Our Team

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New Beginnings Counseling Center LLC (NBCC) located in Madison, WI, was founded in 2017 by Frederick Harris. Frederick noticed there was a lack of diverse providers in Dane County and many agencies were ethnocentric in their services to culturally diverse populations, which resulted in treatment approaches that were color-blind. To address the underutilization of mental health services by minorities, which continues to be an ongoing issue in the behavioral health field, Fred offered low-cost, self-pay, therapeutic services to children, adults, and families of marginalized groups. 

As the Executive Clinical Director and Founder of New Beginnings Counseling Center, LLC Frederick began his career twenty years ago as a case manager in Toledo, OH, at a maximum-security prison providing services to incarcerated men of color and reunifying them with their families. His journey started working in the criminal justice system; where he served a diverse population comprised of substance abuse, mental health, homelessness, transitions, family dynamics, and criminal behavior. He has had great opportunities to develop restorative and rehabilitation programs, managed in-patient, and outpatient programs for co-occurring disorders, and provided clinical therapy to adolescents and adults from all cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. His direct, warm, and honest approach has been effective in building and maintaining therapeutic relationships.

Frederick holds two marginalized identities, being a person of color and gay. Frederick brings a deep understanding of multicultural, sexuality, and other identity issues, where he offers a multidimensional perspective and insights from different populations and personal life experiences. His clinical training includes an array of treatment modalities, which he finds to be important because his belief is that one single approach does not work for every individual. People with marginalized identities are seeking therapy from therapists they can identify with, relate to, and feel safe with. NBCC aims to incorporate staff that are diverse, hold marginalized identities, and are representative of the client populations we serve.

There are many barriers to receiving therapy including, but not limited to, affordability, access to culturally competent care, and the stigma of mental health issues. In addressing these barriers, New Beginnings Counseling Center, LLC provides culturally specific services and broaches dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, and culture during the counseling process. Also, by giving attention to these identities and the intersectionality of clients. New Beginnings Counseling Center, LLC addresses the barrier to receiving culturally competent care, in hopes that the clients feel validated and affirmed.