While it might be hard to put the two together, there appears to be a significant link between the expansion on the Mid-Shore of behavioral health services and its economic development impact.
A case in point can be seen lately in both Kent and Talbot Counties with the growth of “Eastern Shore Psychological Services (ESPS), a privately-owned, mental health service provider. In Chestertown, a new office recently opened its doors in downtown that not only will be serving the needs of an estimated 4,000 individuals in Kent County who may be in need of psychiatric help but also adds twelve, relatively well-paid, professional positions to the town’s economic life. And this is also true in Talbot County, where ESPS’s presence has grown to over fifty staff members to handle its ever increasingly portfolio of work.
In fact, when you realize that only a few years ago Eastern Shore Psychological Services was made up of three professionals working out of a small office on Route 50 has now grown to have over 130 full-time employees, you begin to understand that economic development can come in many forms. And in this case, it comes with the real benefit of helping the 20% of the Mid-Shore population who need temporary or long-term help with through community, school and family-based treatment and evaluation services.
All of this prompted the Spy to reach out to Dr. Benjamin Kohl, who heads up ESPS programs on the Mid-Shore and has overseen much of this growth since joining the practice eight years ago. In our interview, Ben talks about the circumstances that led to his organization’s growth, including a marked increase in individuals enrolled in health insurance policies, but also, and more importantly, the slow but steady end of the stigma attached to those seeking out help for depression, attention deficit disorders, or drug/alcohol addiction, among many other conditions.
This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about “Eastern Shore Psychological Services please go here.
Marti Hersey says
This video explains the problem of mental illness and mental health in terms of services FOR the mentally ill. This is the answer in the United States to the problems of mental illness. The problems are inherent in our society and are not being addressed. Only the symptoms are being addressed. Of course, addressing the problems of mental illness at this level (addressing the problems at ground level, not as symptoms) would take a complete overhaul of our society and its values-something that is NOT going to happen. In my view, American society is sick and encourages the rise of mental; illness wherever you go. My answer would be to leave the country for some healthier environment such as Canada, Holland, Scandinavia, New Zealand or Uruguay. Treating mental illness apart and separate from the society that spawns it is typical of the scientific view that holds sway in our country. We isolate the problem. We isolate the individual.