The road to Ellie Mental Health’s new clinic opening on 180th St. in Hales Corners began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when now-franchise owner Matt Taken was facing a problem that plagued many people throughout the course of the pandemic. His family, dealing with mental health issues, was stuck on endless waitlists.
“I was made very aware through wait times in order to see a mental health professional and understood the lack of quality care that was available,” Taken said.
The opportunity to make a difference came through Ellie Mental Health, a for-profit healthcare company founded in Minnesota in 2015 whose mission statement is “Transforming the Culture of Mental Health.” The company has been successful and adopted a franchise model and spread across the Midwest.
“I kinda saw Ellie as a way to fill the gap of mental health and it seemed like a good business to be a part of and something that would help the community so I decided to dive in,” he said.
Ellie founder Erin Pash’s goal was to change the work culture for therapists – and that’s something Clinical Director Colleen Christiansen is adamant about bringing to the Hales Corners clinic.
“I really want a reputation for therapists in the community to see this as a place where we are changing that work culture as well for mental health counselors,” Christiansen said.
Christiansen described herself as a “burnt-out therapist” before joining Ellie, something she said is widespread among therapists since the start of the pandemic, forming the other side of the coin to the problems patients are having getting seen.
But Taken and Christiansen agree that their main focus at the clinic is de-stigmatizing mental health care for everyone.
“We can all benefit from talking to somebody,” she said. “We have inclusive office spaces that allow for authenticity both of our therapists and of our clients. So, really trying to take down those social barriers.”
Ellie is not a crisis center, but Taken doesn’t want that to discourage people who feel like they need to reach out.
“If you need somebody to talk to, if you’re stressed out, we can help you with that. It doesn’t have to be a crisis situation for you to talk about your mental health,” he said.
While the clinic does not provide crisis care like Milwaukee’s Mental Health Emergency Center, Christiansen said that getting involved in the community beyond individual or couples sessions is a key part of Ellie’s mission.
“We will be out in the community, we will be talking to people, whether that’s at a farmer’s market or a craft fair or some sort of an expo,” she said. “Our goal is to be in those places in different ways.”
While the lack of available therapists is a major barrier to entry that Ellie is trying to contribute to lessening, another major hurdle for accessing mental health care is cost. Taken said that the clinic already has agreements in place with seven health insurance companies and he’s working on increasing that number.
But since the clinic opened on May 30, it has already fulfilled Taken’s initial goal.
“We currently do not have a wait list,” Christiansen said.
