! Providing an immediate assurance to potential clients.
While the focus of ONLINE WELLNESS ASSOCIATION is SAFETY for practitioners and potential clients, I feel that we will also evolve into an information, educational, and product center for professionals to be able to access up-to-date news and products. The intention is to offer the first OWA members conference in 2008 to bring health providers, products, information, and the public together in one place—I will look forward to meeting many of our members at that time. Please know that this website will continue to develop as a result of your feedback and input.
WELCOME TO ONLINE WELLNESS ASSOCIATION, AND TO THE 21st CENTURY OF HEALING"
