BETHEL—The staff at Bethel Family Health Center welcomed Denise Thorn, LCSW to the practice this winter. Denise will be one of three clinical social workers at the practice to assist patients with behavioral health needs across the life cycle. Denise obtained her Master of Social Work degree at the University of New England in 2015 and undergraduate degree in Wilderness Based Outdoor Recreation at Unity College in 1998. She brings experience in Maine outpatient and inpatient mental health settings. Her clinical areas of expertise include depression, anxiety, chronic mental illness, domestic violence, geriatrics, mindfulness and co-occurring disorders.

Necie recently shared, “Rural services are few and far between and accessing services can be a challenge for many residents. I chose Bethel Family Health Center, because I believe integrated services are crucial in decreasing the barriers for treatment. After spending all my summers in Oxford County, then moving here in my late teens, I am looking forward to returning to providing services to the rural communities in our state.”

Necie will be joining clinical social workers Leslie Lufkin and Katie Sloma, who offer mental health and substance use disorder services at the practice, as well as physicians Catherine Chamberlin, Rich DeCarolis and Kevin Finley, nurse practitioner Carly Hanson, and psychiatric nurse practitioner Joanne Nicastro. The health center offers primary care with integrated behavioral health to 3,300 people in the Andover, Bethel, Gilead, Greenwood, Hanover, Newton, Upton and Woodstock region.

Bethel Family Health Center is part of HealthReach Community Health Centers, a system of eleven Federally Qualified Health Centers in Central and Western Maine. Dedicated providers deliver high-quality medical and behavioral healthcare to citizens in over 80 rural communities. To ensure access to everyone, HealthReach accepts Medicare, MaineCare and major insurances. In addition, an Affordable Care Program is available to uninsured and underinsured residents as well as assistance with applications for programs that help with the cost of healthcare and medications, including the Health Insurance Marketplace.

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