NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — When you think of “happy hour,” you probably think of drink specials at your favorite bar…but it’s also the name of a new mental wellness studio in Nashville.

The idea behind “The Happy Hour” is to break down barriers many people face when trying to get help. Say you’re having a bad day or you just need to talk to someone, you can make an appointment just like you would to get a manicure or a haircut.

“The way our model works is that you don’t have to wait for weeks or months to come in to get help, we can help you in the midst of the problem. And then of course, you can always call us to and our phone numbers right on our website,” said Clara Belden, the founder of The Happy Hour.

Ultimately, they just want to help people.

“That’s kind of our goal is to make it more approachable to not have it be so scary,” said Belden. “We have licensed therapists leading our therapy sessions, but also having coaches on staff to talk to people who maybe aren’t ready for therapy yet, or maybe have already done therapy and just kind of want to move forward.

Belden said she knows so many people struggle with mental health, especially during the pandemic.

“Mental health has typically been something culturally that people don’t talk about, which is unreal because 20% of people in their lifetime will suffer from a mental health issue and those are just the ones that are diagnosed.”

Belden also said as we emerge from the pandemic, many people will face another wave of anxiety with this change.

“That’s definitely something that we’ve seen with the people who are already working with. It started with anxieties around the unknown a year ago, what what’s going to happen next, and there’s definitely still some of that there. But now that things are opening up, again, people are now going through another massive change, a massive change of ‘Am I going back to work,’ ‘I’m going to have to change my routine again,’ you know, and there’s still that fear of potentially getting COVID now that things are opening up more. So we, as a society have just been going on this roller coaster of change, and it’s exhausting. And it’s anxiety provoking, and, and everybody could use a little support. And that’s absolutely something that we help with right now.”

The Happy Hour offers one-on-one, private therapy sessions with licensed therapists or certified holistic life coaches. They also have daily drop-in group classes where anyone can stop by. You can make same-day appointments or book in the future.

Click here for more information.