Therapist West Springfield MA
About Us
Colorful Resilience is a Queer-Afro-Latina-owned outpatient mental health services office in West Springfield, Massachusetts. We proudly provide therapy – primarily, but not exclusively – to BIPOC, LGBTQ+, First Generation, and immigrant folks. For clients in the Western MA area, we offer in-person consultations and virtually for those all across Massachusetts.
Due to a lack of clinical representation and cultural competency in the mental health field, the BIPOC, LGBTQ+, First Generation, and immigrant communities have historically been underserved. Colorful Resilience hopes to remedy such disparity by ensuring all our team members are representatives of the communities we serve, fearless allies, or both. Not only utilizing education but also lived experiences to provide the most relevant behavioral health services.
Colorful Resilience: Our Mission
We strive to offer a safe and rewarding work environment in which clinicians can be their true, authentic selves to provide excellent therapeutic services to our clients.
A Letter From The Founder: Our Story
In 2016, I established a mental health private practice, marking the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey as a solo practitioner.
My practice filled up quickly as clients discovered me through the PsychologyToday.com provider directory. In my published profile, I discussed my therapeutic approach and comfort in working with immigrants, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community like myself. I quickly noticed clients sought me out primarily because of our shared identities.
In 2020, due to the mental health crisis resulting from the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, inquiries for services increased from two a day to twenty. My practice was packed, and I wondered where to refer individuals seeking support based on identity affinity. I realized then that there was a niche in the market that was not being addressed, and that is when the idea for Colorful Resilience was born.
If I were going to do this, it would be done right. My company would have multiple practitioners and be the work environment I always dreamed of. The humanity of the clinician would be front and center because happy and healthy clinicians produce better therapeutic outcomes.
I would do things differently and go against the industry standard. My clinicians would receive a guaranteed bi-monthly paycheck, with a salary that exceeds the living wage for our county, based on the MIT Living Wage Calculator. A yearly inflation raise would be essential to prevent a pay cut, and an annual productivity raise would incentivize meeting productivity goals. Both part-time and full-time employees would have access to health and dental care, and a 401k. Additionally, the company would reimburse continuing education credits, as 15 CEs are required annually to maintain our licenses.
Burnout is a significant issue in the mental health field, leading to frequent turnover and a mass exodus from the profession. I recognize that establishing reasonable and sustainable productivity expectations is crucial. Furthermore, supporting and encouraging clinicians to attain their private practices is essential for maximizing their earnings and increasing representation from these communities in the field. In other words, my team members were not leaving Colorful Resilience because we were a lousy employer but because they were ready to self-actualize professionally.
On February 2022, Colorful Resilience LLC became a registered business entity, and in August of that year, we started seeing clients. In 2024, according to the Boston Business Journal, Colorful Resilience became the 27th largest LGBT-owned business in MA. So far, over 3,000 people have had access to care because we exist.
At Colorful Resilience, we believe that outpatient mental health care is a cornerstone of primary care. When individuals receive the right support at this level, they are far less likely to require more intensive and costly interventions such as partial hospitalization, inpatient care, or residential treatment. By providing accessible, culturally competent and effective mental health services, we help keep overall healthcare costs down while ensuring our communities thrive.
Unlike organizations that rely on government grants, Colorful Resilience is a self-sustaining business that contributes to the economy—we pay taxes, create jobs, and invest in the well-being of our clients, team and communities. Businesses like ours play a vital role in strengthening both individual resilience and the broader American economy.
Thank you for being here and for considering Colorful Resilience as part of your journey. We are honored to support you.
With gratitude,
Mayrena Guerrero, LMHC
Founder & CEO
