Although we are very well cared for within our organization, you may feel like you need some additional and professional help in coping with the challenges you’re facing.

Many hesitate before reaching out to a mental health professional. They worry about not being understood, being encouraged to adopt worldly thinking, or being exposed to approaches that may violate their Bible-trained conscience.

As fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses, we offer mental health coaching that’s in line with our beliefs and Bible principles.

We combine Cognitive Behavioral Coaching, nervous system work, and somatic work to support you through anxiety, depression, and trauma.

Is Mended Mind Coaching Right for You?

We work best with people who are otherwise doing well (working, raising a family, active in their congregation) but who are struggling with something specific and want real tools to work through it.

We also work alongside people who already have other support in place, like a doctor or psychiatrist. We never want to be anyone’s only source of care.

How We Help

What We Help With

Clients come to us dealing with things like:

• Anxiety that won’t let up: racing thoughts, constant worry, a body that won’t settle
• Depression that’s flattened your motivation or made it hard to feel like yourself
• Panic that shows up out of nowhere and derails your day
• Intrusive, repetitive thoughts that feel impossible to shake
• The lingering weight of a difficult or painful experience
• A nervous system that feels stuck, either always on edge or shut down and numb
• Communication struggles that are straining a marriage or relationship

If what you’re carrying doesn’t fit neatly into this list, reach out anyway.

Part of a first consultation is figuring out, together, whether we’re the right fit. If we’re not, we’ll help you find someone who is.

Our Approach: Three Methods, Working Together

We use a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, somatic work, and Nervous System Regulation. That’s the mind, the body, and the systems connecting them, all working together.

Here’s what each one does.

CBT: Working With Your Thinking

CBT is an evidence-based approach to mental and emotional wellbeing that actually works. It’s the gold standard, built on a simple idea: how you interpret life’s events shapes how you feel.

It’s not the situations in our lives that cause distress, but rather our interpretations of those situations.

Aaron T. Beck

Rather than digging through the past, CBT focuses on your current thoughts and beliefs. Together, we identify, challenge, and change the thinking patterns holding you back.

We do this by:

• Recognizing and reevaluating distorted thinking
• Understanding the motivations and behaviors of others
• Building confidence in your own abilities
• Developing problem-solving skills for challenging situations

CBT also works on behavior directly:

• Facing fears instead of avoiding them
• Role-playing challenging interactions
• Learning to calm your mind and body

Somatics: Working With Your Body

Somatic work is a body-centered approach that focuses on the connection between body and mind. It uses:

• Grounding techniques
• Body awareness
• Physical movement
• Emotional release
• Mindfulness

It’s especially effective for trauma, anxiety, and depression.

Backed by research: a tsunami trauma study found 90% of participants saw significant improvement after receiving somatic therapy.

Depression often brings a sense of disconnection: numbness, or feeling “not like yourself.”

Somatic work reconnects body and mind. It helps you notice how depression shows up physically and work through it from there. Often, that improves your ability to recognize your own emotional needs in the moment.

Nervous System Reboot: Working With Your Vagus Nerve

Our vagus nerve is understood by many to be the main communication line between your brain and body. It’s what allows the mind to talk to the body, and the body to talk back.

When it’s functioning well, it becomes easier to heal both emotionally and physically, and easier to think clearly about your own thoughts and behaviors.

A well-regulated nervous system doesn’t just help you feel calmer in the moment. It changes how well you’re able to step back and evaluate your own thinking.

That’s exactly what makes CBT more effective, and what gives you the clarity to work on behaviors you’re not okay with.

Think of It Like a Smoke Detector

For most people, the nervous system is well calibrated. It stays quiet when things are calm and goes off when there’s real danger.

After years of stress or difficult experiences, it can get miscalibrated. It starts going off over “burnt toast,” meaning everyday life, the same way it would for a real threat. People tend to get stuck in one of two states:

• An overly sensitive alarm: irritability, trouble sleeping, quick to snap into fight-or-flight
• An alarm that has shut off: shutdown and disconnection

Nervous System Reboot works by recalibrating that detector, so it’s reading safety and danger accurately again.

Two Ways We Support Regulation

• Simple self-guided exercises you can practice on your own.
• Nervous System Reboot, our structured program using the Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP) and Rest & Restore Protocol (RRP). Both were developed from decades of research into the vagus nerve and nervous system.

The two protocols have different aims:

• SSP is aimed at helping you feel safer connecting with others, less prone to feeling shut down, and less on edge in everyday interactions.
• RRP focuses on supporting deeper rest and recovery from prolonged or chronic stress.

Both are audio-based, delivered by a mobile app over headphones. Most people notice shifts gradually rather than immediately.

Why We Combine Them

We started with CBT alone. But a meaningful number of clients weren’t seeing the results we felt they should. That changed once we began incorporating somatic work and nervous system regulation.

The improvement was dramatic.

Our approach is built on the idea that what happens to us in life is stored not just in the mind, but in the body and nervous system too.

Combining physical awareness, nervous system regulation, and a discussion of your feelings gives you a more comprehensive, holistic path to healing.

What It Takes

After you complete our intake forms, we’ll build a coaching schedule that fits you:

• Number of sessions: generally 12 to 20
• How often: once or twice a week
• Session length: 50 minutes
• Between sessions: a short at-home assignment, usually about 10 minutes a day. It’s key to your progress.

Led by Someone Who’s Done This Work Since 2003

Mended Mind is led by Deseree Maes, who holds a master’s degree in psychology and has worked in mental health since 2003.

Beyond her master’s degree, she’s completed well over 100 hours of specialized training in cognitive-behavioral methods, somatic work, and nervous system regulation. She personally trains every coach on our team.

Meet the full team →

Why Not Just See a Local Therapist?

A licensed local therapist can be a good option. But most weren’t trained with your beliefs in mind.

Many Witnesses have hesitated to seek help specifically because of that gap. They worry about not being understood, being nudged toward worldly thinking, or being guided through practices that don’t sit right with a Bible-trained conscience.

We started Mended Mind Coaching to close that gap.

• We’re fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses. Not “faith-friendly” or “open to” your beliefs. We live within the same framework you do, so you won’t need to explain or defend your worldview before you can get to the actual work.
• This is our niche, not a side specialty. Every client we coach is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses working through anxiety, depression, or trauma. We’re not adapting a general practice to fit you. The whole practice is built around this from the ground up.
• Our approach is refined, not generic. Combining CBT, somatic work, and Nervous System Reboot into one integrated program came from years of real client outcomes, not a textbook.
• Our clients put it better than we can. You can read their experiences in their own words on our testimonials page.

A Few Things Worth Knowing

• Mended Mind Coaching provides coaching, not therapy or clinical treatment.
• Nobody on our team holds a clinical license, and we don’t diagnose or prescribe.
• We work with clients across the United States and internationally by video call.
• We don’t bill insurance directly, though some U.S. clients use HSA/FSA funds toward sessions.

Ready to make changes?