Covenant opens Davenport clinic; battles ‘invisible barrier to mental healthcare’

When it comes to getting mental health services, delayed treatment can be devastating to people who need the help. That’s the message Anne Taets delivered Friday afternoon, March 24, as she helped welcome Covenant Family Solutions –  a clinic that provides mental health care services through counseling – to Davenport. “Sometimes people get up their […]

When it comes to getting mental health services, delayed treatment can be devastating to people who need the help. That’s the message Anne Taets delivered Friday afternoon, March 24, as she helped welcome Covenant Family Solutions –  a clinic that provides mental health care services through counseling – to Davenport. “Sometimes people get up their guts up to see somebody and they can’t get in (to see a counselor) soon. So, they never come back and get help,” Ms. Taets, the senior clinician at Covenant, said after a welcoming ceremony for the new clinic at 5403 Victoria Ave.

About 40 people – most from the business community – attended a Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony and tours of the clinic that opened March 1. (The clinic is in the same building that is home to the McCarthy-Bush Corp.) During the festivities, several Covenant officials said the clinic is needed in the Quad Cities because the region is underserved when it comes to mental health care services, and Covenant can start delivering those services in a very short time. “We want to make sure people can get in and get seen (by a counselor) in about a week after they call,” said Dr. Jacob Christenson, CEO of Covenant Family Solutions, who was at Friday’s ceremonies.

The Covenant CEO and its founder added that the recent pandemic has made the need for those services even more vital. He said before COVID-19, studies showed that about one in five people suffered from some form of mental distress. Now, that figure is about one in three. To add more frustration to the situation is the wait time to get those services – those waits can be weeks or months. Amy McCormick, a nurse practitioner, said she has witnessed those long wait times for children who need counseling services. Those waits can be nine months, and over a year for children needing services at the University of Iowa hospitals. “This is great here. If you call now, you can get in in early May,” said Ms. McCormick, who will be joining the Covenant staff in May. Currently, Covenant in Davenport has two therapists, but will be hiring about three more in the coming weeks, said Ms. Taets. (The Covenant website currently lists three Davenport employees: Ms. Taets; Stephanie Eslick, regional clinic director; and Nick Litterer, licensed mental healthcare provider.)

Ms. Taets added that the local clinic looks forward to serving the community. Each therapist can see 30 to 35 patients a week. Covenant provides a variety of therapy options to help people overcome mental health struggles. Some of those include individual, couples, family, teletherapy, school-based and play therapy for children, according to Covenant’s website. “We work daily to normalize mental health and increase awareness among those who do not feel personally affected by mental health. The more we are able to overcome the invisible barrier to mental healthcare, the faster we will be able to make a real difference in the lives of so many who needlessly suffer,” according to the clinic’s website. The clinic hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The home phone is (563) 296-0877. Covenant Family Solutions was founded by Dr. Christenson in 2013 and headquartered in Cedar Rapids. Its other Iowa clinics are in Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Coralville, Dubuque and Marion.