Published: May 3, 2021
When coping with behavioral health challenges, individuals in our programs and their families must remain connected to support services. Whether through community housing, day programs, or employment services, Bridgewell is that connection—a connection that empowers individuals to live safe, self-directed, and productive lives.
A year ago, that connectivity was under threat of being disconnected. The pandemic forced Bridgewell to close day programs and employment support programs. It changed how we operated our behavioral and mental health clinics, residential homes, and other housing programs to ensure safety.
Despite the unprecedented nature of these changes, the Bridgewell team didn’t sit idle. We activated and did so quickly. Our staff worked relentlessly to shift our programming to a virtual delivery model and to ensure the connection to services remained intact. It is critical to keep the people we serve connected and on a routine.
In recognition and honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we want to strengthen the connection to our services for those who we help every day. It is important for Bridgewell to continue leveraging technology to provide telehealth appointments to those receiving treatment through our behavioral health clinics. In fact, since March of 2020, our behavioral health clinicians have provided over 85,000 individual services via telehealth.
The connectivity that telehealth services have provided has been well received. It has enabled Bridgewell’s clinics to continue providing medication management, and group and individual therapy to our clients. We also saw a significant decrease in “no-shows” for appointments, as telehealth made it easy for clients to access treatment from home without transportation challenges.
For many individuals, an in-person visit to the clinic can be a stressful event that leads to behavioral issues, so being able to stay at home, in a familiar setting, can reduce anxiety and increase their ability to participate in their therapy and/or medication appointments more easily. Simply put, it keeps them connected – and we need your help to strengthen those connections even more now.
Please consider supporting the connections we make for those who need behavioral health services. Your help will ensure those critically-needed connections remain.