In the near future, our office will be opening an Urgent Care Mental Health Clinic. We believe it will be the first of this type of service for our area. I want to take a moment today and share with you why we are doing this and what we hope to accomplish with such a clinic.
I once heard a clinician brag about charging client's extra in order to see them on the weekend.
That is something we have never done or embraced here at JMCN. Over the years, I've seen clients in crisis whenever possible, including weekends. I know that is also true of other therapists in our network.
Just last weekend, one of our therapist came in on a Saturday morning to see a client who was in crisis.
But, we can't all be on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
And yet, there are always going to be times when someone needs help, now.
We want to attempt to meet that need. This clinic is our attempt to do that. The Urgent Care Center at JMCN will provide urgent care mental health therapy for people who feel they are in a mental health crisis but cannot see their normal clinician for a period of time. We also want to serve those who do not have a normal clinician and cannot get in to see their preferred clinician in a timely manner.
Take for instance, my friend Bob.* He and I were talking about this a few days ago. His wife Sarah has a regular therapist that she sees three to four times a month. She is dealing with some significant losses recently in her personal life and the grief that accompanies those losses.
Two weeks ago, a beloved pet passed away unexpectedly. Sarah was frantic to see her therapist. The only problem was that her therapist does not see client's on Mondays. On Tuesday, her therapist left for a two week vacation.
Bob felt that having some place where Sarah could have gone to talk about her grief would have been important and helpful.
Or consider for a moment, if you will Wendy and Dave.*
They've been having trouble communicating lately and late last week they had a fight that they both felt might have put their relationship over the edge into a downward death spiral from which it might never recover. As they desperately call around the area looking for a marriage or relationship therapist to help them, they discover that they have a minimum of a one week wait.
We see this Urgent Care clinic as a potential resource for all the Dave and Wendy's of the area.
And for anyone who is feeling depressed and lost…or hurt and abandoned. We want to help.
You can find more information about our Mental Health Urgent Care Clinic by clicking here.
*Not real name.
