Announcing our New Course for the 2026
Mental Health Matters Walk/Run!
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We're excited to unveil the brand-new route for this year's Mental Health Matters 5K on the UNC Asheville campus! Runners and walkers will start on the track, energized by the Start/Finish line and Health & Resource Fair, before heading out on a scenic three-lap loop through campus with mile markers along the way. Expect moderately hilly terrain with gentle climbs and descents past campus buildings and scenery, then a strong finish back on the track where you started.
Have you signed up yet? There's still time to WALK or RUN the 5K (or take a relaxed lap around the track), VOLUNTEER to help make race day happen, or join our HEALTH AND RESOURCE FAIR to connect with local community partners. Mark your calendars, lace up your shoes, and register now for $30 before prices go up — walkers/runners 22 and younger participate free! Click the link below to sign up today.
| | August is National Wellness Month | | |
Happy National Wellness Month! August is the perfect time to slow down and prioritize self-care and stress reduction—especially amid the demands of work, family, or education.
One helpful tool is the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), a self-directed system built on five core principles: hope, personal responsibility, education, self-advocacy, and support. It's a personalized plan that includes a wellness toolbox, daily routines, early warning signs, action steps, and crisis planning. Flexible and adaptable, WRAP helps you manage symptoms, build healthy habits, and prepare for tough times.
Click the link below to learn how to add WRAP to your life!
| | Mark your calendars! Midway through National Wellness Month, tune into our podcast for Therapy 101 Pt. 3: Wellness Action Recovery Plans, where we'll dive into adding a WRAP to your daily life. We'll break down how this simple, personalized tool can help you build healthier habits, manage stress, and feel more prepared for life's ups and downs. Don't miss it; click the link below! | | |
The 4th Annual Mental Health Matters 5K is just around the corner, and we're looking for volunteers to help make race day a success!
If you've been looking for a meaningful way to give back to your community, come join us! Volunteer opportunities are available in a variety of roles and time slots, so there's something that works for everyone.
As a thank you, every volunteer receives a FREE t-shirt with our brand new 2026 race graphic and snacks & refreshments throughout the morning. Click the link below to register!
| | The 2nd Annual Big Wiener Party was a Blast! | | |
What a day! On Saturday, July 25th, our team had such a great time at Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ’s Big Wiener Party, an outrageously fun hot dog showdown in the heart of Asheville’s South Slope.
The event wasn’t just about laughs and loaded dogs. It was about supporting mental health in our community. Nearly 600 people attended the event, and the amount raised more than doubled last year's total! Proceeds from the day benefit Bear’s Foundation’s Linked4Life initiative, which funds 6 free sessions of mental health counseling for individuals in Asheville’s food and beverage industry through All Souls Counseling Center. As of July 23rd, 62 clients have been served with 289 sessions from 45 different restaurants!
A huge thank you to Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ, Linked4Life, the Asheville Comedy Festival Comics for the hilarious commentary, and everyone who came out to eat, cheer, and make a difference. Together, we can make a difference for our food and beverage workers in Buncombe County.
| | New Faces on Staff at the Center! | |
Welcome, Elizabeth Corbett, LCMHC!
Elizabeth joins us as a part-time therapist for our Asheville and Burnsville clients, specializing in trauma/PTSD, grief and loss, anxiety, stress, and depression—especially for parents, caregivers, and those in helping professions. After 20 years as a NICU and pediatric nurse in Atlanta, she became a therapist after seeing firsthand the mental health gaps facing caregivers of children with complex needs. We are so excited to have you, Elizabeth!
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Welcome, Elizabeth Likis, PhD, LCMHCS!
Elizabeth joins us as one of ASCC's new part-time therapists, available for our Swannanoa and Asheville clients. We have been lucky enough to have Elizabeth on our team for a few years now, as she has been working as one of our contract therapists! Elizabeth offers individual, couples, and group sessions for her clients. We are so excited for Elizabeth to join our part-time staff, and we can't wait for her to continue her work with ASCC in this new role. Welcome, Elizabeth!
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Welcome, Rachel Potter!
We're thrilled to welcome Rachel, the newest member of our team, as the Community-Based Program Manager! Originally from upstate New York, she earned her bachelor's degree in Community Health from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and has called the Asheville area home for 10 years. Rachel is passionate about ensuring everyone has access to quality, compassionate care. Outside of work, she enjoys time with family, board games, reading, and the outdoors—especially swimming and gardening. Welcome, Rachel!
| | | Thank You to the Red Cross Grant! | | All Souls wants to thank the American Red Cross for awarding us a grant that allowed us to welcome amazing new staff members to our team. Thanks to this support, All Souls can further our commitment to providing affordable, accessible care across Western North Carolina. With Rachel building new connections in rural communities and our new therapists expanding care for our clients, this funding is already making a real difference and will help us grow access to care even more. Thank you, Red Cross! | |
Highlighting our Partnership with
WNC Episcopal Diocese
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All Souls Counseling Center, rooted in Western North Carolina for 26 years, has partnered with the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina to bring mental health care directly into communities hit hardest by Hurricane Helene. Through the "embedded therapist" model, clinicians are placed on-site at trusted partner sites, like First Baptist Church, the Reconciliation House in Burnsville, and Church of the Transfiguration in the Chimney Rock/Bat Cave area, meeting people where they already are rather than asking them to seek out care on their own. Funded in part by Episcopal Relief & Development and the Diocese, the initiative reflects a shared belief that recovery is a team effort, and it's already changing lives in communities that have long faced barriers to mental health support.
To watch the video and learn more about our partnership, click the link below.
| | Thank You for Supporting ASCC! | | |
WE DID IT! Thanks to our supporters' incredible generosity, we surpassed our Spring Appeal goal and raised $32,711 for mental health care in WNC. Every dollar means someone gets the support they deserve, regardless of their insurance status.
Thank you for showing up for your community. We are so grateful for your investment in our mission to provide accessible and affordable mental health care for our region!
| | Coming Together for Community Meals | | |
On Tuesday, July 14th, All Souls had the privilege of hosting our 16th community meal in Waynesville. We are so grateful to The Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center for hosting ASCC for a great Community Dinner! The event was a great turnout, with around 40 community members joining us as Adam led a session about breathing for stress management. It was amazing to see the Waynesville community come together for meaningful conversations about resilience and self-care.
We are so thankful to have partnered with the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center, whose mission is to bring neighbors together as family through intentional inclusiveness and a shared commitment to quality of life for all.
ASCC continues to be grateful for the opportunity to expand our services throughout WNC!
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On Wednesday, July 29th, All Souls held our 17th community meal in Swannanoa! A huge thank you to ArtSpace Charter School for opening their doors to us and letting us host our lunch in their space. Participants enjoyed a delicious lunch catered by Okie Dokies Smokehouse BBQ. Almost 40 people joined us for lunch and connected, engaging in conversations about mental health and wellbeing!
Our Swannanoa therapist, Elizabeth Likis, led the group through grounding exercises to help connect our bodies back to our minds. Thank you, Elizabeth, for providing amazing tools that we can use in our daily lives!
We were so excited to partner with Swannanoa Communities Together for this community meal. Thank you, SCT, for the amazing and much-needed work you provide for individuals in Swannanoa. ASCC is so excited to offer our services to Swannanoa in the near future!
| | Meredith recently sat down with Melanie Wilkinson on Asheville Media Group's Mix 96.5 Podcast to talk about the vital role ASCC plays in the WNC community and to spread the word about our Mental Health Matters 5k Walk/Run for Awareness this September! It was wonderful to shine a light on our sliding-scale and free services in rural counties. As Meredith shared, "it's important we are showing up in places where we know there is a scarcity of services so that we are removing as many barriers as possible." Getting the word out about ASCC's work across Western North Carolina means everything to us, and we're so grateful to Asheville Media Group for having us on the show. Click the link below to listen to the podcast! | | Thank you Crane ChemPharma and Energy! | | |
Meredith and Mary pictured at the check presentation with Crane team members (from L to R)
Senior HR Manager Ken Koesters, Painter Cecil Burrell, and Site Leader Dan Lapp.
| | Each year, Crane ChemPharma and Energy, with a manufacturing plant in Marion, NC, gives back generously to the community, and the summer recipients are selected after an employee nomination process to identify non-profits doing good in their community. We were selected again this year and could not be more grateful for the $3,400 donation through the Crane Charitable Fund to support outreach, therapy work, and mental health education initiatives here at All Souls. Thank you, Marion Crane and team members! | | |
All Souls Counseling Center (ASCC) | 828-259-3369 | allsoulscounseling.org
ASCC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization (EIN: 56-2200862).
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