How Creative Counseling Keeps Its Team Connected on Spruce

Creative Counseling and Studio has served primarily BIPOC clients in Omaha, Nebraska since 2019, blending in-person and telehealth care. Its team is licensed in Nebraska but spread across the country, so Spruce is how they stay coordinated: welcoming new clients by text, paging teammates to sort out insurance and clinical questions, and letting patients reach any staff member by phone, text, or fax. Owner Yasmin Tucker calls Spruce a lifeline for keeping the practice open, efficient, and patient-first.

What kind of work do you do?

Creative Counseling and Studio is a hybrid in-person and telehealth mental health clinic in Omaha, Nebraska, providing services primarily to BIPOC clients since April 2019. We provide person-centered mental health and addiction recovery services seven days a week. Our clients benefit from a diverse treatment team that provides telehealth and face-to-face services for individuals, couples, and families of all ages and backgrounds struggling with anything from anxiety and depression, to attachment issues, behavior problems and post-traumatic stress. Our clinic specializes in art therapy, EMDR, DBT, CBT, TF-CBT, Smart Recovery, REBT, and Gottman’s Couples therapy. 

What first brought you to Spruce?

I have been a therapist for seven years and I was first introduced to Spruce by a fellow therapist and Spruce user, Stephanie Sorum, the owner of Aim Forward Counseling in Omaha, Nebraska. As a former colleague and private practice mentor, I trusted her input on finding a HIPAA-complaint platform that makes access to services easy for clients and is 21^st century-friendly. I knew I needed the ability to text, call, fax, and triage with my team on-the-go and in remote settings.

How do you use Spruce at work?

Our team of 13 staff use Spruce to introduce and welcome clients to the clinic. We send an initial welcome text message directing the clients to our online client portal through the electronic health records system, Therapy Notes. On Therapy Notes, clients can complete their intake forms 100% paperless on any mobile device with internet. Spruce invitations are also sent to all patients for them to create their own free account. The purpose for their account is to serve as a backup telehealth option in the event our main EHR is not working or is out of range. We want to make sure we have second and third options for telehealth sessions. 

In addition, we use Spruce’s internal messaging between team members to coordinate their insurance verifications, answer questions related to patient costs, and problem-solve any clinical treatment issues. Therapists and administrators within our team are licensed in Nebraska but live across the country. Patients and community members can call and connect to any staff person via their phone extension and get their needs met! With the ability to connect anytime, Spruce has been a lifeline in keeping our practice open, efficient, and patient-first. We love Spruce, it provides our team and patients a central hub for connecting and getting the critical mental health care done. 

What is your favorite Spruce feature?

My favorite feature on Spruce is the internal messaging or “Yellow Sticky Note” as we call it internally—the ability to page teammates. This streamlines specific questions and needs for specific patients and specific team members. I am a fan of to-do lists and the paging function makes it easy to keep track of all the varying needs of the practice. In addition, the internal notes and paging enables the team to build rapport with one another without the cumbersome need for being in the office or scheduling excessive online meetings. We have all learned throughout the COVID-19 pandemic that workers have reclaimed their time and want freedom of choice for their work environment. Spruce has enabled us to individually structure our time and work when and where we want. As a practice owner who formally worked in community agencies, it was important to cultivate autonomy of time for myself and those who work with me. Spruce has made that happen—we are living the dream! 

What do you like to do most when you’re not working?

When not working, I enjoy hanging out at home with my husband and children. I also enjoy going out dancing with my family and friends. My favorite activity that I hope to return to soon once COVID-19 has made its way into human history is traveling! The furthest from home that I have been is Sydney, Australia, and I cannot wait to visit there and more places soon. I am also an avid painter, I enjoy making mixed media small paintings, as well as teaching paint and sip classes a few times a year. Thank you for the is opportunity to be featured on Spruce and all that you do! 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Spruce a good fit for a hybrid in-person and telehealth therapy practice?
Yes. Whether a client comes into the office or joins by video, with Spruce, their calls, texts, secure messages, and video visits all land in the same thread, so a hybrid practice can keep one continuous record of each client instead of juggling separate tools for in-person and virtual care.

How does a care team that works remotely stay coordinated on Spruce?
Through secure team chat, internal paging, assignments, and internal notes, teammates working from different locations can connect to sort out appointments, insurance verifications, billing questions, or clinical issues without needing to share an office.

Is Spruce HIPAA-compliant?
Spruce supports HIPAA-compliant communications across phone, texting, faxing, and telehealth. Every eligible Spruce organization automatically receives a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA) as part of the terms of service, with no separate agreement, opt-in, or additional fees required. You electronically agree to the Spruce BAA when you create an organization on Spruce, and you can review this agreement in our terms of service.

You can learn even more about Creative Counseling and Studio on Facebook and Instagram at @creative_counseling_studio.

New to Spruce? Try it FREE for 14 days: https://l.sprucehealth.com/startspruce