Outpatient Mental Health Clinic

Outpatient Therapy

Outpatient Therapy—A Process of Self-Discovery and Making Positive Change

“How can I be helpful to you?” is a well-intentioned question that we encounter while browsing at the cell phone store or standing at the deli counter.  It’s a question that focuses you on the task that you are working on to complete in that particular moment in time. When the same question is asked by a therapist in our clinic, it is intended to send an entirely different message.

The clinicians at Community Care want to help you make the changes that you want to make.  We are here for you, no matter who you are, or where you are on your journey through this life.  We are people who have chosen to dedicate our careers to reaching out to others who are trying to find their way through the complex life that we all lead. 

The terms “therapy” and “Mental Health Clinic” can be off-putting to many people, because they often come with outdated ideas about what therapy is.  At Community Care, “therapy” is a word that means that two people have come together to share ideas, to build on things that are working well, and to shore up defenses against things that are not.  Our therapists are highly skilled, experienced people who have chosen to work in the Outpatient Clinic because they want to support people just like you. It is our hope that anyone who comes to Community Care will find an open door to self-discovery.

How does it work?

When you first arrive for a session, you will meet with a Therapist for what is referred to as an “intake assessment,” which is used to develop an understanding of what you want to achieve.  It is important to note the word “you.”  Many begin therapy because there is pressure for change to occur.  Sometimes that pressure comes from a friend or a loved one, and sometimes it is “official” pressure from a DHHS worker or a probation officer.  At other times, the pressure to change comes from inside, when a person realizes that they want their life to be different, when they want to reach their potential and move away from the challenges of the past, or when they are ready to free themselves from the problems of today.  This first meeting will be about what you want, not what others want for you.  You will leave feeling heard, understood, and in full-support of the plan that is developed because you will have designed it.

Who can receive therapy at the Clinic?

Community Care is fully licensed to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment to families, children, and adults of all ages. We currently accept MaineCare, Anthem, and self-pay clients and we will be expanding our affiliations with additional insurers in the coming weeks.  Our clinic currently serves people who are:

• Recovering from difficult life experiences, including the effects of trauma or abuse

• Overcoming substance abuse and/or maintaining recovery

• Experiencing depression and isolation

• Learning new skills to manage chronic mental health challenges

• Learning to manage the stressors of balancing employment with other priorities

• Addressing family conflict, managing difficult child behavior, and parenting support

• Resolving conflict within a marriage/partnership

• Reducing anxiety and becoming more comfortable in social settings

• Involved with the child welfare system

Will my therapist be any good?

Our therapists are trained in the latest proven methods of helping others.  All of our staff have had advanced training in Motivational Interviewing, which is a form of therapy that has been demonstrated to be highly effectively in helping those struggling to change behaviors or lifestyles.  Other interventions used by our therapists include, but are not limited to: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; play therapy; and couples, individual, and family therapy. 

Our therapists are encouraged to seek out specialized trainings in areas of particular interest to them.  Some have specialized licenses in counseling around drug and alcohol use/abuse and problem gambling.  Others have decades of experience working with children, families, and adults struggling with virtually every type of challenge, including family conflict, depression, anxiety, grief and loss, parenting challenges, and involvement with the child welfare system.

Our therapists are supported by an outstanding group of like-minded co-workers who share Community Care’s values of treating others with unconditional positive regard and the utmost respect.  The therapists are backed by an Agency deeply committed to supporting those who choose to trust us.  They do this work because they have chosen to and they are backed by an employer that values their skills.

What happens next?

Different forms of therapy work better for some people than others. There is no standard-issue plan.  You will work directly with your therapist to make a plan that works for you based entirely on your goals for the future, and together, in complete (federally protected) privacy, you will explore various actions steps and the reasons that you are thinking about taking them.  We will talk about how things that you have experienced make you who you are today and how those things shaped your relationships with other people in your life.  We will help you find yourself when you are lost, discover an answer to a question that has long bothered you, or reduce your reliance on coping strategies that are creating more problems than they solve.

Where is therapy available?

We have skilled therapists based in both our Bangor and Saco offices.

Make A Referral

Medication Management

Community Care offers medication management to children (up to the age of 20) within our Bangor office. Dr. Bernard Quigley, MD, is a board certified child psychiatrist and has been providing an exceptional level of medication management to children within Community Care’s outpatient clinic since 1998. Parents have found reassurance through the education Dr. Quigley has been able to offer as they seek to understand their child’s psychiatric needs, and have enjoyed seeing their child’s symptoms subside through his excellent psychiatric care.

To receive medication management, the child must have MaineCare.

Make A Referral