This business spotlight post was written by Nicholas Hunter, Owner of the up-and-coming counseling service in Cincinnati, The Peace Well.  He shares his story along with 5 Ways To Avoid Panic Attacks.  Your comments are appreciated!

Find Peace In A Chaotic World – The Peace Well

The Peace Well is a growing counseling practice located in North College Hill.

Owned by Nicholas Hunter, a Licensed Professional Counselor and North College Hill resident, the private practice has grown to become a team of 4 professionals who are trying to help Cincinnati be the most mentally healthy city on the planet. They offer in-person and telehealth counseling. 

Small Team – Big Diversity

“I hope to one day have a team that covers every specialty in mental health,” says owner Nicholas Hunter. “We’re not quite there yet, but we’ve built an amazing team so far that covers a lot of what people need.” 

A glance at the team’s page – www.thepeacewell.com/team – shows the diversity of gender, race, age, and specialties that this team offers.

Nicholas’s first hire was a female counselor, Holly, who has gone on to specialize in treating partners of sex addicts and victims of infidelity. She has also sought out extensive trauma training that she brings along with her empathetic approach. 

cincinnati counseling services The Peace Well

He next sought out a couples counselor, knowing that with over 2 million people in the Great Cincinnati area, there are many relationships that could use a boost of healing and coping skills. Sami joined the team for this purpose and is currently training under the Gottman Institute, an esteemed couples counseling training organization. 

The most recent hire was Charles, who has over 20 years of experience and has worked extensively with families and at-risk youth. Licensed as a social worker, Charles has worked with many organizations and helped clients get their lives back on track. 

The team as a whole is passionate about accepting clients where they are and helping them get to where they want to go. 

Born out of Adversity

Nicholas started The Peace Well in 2020, a time when the world needed peace more than anything. He faced his own battle with panic attacks and anxiety while doing missions work overseas and started the long journey of recovery soon after. 

“It’s been a bumpy ride. Anxious thoughts can be hard to shake, and panic attacks can leave you feeling unsafe and on edge. It hasn’t been a quick or easy recovery.” 

Nicholas built up the practice while working at another local practice, Rivertown Wellness, for a couple of years. 

“I really enjoyed my time there and have a lot of respect for the owners and staff.” 

Now he’s fully focused on The Peace Well, seeing clients along with managing the practice. 

“This is kind of cliche, but small business owners wear a lot of hats. I see clients and do their notes and treatment plans, but I also have to do marketing, keep the website updated, field calls, train staff, and take out the trash. It can be a lot.” 

Nicholas specializes in anxiety, panic attacks, and OCD, all issues he has personally dealt with. 

“When you go through something, it gives you a greater ability to help others through it. That’s the goodness of God.”

A Culture of Faith

Nicholas is a follower of Jesus, along with the other members of his team. However, they work with clients of all faith backgrounds and don’t advertise as a Christian counseling practice. 

“We want to be able to work with anyone, so we don’t push our beliefs into sessions. Everyone is on their own journey and we want to help them reach their goals.”

That being said, Nicholas attributes much of his recovery to his faith. 

“I know God was with me at my lowest points and that He will redeem everything that was lost in those times. He will use my story to bring peace to more people. 

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Using Creativity as a Force for Good

Nicholas hopes to also impact the world through creativity. He wrote a Spoken Word piece about his journey of anxiety which you can find here – Dear Anxiety | Spoken Word

He believes that music, poetry, dance, and other forms of art connect with people at a deep level and have the ability to inspire people towards positive mental health. 

“I wish I could devote more time to these creative pursuits, but being married with 2 young kids and owning a business take up all my time. Family is most important so I don’t regret the life stage I’m in right now. But it’s definitely not easy.” 

Nicholas also created an online course called Overcome Your Panic Attacks so that people could have something they could instantly access with tools to recover from panic disorder. 

“We’re currently figuring out the most effective way to market it and get it to people, so look out for a launch at a later date.” 

One instant tool that is available now on their website is a guide called “5 Super-Effective Tips to Lower Your Anxiety.” You can head there and follow the pop-up upon arrival – www.thepeacewell.com. 

5 Steps to Dealing with Panic Attacks

If you or someone you know is currently struggling with panic attacks (sudden rushes of physical symptoms and thoughts dealing with anxiety), Nicholas recommends taking these 5 steps:

  1. Ground yourself. No, this doesn’t mean go sit in your room like your parents used to say. Grounding is a part of mindfulness and it means being very aware of your body and your surroundings. Use the 5 senses technique – Name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. This helps take your mind off your panic and communicates to your brain that you are safe.
  2. Learn about panic attacks. When panic attacks first show up in your life, it’s scary and unpredictable. But the more you learn about them, the more you realize that this is your body’s normal way of dealing with threats. Consider a panic attack like a false alarm – your brain thinks that you are unsafe but really you are okay. When you start to see how your body and brain work together, it demystifies panic attacks and makes them less scary. 
  3. Reframe your thoughts. This is where therapy really comes in handy, but it’s important to change the story from fear to acceptance. Try treating your panic attacks like an annoying friend who comes around too much to check on you. They may have good intentions but you aren’t so appreciative of the results. Set the boundary, saying that you’d rather deal with the situation in a way that doesn’t involve panic. This mindset makes the panic attacks seem more annoying than scary. 
  4. Face your fears. Eventually, you have to go do the things that you are avoiding, because the avoidance perpetuates the fear cycle. Once you are getting a hang of the first 3 steps, take a friend and start to put yourself in uncomfortable situations. Don’t do anything dangerous, but challenge yourself. Start small and build up. You’ll surprise yourself at how resilient you are and you’ll build positive momentum. 
  5. Stay hopeful. Overcoming panic attacks can take time, especially when you’ve been dealing with them for a while. Our brains get used to patterns of thinking and it takes intentional work to change those patterns. But it is possible, so don’t lose hope! You can do this!

The Future

Nicholas wants to see Cincinnati become the most mentally healthy city on the planet. He dreams of a world where people can instantly access resources they need online and can meet with someone in person who will show them empathy and help guide them toward freedom. 

Nicholas lives in North College Hill with his wife Jocelyn and their two young children. He’s looking forward to what’s ahead.