Therapy. Consultation. Innovation.

1.

Consulting & Systems Transformation

Integrating therapy into non-traditional settings is the future of behavioral health care. My mission is to help your organization build trauma-informed, accessible systems that deliver high-quality integrated behavioral health services.

Let me help you transform your system, agency, or community.

2.

Individual Psychotherapy

Everyone has periods of emotional hardship and strife. It is a part of the human condition to feel sad, anxious, grief, or despair, and to seek healing.
I have my own private practice where I provide individual therapy using a trauma-informed, attachment, and solution-focused approach. I see clients both in-person and virtually from my Dupont Circle office location.

Check out my profile on Psychology Today to learn more or e-mail me if you'd like to set up a 20-minute consultation.

3.

Training & Education

I am available to provide trainings, seminars, and educational curricula focused on the complex issues surrounding behavioral health. Either individually or through the collective Rooting Resilience, I am passionate about bringing behavioral health and trauma-informed care best practices to human service organizations.

About Me

My name is Gretchen Gates, and I am a Licensed Social Worker in both Washington, DC and Maryland. I have more than a decade of experience providing therapy, building and scaling integrated social service programs, innovating the way we deliver health services, and increasing access to care.

As a founding member of Back On My Feet DC, I supported increasing the self-sufficiency of individuals experiencing homelessness by engaging participants in running. At Mary's Center, I was a School-Based Mental Health clinician and a part of the initial movement to bring therapy services into DC public & charter schools. Later, I supported the growth of the Integrated Behavioral Health and Medication Assisted Treatment programs as a clinician, manager, and director.

I have extensive experience developing and implementing trainings, meeting facilitation, educational presentations, and learning communities on a variety of topics including (but not limited to): Behavioral Health Integration, Primary Care Screening & Brief Intervention, Trauma-Informed Care, SBIRT, Opioid Use Disorder & Medication Assisted Treatment, De-Escalation & Behavior Management, and more.

In 2018 I was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, and the experience has been deeply intertwined in my clinical and consultation work since. I am a firm believer that everyone has their own trauma - medical diagnoses, abusive relationships, loss - and we all need access to trained professionals who can help us recover and heal.

Outside of work, I enjoy running, spending time with my family, gardening, biking, cooking, and traveling.

My Approach

In zen Buddhism, the enso circle simultaneously demonstrates wholeness and imperfection, simplicity and complexity, and strength and vulnerability. These competing concepts are found in all of us, and recognizing the complexity of the human spirit and condition is the first step toward improving behavioral health services.

I started Enso Integrated Health because I believe that the future of healthcare involves balancing dialectical concepts: using existing systems to increase equitable access to care, uplifting the importance of behavioral health care within a culture that prioritizes physical health, and shifting the emphasis away from "illness" and toward trauma, strength, and resilience-focused services.

I'm eager to work with you using these concepts to transform your life, organization, and/or community.

1.

Elevate behavioral health to the same level of importance as physical health

2.

Educate on the impact & pervasiveness of trauma

3.

Increase access to behavioral health services for all

4.

Empower clients to see themselves as the experts on their own lives & experiences

5.

Focus on healing & innovation as ongoing processes

Consulting Projects

I have designed and implemented a number of projects throughout the country that have supported behavioral health treatment integration. These projects include:

Leading year-long Learning Communities with a focus on Innovation of Behavioral Health Integration and Substance Abuse Treatment
Working with Primary Care Associations to improve health center delivery of services
Conducting training and educational seminars on a variety of topics including (but not limited to):
- Behavioral Health Integration
- Primary Care Screening & Brief Intervention
- Trauma-Informed Care
- SBIRT
- Opioid Use Disorder & Medication Assisted Treatment
- De-Escalation & Behavior Management
- Motivational Interviewing

I've been featured in Psychotherapy Networker, discussing the importance of behavioral health integration into primary care and, in particular, The Warm Handoff. Most recently, I was interviewed on the Podcast In the Field, discussing my approach to therapy and the importance of integration.

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