ROGERS — The recently opened Samaritan Counseling Clinic is offering free mental health services to patients who qualify.
“The clinic offers individual, group, family and play-based therapy and is open to patients of all ages,” said clinic manager Kayla Tedder.
“Our goal is to provide local residents with the same quality, compassionate and dignified mental health care they would receive in a private clinic,” Tedder said, “who just happen to walk away here not paying.”
We are expanding our services to meet the mental health needs of our community.
The nonprofit Samaritan Community Center opened a clinic in Rogers on July 1.
According to its website, the center provides free mental health services to people who earn up to 250% of the federal poverty level, which for a family of four is $31,200, according to healthcare.gov. The clinic also accepts Medicaid or equivalent benefits.
Unmet needs
In 2022, 24.7% of U.S. adults with a mental illness reported having an unmet need for treatment, according to Mental Health America, a national nonprofit that has been studying mental health since 1909. That figure has remained unchanged since 2011, according to Mental Health America’s 2022 State of Mental Health in America survey, which compares mental health care outcomes and access across the nation and states.
Ross DeVol, president and CEO of Heartland Forward, an organization that researches economic trends and provides resources to state and local groups, said there is a mental health crisis nationwide, but access to health care providers is especially difficult in Arkansas. Heartland Forward advocates for a variety of issues, including accessible and affordable health care.
“This is a big problem because Medicaid doesn’t cover all the conditions that people seek help for,” DeVol says. “Even if they can find a mental health provider, it’s expensive to access them.”
According to GoodTherapy.org, a website dedicated to connecting therapists with potential clients, the average therapy session costs between $65 and $250.
Addressing mental health needs early can have major benefits for patients and their families, Devol said.
“Mental illness progresses and symptoms worsen,” Devol said of untreated mental illness, “and the costs and consequences become much more severe. Research shows that if we can treat mental illness early, we can avoid more severe outcomes later.”
These consequences can include reduced economic production and absenteeism from work, which can lead to lost wages and strain on families. Devol said that left untreated mental illness can also lead to substance abuse as a form of self-medication.
Access to care
More than 20% of Arkansas adults experience a mental illness, according to a 2022 report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The national average is 19.86%.
Tedder said barriers to mental health care include access, stigma and cost. She first worked in nonprofits as a care advocacy social worker, where she said she noticed a strong need for accessible mental health care services.
She said working with clients who acknowledged they needed mental health care but couldn’t get it was depressing, but it inspired her to get a master’s in social work and become a counselor.
Now, she oversees care as the clinic’s manager and will eventually work one-on-one with patients, she said.
Tedder said interested clients do not need to use Samaritan’s other programs, such as the Food Pantry Market or free meal programs, to receive counseling services.
She said mental health issues are easier to manage once basic needs are met, and she can refer clients to Samaritan programs if needed.
Sliding Scale
Ozark Guidance is another facility providing low-cost mental health care in Northwest Arkansas.
Brian Davis, chief clinical officer for Arisa Health, parent company of Ozark Guidance, said 26% of clients took advantage of the sliding-scale program between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.
The company operates clinics in 41 Arkansas counties and saw 52,466 patients in fiscal year 2023, the company said.
Of the 13,643 patients who used sliding-scale services in fiscal year 2023, more than 42% were from Northwest Arkansas, Davis said. The sliding-scale fees start at $25 a session and increase based on income and the federal poverty level, he said. Free sessions are rare, but are sometimes used during crisis care.
Davis said Ozark Guidance also works with clients and their families to set up payment plans if $25 per dose is too high.
“We’re getting better when it comes to mental health care,” Davis said, “but we’re still nowhere near where we need to be.”
Samaritan Care manager Kayla Tedder visits a client counseling room at the Samaritan Community Center in Rogers on Friday. The Samaritan Community Center has opened a reduced- or free-fee mental health clinic at the Rogers Center. Visit nwaonline.com/photos for today’s photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo)
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