Mental health agency expands to provide support, guidance

WILTON – A group of professionals in the fields of mental and behavioral health have launched a new agency out of the Bass-Wilson building this month, seeking to bring a wide variety of services to clients.

Constellations Inc., owned and operated by Rick Condon and Eric Rutberg, has hired 13 people and just completed its first employee orientation last week. The agency intends to provide customers with both counseling, including assessments, diagnosis and treatment, as well as case management, helping link its clients with other organizations and services who can provide assistance. The agency’s offices are located in the Bass-Wilson Building off Canal Street, next to Wilson Lake, where Constellations is leasing more than 2,500 square feet in office space.

Operating a multi-service agency has been a dream of Rutberg’s, who has a masters in psychology and doctorate in health education, as well as more than 20 years of experience in the mental health field. The clinical director of the agency, Rutberg has been practicing in Wilton for more than 10 years. Condon, who Rutberg described as the chief of operations, has worked across the state, helping establish crisis and counseling centers. The pair have hired both seasoned counselors as well as a number of social workers and case managers entering the field for the first time.

Over the past six months, the company has been working to establish licenses in preparation for opening as a “full service agency,” as Rutberg puts it. Individuals, adults or children, as well as families will be able to seek therapy with the company’s counselors, Rutberg said, but also access resources and services with the assistance of a case manager.

There is need in the community for such a service, Rutberg believes. The recent economic downturn has created a spike in depression and anxiety cases, Rutberg said, specifically “acute” mental health issues which stem from a particular cause rather than a preexisting condition. In addition to general increases, Rutberg said counselors were seeing new segments of the population.

“People like truckers, people working in the woods,” Rutberg said. “A lot of people come in and say ‘I don’t think I can afford to [keep working].'”

The company is looking into employing a physician specializing in medication management, to develop treatment plans for prescription medication abuse, particularly for opiates, which have emerged as a significant public safety concern in recent years. Those plans, which would utilize medication to wean patients off their existing addiction, would be accompanied by therapy.

Another major area of potential business would be children with behavioral issues, which can often reflect the stress families are under, Rutberg said. Counselors begin by employing a battery of assessments which determine what method of counseling will be most effective, then meet with the client at Constellations offices, or in homes or schools. Participants can self-refer, or be referred by a primary care physician.

“We’re kind of holistic,” Rutberg said. “Our assessment approach looks out for the whole person.” The counseling process, Rutberg said, was geared to simply help clients meet their goals, effectively and efficiently.

The company is in the process of hiring another three counselors or social workers to provide case management for clients, which could range from arranging visits with an occupational therapist to low-cost heating oil. Future expansions include an office in Lewiston, expected to open in the middle of December.