About Us
Susan McCarty McCormick. M.S. Owner
Resident in Marriage & Family Therapy
Fitness Instructor
Susan
is the founder and co-owner of the South Riding Wellness Connection.
She received both her Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy
along with her Bachelors Degree in Business from Virginia Tech. Susan
spent the first part of her career in business, primarily focusing on
sales and marketing efforts for technology companies. In 2002, she
made a career change into therapy after dealing with the death of her
husband. For her, therapy provided the opportunity to not only grieve,
but to learn to live the life she had always wanted to live. Therapy alone, however, was not the answer. She
learned that exercise, eating healthy, and staying connected
spiritually enabled her to get well faster. It was from this
experience that the idea for a wellness center was formed. Susan
describes wellness as a three legged chair - without one of the legs,
it's difficult to maintain balance. By uncovering the connection between your mind,
body, and spirit, you can uncover countless opportunities for sustained
positive change.
Before
the South Riding Wellness Connection, Susan was the Director of Family
Services for Corpus Christi Catholic Church. Her clinical practice as a Resident Therapist continues to operate within Corpus Christi, where she receives supervision from Dr. Jean Coleman, LMFT. She also worked at the Center for Family Services
in Falls Church and for Fairfax County as a facilitator for their
Nurturing Parenting Program. Complimenting her clinical work, Susan enjoys teaching educational workshops and boot camp exercise classes. Her approach to therapy focuses on
overall wellness by identifying personal strengths along with negative
patterns that tend to get in the way. Through awareness, often
opportunities for positive change occur.
On
a personal note, Susan is now remarried to her husband, John, and they
are enjoying raising their son, Finn. She also is the President of the
Cormac Finn McCarty Foundation, which is a charity focused on helping
families whom have experienced tragedy in their lives. She has lived in
Northern Virginia her entire life and feels very grateful for the
opportunity to work in this community.
Julie KavanaughOwner
Fitness Instructor
Julie has been
working in the fitness industry for over 7 years helping individuals obtain a better
quality of physical health. She holds a B.S.
in Electrical Engineering from California
State University,
Long Beach. She
is in the process of obtaining her Personal Training Certificate from the
American Counsel on Exercise (ACE). She currently is a head coach for Girls on the Run and has previously
designed individual fitness programs and taught group fitness classes at
various health club facilities. Julie has always been an avid sports enthusiast
enjoying many types of physical activity including mountain biking, hiking,
skiing and most recently has participated in extreme adventure race team
competitions. She enjoys competing in triathlons, marathons, and regularly
trains for 5K, 10K, and 10 mile races. Julie believes that the
formula for good physical health is a commitment to self, the motivation from a
caring support group, and a dynamic fun exercise environment.
