PATASKALA, Ohio — PBJ Connections is a nonprofit that is dedicated to offering behavioral health therapy to its visitors through horses, counseling and nature. 

“The whole sense of feeling isolated, kids were really, really struggling with online school,” says Holly Jedlicka, co-founder of PBJ Connections. 

What You Need To Know

  • Holly Jedlicka is a professional therapist

  • She co-founded PBJ Connections in 2006

  • The nonprofit serves 250 people annually and is still growing

  • PBJ Connections serves children, adults, families, veterans, seniors and offers telehealth

Jedlicka, a professional therapist, co-founded Pataskala-based PBJ Connections in 2006. 

The nonprofit's mission is to provide behavioral health therapy to children, adults and families. 

Jedlicka said the pandemic has brought to the forefront how profoundly mental health issues are affecting people. 

“We've seen not only this great increase in mental health and trauma for a lot of different reasons, but then the pandemic added on to that like a sandwich. So people who already had a lot of anxiety and depression saw those symptoms increase pretty phenomenally,” said Jedlicka. 

Assistant Director Erica Lewis said PBJ Connections has also expanded services to include veterans and seniors and added telehealth to the mix. 

“(They) still have access to therapists while keeping their physical bodies safe," Lewis said. "The telehealth also provides more options for folks that are having barriers such as transportation or limitations through their insurance.” 

Jedlicka stresses the importance of human connection and re-discovering the great outdoors. 

“There's a lot of science behind why being around other large regulated animals is really helpful to us as humans to get regulated, which is something that we struggle to do on our own when we're locked in our own houses,” said Jedlicka. 

For mental health access for clients, there is another need that has emerged.

“We're hearing this need for financial assistance when it comes to mental health access. And so our program's really built with a business model that helps support scholarship folks that need more support,” says Lewis. 

Jedlicka said PBJ Connections serves over 250 people a year and growing... so her mission is far from over. 

She gives credit to her staff and seven other therapists for the organization's continued success. 

“People come in from the outside, they're like, wow ,this is a such a great, welcoming, open place. We don't have employees come and go, they come and they stay for a very, very long time," she said. "We're very proud of that." 

PBJ Connections is at 9800 Jug Street Northwest in Pataskala.