Kneibert Clinic adds 2 clinical therapists

Kneibert Clinic has expanded its Mental Health Services by adding (from left) Jeff Till and Bob McDonald, both clinical therapists. (DAR/Lonnie Thiele)

By LONNIE THIELE ~ Staff Writer

Mental Health Services at Kneibert Clinic expanded the first week of May with the addition of two clinical therapists, Jeff Till and Bob McDonald.

The two previously worked together at Three Rivers Healthcare in the in-patient mental health unit where they primarily worked with people under age 21 who were on Medicaid.

Kneibert Clinic was designated a rural health clinic last fall, which entitles it to provide counseling for people over age 21 who qualify for Medicaid.

"My dad's (Ben) a physician at Kneibert Clinic. He was telling me about Kneibert becoming a rural health clinic and Bob and I approached Bob Christian (Kneibert Clinic administrator) about it," Till said.

"It's interesting to start a new practice. It's a challenge, a nice switch from what we were doing before. This gives us a chance to use more of the skills we were trained in."

"We're starting to get busy up here," said Terrie Davis, Kneibert Clinic's Mental Health Service office coordinator. The office is located on the clinic's third floor.

Davis and secretary Bonnie Polaski screen the telephone calls and generally assign people who are in need of talk therapy and are not likely to require medication to McDonald or Till. Others are referred to psychiatrist Salazar or psychiatric nurse practitioner Debbie Price.

McDonald and Till both have a BA degree in psychology and a master's degree in sociology and are licensed as clinical social workers. McDonald also majored in Bible at college and previously served as a co-pastor at New Covenant Fellowship Church.

For the most part they work independently of each other.

"If I have a patient who has a history of substance abuse, or drug or alcohol abuse, I'm going to run their chart by Jeff," McDonald said.

"If I have someone dealing with spiritual issues, a crisis in their faith, I'll probably come by and see Bob," Till said.

At Kneibert Clinic, Till and McDonald counsel people with emotional or mental problems such as depression, anxiety, personality disorders and adjustment disorders.

Several of their patients reside in residential care facilities for mentally challenged people, most of whom are covered by Medicaid.

"One of the residential homes has 64 residents and not a single one had a counselor," McDonald said. "We try to provide a service for people who can't be seen anywhere else."

The two spend about half of their time out of the office treating residential care patients. They receive patient referrals from doctors, the probation office, and the Division of Family Service.

Both use the cognitive therapy approach in their talk therapy, which has to do with changing the way people think.

"If you can change the way they think about something, you will change the outcome," McDonald said.

If they feel a patient can benefit from medication they talk with the patient's doctor or refer them to Salazar or Price.

"It's been a challenge for me to juggle my time," McDonald said. "We've been pretty busy."

Till generally sees patients until 7 p.m. and then catches up on paperwork.

The two said they plan to set up group therapy at the clinic for anger management, bi-polar disorders, parenting issues, sexual trauma, physical abuse and severe depression.

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This article was originally published June 4, 2003, in the Daily American Republic, Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and is reproduced here with permission.