We had the good fortune of connecting with Holly Han and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Holly, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
So often affordable long term depth oriented therapy is not available to underserved and marginalized populations. This particular business was hatched out a desire to bring that service to the members of our community who traditionally do not or cannot access that type of service.

What should our readers know about your business?
Malama is a Hawaiian word that means to care for and protect. and this is at the core of our business. The Malama Collective is a non profit community mental health clinic dedicated to both psychoanalytically informed therapy and serving marginalized and underserved members of our community. This is a unique nexus in community mental health as most often community mental health is focused on short term treatment and intervention. What research and anecdotal evidence point to however is that sustained support over the long term is what leads to long lasting change. We are very excited about the ability to offer these unique services to our community.

Like with most businesses it starts with an idea and a hope that the idea will take root and bear fruit. There were long hours spent in discussion and planning about the best way to deliver these services and at almost a year in we continue to do much of the same celebrating our accomplishments and learning from inevitable mistakes. The ability to stay the course and believe in your mission while being flexible are of paramount importance.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is a difficult question because there are so many things to do, see, and eat in SoCal! A visit would include The Hollywood Bowl and a picnic and concert under the stars, Crystal Cove and drinks at sunset at The Beachcomber, a ride on Angel’s Flight to a feast at the Grand Central Market, if it’s cool enough a hike in the San Gabriel mountains and then heading over to Monterey Park to sample delicious dim sum, hitting a private karaoke studio in K town and then eating some Korean food would definitely be thrown in there too, so many more….

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shoutout goes to the other founding members of The Malama Collective, Dr. Rochelle Green, Lisa Maurel, and Dr. Allie Merrick.

Website: themalamacollective.com

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