Charlestown Mental Health & Social Services Clinic

The Charlestown Mental Health & Social Services Clinic at the Charlestown HealthCare Center has a multidisciplinary mental health staff that includes:

• Psychiatrists and psychologists
• Clinical social workers
• Clinical nurse specialists
• Substance use disorder specialists

Our program serves the outpatient mental health needs of residents of the Charlestown neighborhood. We serve patients in both the adult and pediatric primary care services within the health center.

We also provide training to residents, fellows and students in all disciplines.

Our Guiding Principles

Our work at the Charlestown Mental Health & Social Services Clinic is guided by the following principles:

• Health must be defined broadly to include the social and economic determinants of health
• We address both the health of populations and the health of individuals
• Our focus is on prevention and early intervention
• We are committed to the underserved
• We listen, collaborate and partner with communities
• We value reciprocal learning between Mass General and those communities
• We offer evidence-based programs culturally appropriate to intervention
• We use evaluation and research to measure outcomes

About Our Program

The Charlestown Mental Health & Social Services Clinic provides both counseling and behavioral services. Our staff participates actively in the Charlestown community as a part of the Center for Community Health Improvement (CCHI) at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The CCHI builds on Mass General’s long-term commitment to its health center communities across Boston, including Chelsea, Revere and Charlestown. Today, CCHI has more than 35 partnerships and programs that aim to:

• Prevent and reduce substance use
• Increase educational opportunities for Boston students
• Interrupt the cycle of family and community violence
• Eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care
• Improve access to care for vulnerable populations

Participating in the Community

Our staff participates actively in the Charlestown community in a number of roles:

• Consulting with Head Start, local schools, daycare centers and community agencies
• Working in elderly housing complexes
• Offering educational and screening programs at popular community sites

Serving Bilingual and Bicultural Communities

We have a full-time bilingual and bicultural Spanish-speaking medical interpreter on site, as well as Spanish-speaking healthcare providers and support staff. We also have interpreters available for other languages.