A Personal Note from Our Founder: Why Joint Commission Accreditation Matters
By Leigh-Ann Larson, LMHC
Founder & CEO, Rising Up
When I started Rising Up, I wasn’t thinking about accreditation.
I wasn’t thinking about plaques on the wall or seals of approval.
I was thinking about people.
I was thinking about the clients I had worked with over the years who were suffering deeply and often falling through the cracks of our mental health system.
The parent who couldn’t stop crying after bringing home a baby they desperately wanted.
The grieving spouse who couldn’t imagine getting through another day.
The trauma survivor who spent every waking moment waiting for the next bad thing to happen.
The family member carrying the weight of loving someone with addiction.
The person who had done years of therapy, read all the books, understood their patterns, and still felt stuck.
Over and over again, I saw people who needed more support than weekly therapy could provide but didn’t need inpatient hospitalization.
They needed time.
They needed structure.
They needed community.
They needed practical skills.
They needed to be surrounded by people who understood what they were going through.
Most importantly, they needed access to care.
That last piece has always mattered deeply to me.
Because the reality is that mental health treatment can be expensive.
And if we’re serious about helping people heal, we cannot build programs that are only available to those who can afford to pay privately.
From the very beginning, one of my goals for Rising Up was to create a high-quality Intensive Outpatient Program that could work with insurance.
I wanted people across Massachusetts to be able to access meaningful, specialized mental health treatment without having to choose between their healing and their finances.
That goal is one of the reasons Joint Commission accreditation was so important to us.
Why We Pursued Accreditation
Joint Commission accreditation is voluntary.
No one required us to pursue it.
We chose to pursue it because we believe our clients deserve the highest standards of care possible.
The Joint Commission is considered one of the most respected healthcare accrediting organizations in the country. Their process involves a thorough review of clinical care, patient safety, staff training, operational procedures, documentation practices, and quality improvement systems.
It is an intensive process.
And honestly, that’s exactly why it matters.
Anyone can say they provide excellent care.
Accreditation requires you to demonstrate it.
The process asks hard questions.
It examines how you serve patients.
It evaluates whether your systems are designed to keep people safe and support positive outcomes.
It challenges organizations to continuously improve.
I welcomed that process because our clients deserve nothing less.
What This Means for Our Patients
For many people, the words “Joint Commission accreditation” won’t mean much.
And that’s okay.
What matters is what it represents.
It means that when you come to Rising Up, you can trust that there are systems in place designed to support your safety, your treatment experience, and your recovery.
It means we have been evaluated against nationally recognized standards for quality care.
It means we are committed to continuous improvement.
It means we are not simply trying to help people feel better for a few weeks.
We are building a program designed to help people create lasting change.
Whether someone comes to us for trauma, grief and loss, postpartum depression, anxiety, depression, or family stress related to addiction, our goal remains the same:
To help them move from surviving to living again.
The Program We Always Wanted to Build
One of the things I’m most proud of is that Rising Up was intentionally built differently.
We are not trying to be everything for everyone.
Instead, we focus on populations that often need more specialized support.
People navigating grief and loss.
People carrying unresolved trauma.
Parents struggling during pregnancy or postpartum.
Adults experiencing anxiety and depression that have become difficult to manage alone.
Family members impacted by loving someone with addiction.
Our team combines evidence-based therapies such as CBT, DBT, and EMDR with mindfulness, meditation, breathwork, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), nervous system regulation, and other body-based approaches.
Why?
Because healing doesn’t happen only in the mind.
It happens in the body, the nervous system, relationships, community, and connection.
Our patients consistently tell us that one of the most healing parts of the program is realizing they are not alone.
The relationships they build with each other often become an important part of their recovery.
That sense of being seen, understood, and supported matters.
And it’s something we work very hard to protect as we grow.
A Milestone, Not a Finish Line
Receiving Joint Commission accreditation is an important milestone.
But it isn’t the finish line.
If anything, it raises the bar.
It reminds us that excellence isn’t something you achieve once.
It’s something you commit to every day.
Every patient.
Every family.
Every group.
Every interaction.
Our team remains committed to providing care that is compassionate, clinically sound, trauma-informed, and accessible.
Because at the end of the day, accreditation isn’t really about us.
It’s about the people who trust us during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.
And for that trust, we are profoundly grateful.
With gratitude,
Leigh-Ann Larson, LMHC
Founder & CEO
Rising Up IOP
Looking for More Support?
If you are struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, grief and loss, postpartum mental health challenges, or the impact of addiction on your family, Rising Up may be able to help.
We provide virtual Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) and Psychiatric Day Treatment services for adults throughout Massachusetts and work with many major insurance plans.
To learn more, call 508-388-5833, or email intake@risingup-iop.com to schedule a free 15-minute conversation with our team.