ORLANDO, Fla. — Lake Nona in southeast Orlando is one of the fastest-growing areas of Central Florida and often referred to as a “Medical City."

But at least one mental health provider who see patients in the area says she’s worried there’s not enough access for people who are seeking help.

  • Therapist says rent making it hard for providers to stay in Lake Nona
  • She's worried this will effect patients' access to services
  • Patients may have to drive further or forego service, she says

Angelina Whalen says when she was providing mental health counseling to students at Lake Nona High School, she had trouble finding Orlando-area therapists to refer them to.

“… I really saw a gap in the services provided here, so I decided to start my own practice,” said Whalen, a licensed therapist.

Whalen currently sees patients in a cozy room in one of Lake Nona’s newest office buildings. She says it’s the size of what many people would consider a closet.

“When I open the door, I have to be sure I don’t hit the table here,” Whalen said.

Whalen has been in the office for a little more than a year, but she says she’s already considering moving out.

“With the rent increase each year, with each renewal, I worry about it getting to the point where it doesn’t, cost benefit, make sense to stay here as a provider,” Whalen said.

A local realtor told Spectrum News the Lake Nona market is an emerging one where spaces are often priced higher than some businesses are willing to pay.

“When I reach out to real-estate agents they just suggest I go elsewhere, that I go outside of Lake Nona because they say what I’m looking for doesn’t exist,” Whalen said.

Whalen says she worries that would make it even more difficult on her patients.

“It would leave them having to travel, having to travel outside of Lake Nona to get services,” Whalen said.

Tavistock, the company that’s continuing to develop Lake Nona, says mental health is part of their push to make the community a “wellness” community.

Lake Nona’s GuideWell Innovation Center is working to improve mental health treatment.

"We wanted to understand the perspective of the journey from the person with mental illness,” said Leslie Hielema, a spokesperson for GuideWell Innovation.

In the last year, GuideWell brought in dozens of mental health experts to their facility.  Those experts met with people who've sought mental health treatment.

"To do a deep-dive along their journey, from when they first noticed something was wrong to hopefully getting a diagnosis, to moving into treatment to hopefully being able to thrive in daily life," Hielema said.

Whalen worries if she has to move her practice out of Lake Nona, her patients will have to drive further to get treatment, or even worse, not get help at all.

“It’s sad, it’s just sad, because I know with all of the development in the area, there’s the possibility for more,” said Whalen.