Expanding access to mental health support does not always require new systems. Sometimes it starts with a connection. In Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, partners across sectors are bringing Integrative Community Therapy into the region, offering a no-cost, accessible path to healing and support.
Integrative Community Therapy (ICT) is a globally recognized, community-based approach to healing and connection, offering accessible mental health support and breaking traditional barriers such as waitlists, insurance limitations and costly referrals. It ensures immediate, no-cost access for those in need—making healing and support available to all.
Originally developed in Brazil, ICT uses a conversational framework that supports individuals by creating safe spaces where people can share their experiences, build resilience and support one another. During this group dialogue, usually containing five or more individuals, rounds are led by a trained facilitator. ICT facilitators undergo 65 hours of training, learning to guide powerful conversations and provide appropriate support to individuals seeking support. While facilitators are not licensed therapists, ICT is a way for communities to connect and heal together.
During an ICT session, facilitators guide the group through five steps:
- Welcome: The facilitator sets expectations and invites participants to share something they are grateful for or celebrating, creating a supportive tone for the conversation.
- Identify: Participants share what’s on their mind, often described as “the pebble in their shoe,” and the group chooses one topic to explore together.
- Explore: The participant expands on their experience, with the facilitator asking thoughtful, clarifying questions.
- Share: Participants respond using “I” statements, offering personal insights, perspectives and resources. These shared experiences, often called “pearls,” help guide the individual toward their own next steps.
- Closure: The facilitator brings the conversation to a close, encouraging reflection, gratitude and a sense of connection that participants carry back into their daily lives.
In the Lehigh Valley, community partnerships have paved the way for ICT’s success. The Leonard Parker Pool Institute for Health encourages and facilitates cross-sector collaboration to advance meaningful, holistic improvements in community health. As a proud subsidiary of Lehigh Valley Health Network (part of Jefferson Health), LPPIH is an active partner in strengthening the vital conditions of well-being across the region, and launched this initiative in 2024 to ensure that community members throughout the region benefited from ICT at no cost. Awaken Pittsburgh, an international organization dedicated to community health and wellness, has provided facilitator training, a critical component of the program’s success. United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley also has played a key role, helping build a network of 50 trained facilitators and expanding access across the community. In 2025, following the program’s initial success, the initiative continued to grow, with additional members completing facilitator training.
Early survey data from LPPIH supported national findings: among local community members who engaged in ICT sessions, 93% reported feeling a greater sense of belonging and connection, and 90% reported learning new coping skills.
“Improving community well-being requires connection, trust and spaces where people can show up as they are. ICT creates those spaces by honoring lived experience and strengthening relationships that support long-term health and resilience,” said Samantha Shaak, PhD, executive director at LPPIH and vice president of community health at Jefferson Health. “It reminds us that communities already hold the wisdom they need, and our role at LPPIH is to create the conditions for that wisdom to surface.”
United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley is a community-based nonprofit serving Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties. It brings partners, businesses and individuals together to address the community’s most pressing challenges. By supporting and coordinating efforts like ICT, United Way helps turn collaboration into action, advancing a vision where every person belongs and every person thrives.
Resilient Lehigh Valley, in partnership with United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, is a cross-sector, collective-impact effort dedicated to building a trauma-informed, resilient community. The initiative has already trained more than 4,000 educators, health and human service professionals and law enforcement personnel, with seven of the region’s 17 school districts committed to a trauma-informed approach. Training facilitator Missy Wise has provided local outreach and helped other facilitators introduce ICT across the community, including the Lehigh County Jail, Ripple Community, Inc. and LVHN’s Transitional Living Center.
“ICT is connection through conversation,” said Wise. “Our facilitated ICT rounds include hosting people in a seated circle, where we share our challenges, problem solve, listen and engage in this experience. When community members leave, they walk away with a sense of connection and belonging.”
This work is not finished. As Integrative Community Therapy continues to grow, so does the opportunity to deepen its impact. Expanding access to connection, support and healing will require continued partnership across the community. With a strong foundation in place, the Lehigh Valley is well-positioned to lead by example, demonstrating what is possible when people come together to support one another.
Ashi Singh joined United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley in 2019 and has served in several roles, including three AmeriCorps VISTA terms, Director of Data Impact, and now Director of Community Resilience. She leads initiatives focused on community engagement, partnerships, programming, mental health innovation, and coalition leadership for Resilient Lehigh Valley. Ashi holds a master’s degree in social work from Bryn Mawr College and is passionate about building a healthier, more resilient Lehigh Valley.
