Laurie Brown, program supervisor for CHD Adult Mental Health-Springfield’s Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic on State Street, chose the field of social work because she had firsthand proof of its impact: when she was younger, seeing a therapist had improved her own mental health. “I was in therapy for years, and I saw the progress that I made with the support of a clinician, and I was like, ‘This is what I want to do.’”

And when she was in high school, she had a friend who went through some tough times—her mother had died during their senior year, and Brown struggled to find a way to help her. By becoming a social worker, however, Brown could then assist people with challenging situations who are unable—or don’t know how—to help themselves.

Brown earned her BSW in Social Work from Elms College and her MSW from the University of Connecticut. She interned at CHD Adult Mental Health-Springfield’s STAR Psychiatric Day Treatment Program in 2004, joined our agency the following year, and has been here ever since. Many believe there are no coincidences in life—if so, such was the case with Brown’s career, which took her on a path that seemed to be meant for her: “I thought that I wanted to work with children, but I couldn’t get a placement with children, so I worked with adults, and I liked that even more than working with children,” she said.

She enjoys conducting supervision with staff as a way of “paying it forward” for the instruction and guidance she received when she began working at CHD 20 years ago. Brown said it’s also gratifying to see clients’ lives improve, including one woman she counseled who at first wasn’t able to work because of her mental health issues. “She had trauma, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, but over the years she has come to the point where she’s working now, and she’s able to handle situations she wasn’t able to handle before,” she said.

Brown said it’s impossible in recent years not to notice the impact the COVID crisis has had on clients’ mental health. “For many, it was really difficult to be isolated and away from family and friends,” she said. “Some had to deal with job loss, illness, and the deaths of relatives.” However, there were unexpected benefits of the pandemic—namely the popularity of telehealth. “Clients who don’t have transportation or had difficulty leaving the house can get help through telehealth,” she said. “It was difficult to get used to at first, but it didn’t take long to become a natural thing,” she said.

Regardless of the mode of service delivery—in-person or virtual—witnessing positive changes in clients’ mental state and helping them move toward healing is truly satisfying to Brown, especially because this is something she had experienced herself as a younger woman. After all, making sure individuals she serves live their best lives is what social work is all about. “When they are struggling with a trauma background—seeing the progress that they make is a great feeling,” she said.