Brookhaven Counseling Group, located at 519 West Monticello Street by Friends Kitchen, celebrated a ribbon cutting Friday morning. Co-Owners Erin King, Bobbie Gordon and Brandie Kohn were able to see their vision come to reality.

Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce president Garrick Combs said the group has done a great job remodeling and refurbishing the building for the purpose of counseling. It was once an open floor plan and was a former furniture and mattress store. 

Gordon said the space was 1,000 square feet of multi-colored titles and had some wasted space. They were able to replace the ceiling tiles and put down a wood floor. Her realtor Blake Sasser, with Southern Oak Properties, said the remodel was able to transform the space and recapture wasted areas. The space has six offices, a lobby, reception and a kitchen. 

King helped with the interior design work to transform the space. She said once they started demolition and working to remodel it was when she was able to see her vision. 

“We created our own space from scratch. We had a vision the whole time to make this feel at home and cozy,” King said. “It was nice to be able to do that. We all put our own little touch on it in our offices.” 

Gordon’s office featured a couch, a desk, a reading chair, a book shelf, a marbled lamp and paintings. One depicted the rock face of a mountain and the other an amber grass field with what looked to be a pond, trees in the background and perhaps a stone wall. 

The plan from the start was to make patients feel at home. King said she was worried the space wouldn’t have the curb appeal she desired but on the inside the space comes to life. 

A patient at the ribbon cutting said the move to the new space is a positive change. The environment promotes counseling work to be carried out. 

“I’ve seen growth. It is a comforting space. You can unload what is on your mind, what you are going there and there is no judgment,” the patient said. “You can be open and vulnerable and those feelings are valued. You are able to learn how to work through things and face things and you are able to realize you can get through it.” 

Kohn said the office they had before in downtown Brookhaven was a great space. The main difference in the move is they have full ownership of this building while they had rented beforehand. 

The move has allowed them to expand their staff. 

“We have worked hard and moved around a lot so we wanted a permanent home. It was a spitball idea and it took off,” Kohn said. “We were growing and it made sense. We wanted the permanency.” 

One of the members on staff is nurse practitioner Kasie Holmes. She is able to see people for anything but mainly does evaluations for ADHD and other disorders. Holmes additionally handles medication management and can work with thyroids and general health stuff all around.