In mid-June of 2021, we rented a century-old mountain house in western North Carolina and gathered our management team together to define the direction of our company under our new name. For almost six years we operated under a different brand. We were proud of the work we did under that other logo, but we were eager to establish our own identity and document the Matone method of bringing counseling and psychological services to the communities we serve. So we bought a bunch of food, put on comfortable clothes, and busted out the dry erase board to document our Vision, Mission, and Values. We are so glad we put in that time because we believe we identified the authentic underlying concepts that drive everything we do. We’ll do our best to explain it here:
Our Mission:

Matone Counseling and Testing provides compassionate care to the community by empowering great clinicians to provide diverse services.

Empowering Great Clinicians: Like many group private practices, our clinical staff are mostly independent contractors. This gives them the flexibility to set their own schedules and rates while determining their own courses of treatment. We believe in the power of exceptional clinicians to make a positive impact on the lives of those they serve. Through ongoing support, professional development opportunities, and a collaborative work environment, we foster a culture of empowerment. By investing in our clinicians’ growth and well-being, we ensure that they can deliver the highest quality and compassionate care to our clients.

While they are legally independent entities, they are not alone. The company provides tremendous operational support in the way of scheduling clients, billing insurance, dealing with paperwork, and ensuring client data is handled in a HIPAA compliant manner. Our operations team consists of eight professionals who are dedicated to ensuring that clinicians are shielded as much as possible from administrative tasks that get in the way of their ability to do what they do best – help people. Our operations team even has its own Mission Statement – To be of service to those who serve.

Is our staff “Great”? We think so. We are highly selective about who we contract. Less than 10% of applicants that apply are hired. Take a look at our staff page and learn more about them. We know you’ll be impressed!

Provide Diverse Services: Our psychological and counseling staff consists of over 50 providers treating all ages and most issues. It is rare that we must refer out because we lack the expertise on staff to work with a given client. It happens from time to time when our schedules are too full, but we generally have someone on staff that can work with whatever it is that a client calls in about. We know we are doing something right when a family is working with multiple staff members. It is not uncommon for one clinician to provide couples counseling while another clinician is working with one of the individuals in the relationship or one of the family’s children. We also have the unique ability to provide both counseling and psychological testing under the same roof. This enables us to eliminate complicated referral processes in many cases.

Compassionate Care To Our Community: We grew up in Charlotte. We met at East Mecklenburg High School just a few miles from Charlotte’s Cotswold office. We bought a house in the Asheville area when we decided to open an office up there. It is vital to us that we serve the entire population that surrounds our offices and we have worked hard to develop relationships with the people and the institutions that make these communities great. If you spend any time with our management team, you will hear the word “accessibility” more than once. It is why we accept almost every insurance plan. It is why we have two Spanish speaking counselors and a bilingual scheduler on staff! It is why we are contracted with Medicaid. We serve clients from every part of the socio-economic spectrum and it’s always going to be the way.

We aren’t just counseling professionals in the field… We’ve been clients that needed behavioral health support for our family. We know what it’s like to struggle to find quality counseling services when your insurance plan has limitations. We also know why a lot of group practices refuse to deal with insurance. Accepting insurance is an expensive process for the company. It makes our business far more complex than it should be. But we’re always going to do it because if we don’t, we lose our ability to serve a significant portion of the population in the communities that we love.

We want to make a difference in the lives of others, by showing compassion in the Charlotte and Asheville communities, not just in the way of our counseling services. Each year we support charities and non-profit organizations by sponsoring, volunteering, and donating to them. These include various mental health awareness and prevention programs, substance use prevention or treatment organizations, youth programs, LGBTQ+ organizations, and cancer foundations.

To be the community’s first choice for excellence in counseling and testing.

We have high standards for ourselves! We’re doing this by maintaining a strong online presence and by constantly engaging with our partners in the healthcare community to build and maintain strong referral relationships. We aspire to be recognized as the leading provider of exceptional mental health care in Asheville and Charlotte. Through our commitment to continuous improvement, evidence-based practices, and staying at the forefront of advancements in the field, we aim to exceed the expectations of our clients and be the preferred destination for individuals seeking the highest quality of care.

You will speak to someone who cares.

This guarantee applies to the first contact you have with our scheduling team, ensuring that you are met with understanding and empathy right from the start. It extends to the work you will do with our clinicians, where our dedicated professionals will provide a safe and supportive environment as they guide you through your therapeutic process. Moreover, this guarantee applies to any ongoing contact you have with our operations, support, or billing teams, ensuring that you receive the same level of care and compassion throughout your experience with us. We are committed to providing you with exceptional service every step of the way.

As we stated earlier, we’ve been in our client’s shoes as patients in need of services. We consider it an honor that we have an opportunity to serve in the community that we grew up in. We are humbled that we have been able to attract and retain such a high quality staff of clinicians and administrative professionals. The act of documenting our Mission / Vision / Values was empowering. It helped crystalize our belief that we’re in the right place, at the right time, with the right people, doing what we’re supposed to be doing. I hope you’ll understand what we mean by that should you ever end up spending time with our staff.
– Matt and Kim Matone, Co-Founders