The Behavioral Health department at Roseau Area Hospital includes counseling and psychotherapy services on an outpatient basis to patients of all ages. Patricia Hunter, Ph.D. (above) is one of six licensed therapists on staff who provide one-on-one confidential services to patients through RAH. |
Behavioral Health
When Roseau Area Hospital began developing its new Behavioral Health department a few years ago, there was no way to know just how fast it would flourish. Well, the results are now in, and the answer is: Less than two years.
In that short time the department, which offers counseling and psychotherapy services on an outpatient basis, has outgrown its work space and jumped from a staff of one to seven mental health professionals providing service to patients from Greenbush to Baudette.
Jan Carr, LICSW
Director |
Jan Carr, a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, is the Director of Behavioral Health at RAHH.
“We were surprised how quickly things progressed, even though it was clear the need for additional mental health services in Roseau County was there,” says Carr. “For years the Hospital Board and our physicians listed it as a top priority service to be developed. However, being a rural healthcare facility, we had no model to follow that was appropriate for Roseau Area Hospital.”
So, with no place to turn for a “how-to” manual, Carr accepted the challenge and began researching the many aspects needed to make a program like this work in rural Minnesota.
“I had no idea what I was getting into. With no real precedent, we had to determine how to go about setting up such a multifaceted service,” says Carr.
A program like this involves the county social services system, private practice, hospitals, insurance companies, medication providers and more, Carr says. “We basically had to build our own model without an instruction sheet to follow.”
Finding Good Help
They say word of mouth is the best form of advertising. This was certainly the case with the Behavioral Health department when it came to finding good therapists to fill increasing number of job openings.
Bridget Larson-Lindner, LGSW, joined the staff and was instrumental in developing a program to meet the need of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder assessments and treatments. That program was then added to the larger plan being developed by Carr.
Once Carr’s plan was implemented, it soon became evident there was more mental healthcare to be provided than what was available. Ironically, at about this same time, Carr became acquainted with psychologist Patricia Hunter, Ph.D., from the University of North Dakota.
A former resident of Badger, Minn., Hunter was looking for a place to begin her career and longed to move back home.
Brightly colored walls, lamps, and toys provide a nonthreatening environment for children during therapy sessions at Roseau Area Hospital. |
“I was ready to leave city life and return to northern Minnesota,” Dr. Hunter says. “The timing was perfect and I couldn’t be happier for the opportunity to assist in launching this new department at the hospital.”
Hunter, in turn, came into contact with her former classmate Adam Guilmino, Ph.D. and his wife Kim Guilmino, LGSW.
She told them about Roseau Area Hospital’s new department and together the Guilmino's made the trip to Roseau and immediately fell in love with the area. In addition to their days in Roseau, Dr. Guilmino provides service in Greenbush and Baudette while Kim, a mental health therapist, travels to Warroad one day a week.
Also on staff are doctoral students Katysue Tillman, MA, and Paul Stebbins, MA, who commute two days a week from Grand Forks, balancing patient visits with course studies as they pursue their Ph.D.’s at UND.
Tillman, now in her second year at RAHH, joined the team after meeting with Carr, and Stebbins joined following a recommendation by Tillman. Both specialize in child and adolescent mental health care and often include play therapy when treating children.
“Young patients often are unable to articulate the feelings they have, but by introducing play into the session, we can help them express those feeling in other ways.”
Looking back, Carr says the speed at which the Behavioral Health department has taken off gives her a tremendous sense of accomplishment.
“Mental health issues have always existed,” she says. “Only now, people don’t have to travel long distances for the care they need.” |
