Our Story
The genesis of Belay began years ago…
As unsure parents of a fifteen-year-old, my husband and I sought the advice of a renowned psychologist. We left that office feeling wildly misunderstood and frankly, more concerned.
Holding the same notes and worries, we met with Dr. Carol Matheson. With warmth and curiosity, she led us to discover our child in a new way.
We adapted our parenting approach, tweaked our relationship and as a result, our daughter’s life trajectory changed dramatically, literally.
Co-Founders Dr. Carol Matheson and Megan McCamey
We learned that small, incremental changes in parenting style have a profound impact on a child’s mental wellness and success.
Belay is here to make the journey less daunting. Bringing life changing expertise to as many parents as possible in the mess of our daily lives.
Unfortunately, finding someone like Dr. Carol can be challenging. There’s simply not enough providers or affordable options leaving too many parents without the resources proven to change the course of a child’s life.
Carol and I considered writing a book together. But we know too well that a dog-eared book ends up on a bookshelf, not next to you in the carpool line when the meltdown begins or when you’re welling up with tears over the latest homework battle.
As parents, we all know children arrive without a manual. In those moments of friction, we could all use practical expert advice delivered with the levity of a friend who gets it.
Lean on our expert psychologists to build a library of child specific guidance, backed by science.
belay – n. tool used by rock climbers to support and secure their climb
Welcome to Belay
Megan McCamey
Co-Founder and CEO
4 Children
Megan co-founded Belay because frankly, motherhood is simultaneously the most rewarding and overwhelming experience ever. Over the last 26 years of parenting four children, she’s felt the strain of finding an expert when she needed it but also witnessed how the right guidance, at the right time, has transformative results. After understanding the issues most parents face when trying to find affordable psychological support, she knew she had to be part of the solution. Building belay she brings decades of venture experience, degrees in psychology and theology, but mostly the humility of being a parent.
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Full Background
Megan brings her background as a builder of ventures. She served as the founding president of goBeyondProfit. Earlier in her career she was Senior Advisor to the CEO for Points of Light and founding President of the Civic Incubator where she built new enterprises and joint ventures. At McKenna, Long & Aldridge, she led the firm-wide impact strategy including a multi-faceted effort to fight human trafficking. She worked with the founders of Green Print launching a sustainability solutions company. She has her masters in theology from Candler School of Theology at Emory University and her B.A. in Psychology from The College of William and Mary.
Dr. Carol Matheson
Co-Founder and Chief Psychologist
3 Children
Carol was motivated to build Belay because she’s seen the positive impact on children and families when parents have access to and utilize parenting tools geared towards their individual child. Carol believes every child has the capacity to be successful and has witnessed first-hand the increase in mental health concerns in children and adolescents as well as the lack of access to providers due to a variety of factors. Even with her experience, she benefits from the support of other mental health professionals in raising her three children!
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Full Background
Dr. Matheson has spent over 25 years working with children and families. This has included working in hospitals, public and private schools, and private practice settings providing individual counseling, parent coaching, and conducting psychological evaluations. Her specialties include attention issues, learning, behavioral issues, depression, and anxiety. She earned her undergraduate degree at Texas A&M University and her Doctorate in School Psychology at The Pennsylvania State University. She co-owns Mindset Psychology, a private practice providing multi-disciplinary services to children, adolescents, and adults. She also worked at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Georgia as the Consulting Psychologist and Learning Specialist.
Dr. Linda Pak Bruner
Counseling Psychology
3 Children
Linda loves the idea of working with Belay to provide personalized, relevant parenting information in one centralized place. She has worked with many families who wanted to connect with their kids but needed help tweaking their communication skills and increasing their awareness, acceptance, and appreciation of their children. Belay offers parents the information and knowledge to be the parents they want to be!
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Full Background
Dr. Linda Pak Bruner, PhD is a Licensed Psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia where she is co-founder of Mindset Psychology, LLC. Dr. Pak’s practice focuses on stress and anxiety management, trauma, cultural identity, and assertiveness/communication issues. She is a frequent guest lecturer to graduate classes, corporations and community groups covering topics including stress management, eastern philosophy in therapy, and mindful living. She works with teens, adults, couples, and families.
Dr. Pak received a Bachelor of Arts from Southern Methodist University in Psychology and Religious Studies. She earned a Master of Science in Community Counseling and a doctorate in Counseling Psychology, both from Georgia State University.
Dr. Janet Patton
Counseling Psychology
1 Child
Janet became involved with Belay because equipping families with support based on their own child’s specific needs lessens the “one size fits all” search for answers that parents commonly face when they need help. She sees firsthand how children thrive when parents have the right tools and support. She also realizes that not everyone has the same level of access to mental health care and that barriers to access leads to poorer outcomes. With equity in mind, a service such as Belay provides resources directly to families when they need it and in the privacy of their own homes. Janet’s core beliefs are that every child is capable, all families face struggles, and support and community are the essential fabric for resiliency. Belay’s resources help in creating that support and community.
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Full Background
Dr. Patton specializes in comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation, child/adolescent, and adult therapy. She provides scientifically supported therapy techniques to meet each client and family's specialized needs. She also offers psychoeducational evaluations addressing possible ADHD, learning disabilities, processing deficits, dyslexia, autism spectrum disorders, and/or emotional/behavioral issues. Dr. Patton is a graduate of the University of Georgia’s counseling psychology program and two-year fellowship in pediatric and child psychology at Yale University. Dr. Patton is a Co-Owner of Mindset Psychology, LLC.
Alisha Williamson, Ed.S.
School Psychology
1 Child
Alisha believes in the importance of normalizing common challenges parents experience when raising their children. She’s part of Belay because she believes deeply in equipping parents to support their child’s unique needs. Alisha constantly utilizes the strategies from Belay in her role as an educator with a mental health background and as a mother.
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Full Background
Alisha Williamson has served youth in various capacities as a program specialist, school psychologist, special education teacher, and behavior interventionist for 15 years. She specializes in working with children and families providing comprehensive, psycho-educational evaluations. Additionally, she provides professional learning opportunities to various stakeholders to support students with disabilities. She is the recipient of the O. Wayne Rollins Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching while working at The Westminster Schools as a learning strategist. She earned a B.A. in psychology from Spelman College and an Ed.S. in school psychology from Auburn University.
