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MCH Behavioral Health: We’re Here for Our Community, 24/7

A group of ten Monadnock Community Hospital employees standing together outdoors in front of the hospital building. They are dressed in various professional and casual attire, representing the hospital's Behavioral Health team.
MCH Behavioral Health: We’re Here for Our Community, 24/7
Helping People Work Through Challenges

Overcoming Challenges, Breaking Stigmas, and Expanding Access to Behavioral Health Services

For MCH Behavioral Health clinicians, helping people overcome mental health challenges isn’t just a mission—it’s a calling. From depression and anxiety to substance misuse and addiction, behavioral health challenges touch millions of lives.

In New Hampshire, over 37% of residents report struggling with occasional feelings of anxiety or depression, and close to 221,000 are living with a more serious behavioral health issue.* During the pandemic, those numbers increased due to isolation and uncertainty, all while mental health practices were forced to implement screening protocols to control the spread of COVID, sometimes limiting access to care.

“Increasing access to mental health care —and removing stigmas— is vital to our success.” Michele Gunning, MD

“COVID changed many things,” says Dr. Michele Gunning, psychiatrist and Medical Director of Behavioral Health at MCH, “but our mission remained the same: to help people in mental and emotional distress find their way to a healthier, more balanced life. Our challenge was how to do this during a time of social distancing.”

One solution, she says, was teletherapy.

“Telehealth made a huge difference for our patients during COVID, and it’s a model we’ll be using more often going forward,” says Dr. Gunning. “Patients like the convenience of virtual counseling. They don’t have to deal with transportation, weather, or childcare issues. That can mean fewer missed appointments and better outcomes.”

As COVID wanes, Dr. Gunning says MCH’s Behavioral Health Department is focused on increasing its community outreach and services. “Mental health care needs to be available to everyone, from the person in immediate crisis to someone with a longer-term challenge,” she says. “We are still seeing too many people on waiting lists for treatment. We have people who need help but don’t reach out because of the social stigma attached to mental health. So, increasing access and removing stigmas is vital to our success.”

This philosophy of care also means providing 24-hour crisis services for people experiencing a mental health emergency. “The 9-to-5 model doesn’t work when someone has a crisis at 2:00 am,” says Dr. Gunning. “We have providers available 24/7, because the need for help happens at any time.”

“Helping people work through painful challenges like addiction, anxiety, and mental illness isn’t just our mission — it’s our calling,” says Julie Davison, RN at Monadnock Behavioral Health. “We are very grateful to have the support of our community as we continue to provide the exceptional care our patients deserve.”

* NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) “Mental Health in New Hampshire”, February 2021

Monadnock Behavioral Health Services