Helping People in Crisis: Jennifer Mellett’s ’90 Approach to Mental Health Care 

Jennifer Mellett ’90 studied psychology and biblical studies at Gordon and is now a care coordinator for Spring Harbor Hospital, a division of Maine Behavioral Healthcare. She also works per diem as a mental health crisis clinician in her local emergency room. We sat down with Mellett to learn about her career and what’s happening in the world of mental health and healthcare. 

How did you end up working in mental health crisis intervention? 

A lot of my interest in advocating for others came from watching my mom suffer with care provided by the medical system. She ended up on oxygen for the last six years of her life, and she had anxiety. I also witnessed a lack of attention to patient needs. There was one day when my mom was in the hospital, and I realized she couldn’t get to the bathroom on her own, but the doctors assumed she could.  

Through that experience I learned how to ask questions that get to the heart of what’s really going on and help meet the needs of people at whatever stage they’re in. I realized if no one is committed to hearing patients, asking the right questions and getting them what they need, people are going to slip through the cracks, be it in mental health, life-span issues or aging. Over the years I have seen a shift in my thinking, to seeing our patients as people to be loved and not problems to be solved.  

What is your role? What do you do during a typical workday? 

At Spring Harbor, which is a private special mental health hospital, we’re advocates for mental health. I handle clinical insurance authorizations for hospitalized adults. When people suffer mental health crises and end up in a hospital, I help manage how their bill is paid and go to bat for them with the insurance company. I try to advocate for what is going on holistically for the patient—especially because they might not have the ability to advocate for themselves. So, I look for a needle in the haystack, and I go after it every day to try and get each patient the best treatment for the smallest bill possible. 

I am also a mental health crisis clinician doing evaluations out of local emergency rooms. I see patients on the front end when they arrive in an emergency crisis, and then if they enter the inpatient unit, I see them on that side. My patients can range from anyone suffering from anxiety to people who are suicidal to people who are psychotic. 

When was a time you were able to integrate your faith with your work? 

That’s something I’ve found fascinating about mental health; there’s always an open door for spirituality as long as the patient wants it. One day a coworker on the crisis assessment team came to me and said, “I think you need to take this case. This is an elderly woman who wants to kill herself, and she’s sitting out there with her priest; I don’t know a lot about faith and Christianity, but I don’t think killing yourself and a priest go together. I don’t know how to have that discussion with her, and I know it’s who you are.” Fortunately, I was able to help that woman decide not to take her life, but it’s tricky finding the right balance between faith and psychology.  

I think it’s about asking the right questions. We have a question about spirituality on our assessment forms, but a lot of my coworkers skip right over it. I never miss an opportunity to ask that question. I don’t know how people navigate this world without faith; I’m thankful that I have it.  

My work with people in their most difficult times is ministry to me. I feel it is an honor when people allow me to be part of their lives at their darkest hour. I was recently telling my friend that my job doesn’t feel like work, but ministry, and the bonus is, I get paid. What I’m doing now is about advocacy for people, and so it’s about loving God, loving others and helping them get what they need.    

How did Gordon prepare you to work in the fields of advocacy and mental health? 

My Gordon experience is still such a positive part of my life, and the knowledge I gained at Gordon applies to my career every day. The course I remember the most and use a lot in my current job was Lifespan Development with Dr. Kaye Cook. Especially when I was watching my mom go through what she did, it was pivotal to understand where she was in her life span and what her needs were.  

Overall, I think Gordon was a place where I came in as a very quiet person and over the years blossomed to find my place in the world and discover what it means to be a Christian in a secular society.