City Profile: Clifford Beers Clinic

As the economy turns downward and the need for mental health services is growing, the nation’s oldest outpatient mental health clinic is continuing to place its priority on the community’s most vulnerable children and families.

"The need is tremendous right now," says Alice Forrester, executive director, of the venerable Clifford Beers Clinic in New Haven. "In 2007, we provided outpatient services to 416 new children. In the first three months of this year, we’re already worked with 300 new children." While much of the increase is due to a new referral system implemented by the state, the difficult times are playing a role as well, Forrester says.

What concerns Forrester, who became the mental health clinic’s new executive director last September, is the need to reach out to even more children who are at risk. "The most important part of my job is to connect the dots for policymakers, providers, and the public between child abuse and neglect prevention and mental health treatment. We need to invest in children and community–based mental health so that children and families can receive the supports they need to keep them together."

Forrester is quick to point out that many children who have experienced trauma, whether in the home or the community, often do not receive the treatment they need to live productive lives as adults.

Forrester’s appointment follows the retirement of Chet Brodnicki, a champion for quality treatment services not only for Clifford Beers, but the entire New Haven community. His 20–year tenure at the clinic was a life’s calling, living the institution’s mission: to provide accessible community–based mental health services and advocacy that promoted healthy and resilient lives for children and families. During his time, he grew the clinic from a $1.3 million organization to one with an annual budget of $5.2 million and 90 staff that serves as an essential thread within the city’s safety net for families. He was honored by friends and family of the organization last year at a successful tribute dinner.

Helping people work through trauma and other mental health issues has been a long–time passion for Forrester. While in her 20s, she found her first professional love working as a performer in New York City’s East Village. However, when the instinct to find more stable employment developed in her 30s, Forrester brought the transformative power of the theater into her new career as a therapist, eventually earning her master’s degree in drama therapy and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.

In addition to guiding the practice and policy aspects of the organization, Forrester is focusing on a recently launched $3–million capital campaign. "We’ve already raised $1.2 million to help kick off our two–year campaign," Forrester says. The funds will support the endowment, as well as capital improvements, such as renovations to clinical and office spaces and the implementation of electronic systems for health records management.

Forrester first joined Clifford Beers 10 years ago as a doctoral intern in clinical psychology. After obtaining her doctorate, she stayed on as a therapist, becoming a project coordinator in 2000 and associate director in 2002. Her tenure at the organization has made her transition easier, she says. "There is such a great staff here, and they’ve been incredibly supportive. I think it’s been a great experience for them to see someone start out as a student and advance into leadership positions."

More important than her new position, of course, is her family. Forrester and her partner finalized the adoption of their two children on April 4.