Asking for help isn’t always easy.
The Cabin, a nonprofit counseling and resource center based in Zionsville, has spent the past quarter-century trying to fill that need for Boone and Hamilton county residents.
“Often, when folks have a mental health issue, only about 40 percent of adults and 50 percent of children and teens pursue care,” said founder, executive director and licensed marriage and family therapist Deidra Rausch.
The Cabin opened in 1999 at Zionsville Presbyterian Church with two providers. Rausch became executive director in 2002, and in 2010 The Cabin became an independent nonprofit organization.
After several years of growth, the organization expanded services, opening an office in Westfield in 2019 and Lebanon in 2022.
Rausch said the pandemic created an increase in need for its services. The Cabin added 10 additional therapists and a second Zionsville location during the pandemic before opening The Retreat in downtown Zionsville in 2021.
“It is a space we use for 25 or fewer, we really at that point started to cultivate our organizational wellness services,” she said. “In June of 2021, we had a small business approach us. Their employees were being tasked to come back physically and they were experiencing a fair amount of anxiety. So, we created some programming throughout the course of that year for teams.”
Rausch said cost and access are the primary reasons why people don’t reach out for help when they need it. The Cabin works to bridge that gap with assistance from the Samaritan Fund.
“Because costs can prevent folks from pursuing care, about 30 percent of those who receive care at The Cabin qualify for Samaritan Fund assistance,” she said. “It’s all calculated based on gross income, number of individuals in the household and we utilize the federal poverty scale to determine what the fee is that the client will pay. That can be as low as $38 for a session.”
The Cabin fundraises for those assistance dollars. This year’s goal is $225,000. Rausch said The Cabin is approaching the $2 million mark for money raised for the Samaritan Fund over the past 25 years.
This year’s main fundraiser, Shining a Light on Mental Health, is from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Nov. 16 at West Fork Whiskey in Westfield. The Cabin also relies on individual donations throughout the year.
“That really has allowed us to continue to offer that Samaritan Fund assistance,” Rausch said.
One message The Cabin hopes to spread as it celebrates its 25th anniversary — mental wellness affects everyone.
“There is a misperception that only people who are hanging on by their bloody fingernails need to come to therapy,” Rausch said. “That certainly is a moment where we can help. But whenever you look at wellness, it’s multidimensional; physical, psychological/mental, spiritual, social, occupational and environmental. If any of those aspects are not in balance, it can cause anxiety, depression, loneliness, all of those characteristics that I think are emotions that most of us experience. Mental health just means that you’re functioning optimally in all the aspects of your life. It’s hard to find what mental wellness is, because it’s different for everyone. But, making sure you’re as healthy at managing your emotions as you can be.”
Rausch said clients range in age from 4 to 100.
The Cabin employs 25 clinical providers, a life coach and a dietician. Providers include licensed social workers, licensed clinical social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists and licensed mental health counselors. Providers offer talk therapy, adventure (outdoor) therapy, art therapy and trauma therapy.
Learn more at thecabin.org.
