What We Do
Redefining Who Has Access to Care
Traditionally, mental health care has been limited to those with time, money, connections, and insurance. Resonate Joy exists to see a different reality come true.
Our Two-Fold Approach
To build a different reality, we must address the crisis from two sides
Empowering the people who provide care and removing the barriers for those who receive it.
Education
Cultivating a Trauma-Informed World
We believe that mental health support shouldn't just live in a therapist’s office; it belongs in the streets, schools, and communities where life happens.
How we do it:
We make mental health education accessible by meeting people where they are—using digital platforms to spark everyday conversations about mental wellness.
We provide specialized training to leaders and organizations working in underserved areas, equipping them with the tools of trauma-informed care. As a result, every interaction becomes an opportunity for healing.
Scholarships
Removing the Price Tag on Healing
We are dismantling the financial barriers that prevent both therapists from practicing and patients from healing.
How we do it:
Through our scholarship model, we fund the high cost of clinical residencies, allowing emerging therapists to gain their license while getting paid.
In return, these residents provide high-quality, reduced-fee sessions to the communities who have traditionally been excluded from the care system. We don't just fund sessions; we fund a sustainable cycle of access and equity.
Our Core Initiatives
Our Multi-Faceted Approach to Exanding Access
We provide scholarships and support to emerging therapists, connect communities to affordable therapy, and combat stigma through mental health education and partnerships.
Clinical Residency Program
We partner with local therapy practices that host our clinical residents: we provide scholarships and support, they provide training. Traditionally, the path to professional licensure is a financial burden that limits who is able to enter the field; we remove that barrier through our scholarships and partnership.
Our initial partnership model was developed with Optimum Joy Counseling, and we are working towards expanding the number of training site partnerships.
For the Resident
Access to expert mentorship and the financial resources to develop specialized skills.
For the Community
Quality, income-based therapy sessions for under-resourced clients who have been excluded from traditional care.
For the System
A growing pipeline of diverse, highly-trained professionals ready to foster long-term community healing.
“[My therapist] made me feel so seen and known as I processed painful parts of my story. I felt less alone, more understood, and walked away with more clarity and awareness into how my past pain and trauma was speaking into my present experiences. This was huge for me to gain these insights as I continue to heal and move forward.”
–Clinical Resident’s Client
Global Women’s Narrative Project
In partnership with the Oxford Initiative for Global Ethics & Human Rights, we work to amplify women’s stories. These are often in regions where their voices have been systematically silenced by law, war, or religion. While the project drives global policy change, Resonate Joy provides the essential clinical framework to ensure that storytelling becomes a catalyst for personal healing and larger systemic impact.
Trauma-Informed Training
We train interviewers to be trauma-informed so that collecting stories can be done safely and respectfully.
Field-Based Expertise
We send therapists on narrative collection fieldwork trips so that they can be on the ground resources to both the interviewers and people sharing their story.
Local Partnerships
We don't work in isolation
By partnering with established local leaders, we extend our reach to the heart of the communities that need care most.
GRIP Outreach for Youth
We support this Chicago-based mentorship program in their mission to serve students in under-resourced communities.
Direct Care
We connect youth and their families to discounted therapy through our clinical residents.
Capacity Building
We have conducted mental health trainings for GRIP staff, equipping them with the tools to support mentors and students during their most critical developmental years.
Join the Ripple Effect
Your Support Directly Funds Healing
Your support directly funds scholarships for emerging therapists and mental health education for communities. Whether locally in Chicago or globally through our narrative projects, every gift creates lasting change.
Donate Now
Every $60 of scholarship to residents provides one week of care to clients.
Stay Informed
Not ready to give? Join our community to receive updates on our residents, partnerships, and the impact of your support.