Psychology staff starts new chapter with ARC

The Psychology Department at the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities recently marked the end of a decades-long journey – then quickly began a new one – moving from the public agency to a private nonprofit organization.

FCBDD psychology staff transitioned in July to positions at ARC Industries, a disability-services provider that is adding behavioral health services. People who have been receiving counseling through FCBDD will be able to continue at ARC.

“We’re working to serve the whole person – the body and the mind,” said Anthony Hartley, Chief Financial Officer at ARC. “When this opportunity arose, we jumped at it.”

Current and former psychology staff gathered for a farewell celebration, reflecting on advances in the field and on the resilience of people served. “Our consumers were our heroes,” psychology assistant Randy Cuenot said. “We came to work in challenging circumstances, but never discouraging circumstances.”

Psychologist Jeff Marinko-Shrivers first worked for FCBDD in the late 1980s, when many people with developmental disabilities still lived in institutions. Expertise in dual diagnosis, the finding that people have both disability and mental illness, was emerging.

For too long, mental health conditions that might respond to treatment had been misunderstood or “masked” by perceptions of the disability.  “These were not things to change overnight,” Marinko-Shrivers said. “But we made good progress.”

Depression, anxiety, psychosis and difficult behaviors began to be managed with new and better medications. “We started to see more and more people moving into group homes and supported-living situations,” Marinko-Shrivers said. “We could work with them on social skills and jobs.”

Over the years, federal policy encouraged county boards to shift away from providing direct services in favor of privatization. FCBDD, which has worked closely with the Ohio State University Nisonger Center to bolster behavioral support, appears to be the last county board to end its in-house counseling services. Marinko-Shrivers, Cuenot, and psychology staff members Patrick Keenist and Rick Robertson will move to ARC as office space is ready.

Cuenot feels proud of the department’s accomplishments. “Everyone gave of themselves,” he said. “I always enjoyed being at the double doors when my consumers came in – and when they left.”