Mental Health Partners: Building a Healthier Broomfield Through Whole-Person Care

By Kristen Beckman

Mental health has been a community concern for years - a concern that has increased exponentially during the past 12 months as COVID-19 has exacerbated anxiety, fear, and grief. With private mental health services stretched thin even before the pandemic, communitybased services like Mental Health Partners (MHP) are filling a critical need. Mental Health Partners is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community mental health center with seven locations in Broomfield, Boulder, Lafayette, and Longmont. The organization provides whole-person care focused on outpatient therapy and addiction recovery services along with other services that address factors that impact mental health.

“We have found that mental health issues often have a co-relationship with something else going on in people’s lives,” said Kristina Shaw, public information officer at MHP. “Perhaps a person is homeless, or they can’t find a job, and now they are having depression because of that. We try to address what is going on in somebody’s entire life through supportive services, as well as mental health care.”

Those services, coordinated through MHP’s CARE team, include medication management, housing support, life skills training, peer support, and wellness coaching. Shaw said MHP is a safety net for the community, keeping people experiencing a mental health crisis out of emergency rooms, providing appropriate care and resources for those who need care, and helping build a healthier community for everyone.

Localized care is a cornerstone of MHP’s approach because it allows care providers to direct clients to the most appropriate nearby resources that can help them address their individual challenges. In addition, local care helps remove barriers to accessing clinical care, including transportation and childcare issues.

When the pandemic hit last spring, MHP quickly shifted to a telehealth model, conducting most therapy appointments via video or telephone. Thanks to infrastructure upgrades it started even before the pandemic, the organization was able to begin remote appointments with minimal interruption at a time when more and more people were experiencing anxiety and stress due to COVID-19.

Shaw said the telehealth model has been well received, although it encountered an unexpected challenge early on - some clients did not have a phone, computer or Internet access. MHP’s philanthropy department created a COVID-19 relief fund through which it collected donations to help 250 clients in various ways, including providing wireless phones to some clients so they could continue receiving therapy and services remotely.

With its focus on serving the community, MHP also has an outreach department that goes into the community to provide support and resources. The Community Health Worker team, which was in place prior to the pandemic, works alongside partner agencies or attends community events to talk to people about mental health care and provide resources. A second outreach group, the Crisis Counseling Program Team, was formed by the state’s CO Spirit grant and focuses on communities and individuals impacted by the pandemic. This team provides mental health support and resources to communities where there is significant need, such as food banks and COVID-19 testing sites.

“We have found it’s really helpful because some people don’t realize they need extra help until we have a conversation with them – often we’re in the right place at the right time for people,” said Shaw.

During the pandemic, clinicians and MHP’s outreach teams have also been reaching out to the community, providing free webinars with coping skills, self-care ideas, parenting strategies, and other topics that provide clinical and non-clinical information.

MHP is scheduled to open a new office in Broomfield in January located at 897 Highway 287. The new site is specially designed to support outpatient mental health care for children, teens, and families, featuring play therapy rooms, a family therapy space, and an art therapy office. Additionally, MHP has partnered with Broomfield Council on the Arts and Humanities to display art throughout the space, with artwork available for sale and 10 percent of the purchase price donated back to MHP.

Do you need help? Visit www.mhpcolorado.org or call 303-443-8500.