2014 Health Care Champions Honoree: Jennifer Baker

Jennifer Baker is at the forefront of an important issue gaining nationwide momentum: mental health.

Since 2011, Baker has served as director of the Robert J. Murney Clinic at the School of Professional Psychology at Forest Institute, as well as vice president of its Center for Innovation & Community Health. She’s worked in some capacity at Forest Institute since a late 1990s move from Illinois.

Beyond physical health, Baker says overall well-being can be tied to one’s mind, an overlooked area of human welfare she’s working to correct.

“A significant body of research indicates healthy relationships are also critical to one’s health, well-being and longevity,” she says. “This begins when we are infants with the health of our home environment and continues throughout adulthood.”

As director of the Robert J. Murney Clinic, Baker oversees a training facility with 600-800 client visits each month, half of them for a fee of $10 or less per session. In some cases, the clinic also offers therapy vouchers for residents at The Kitchen Inc. and the Missouri Hotel.

Through the Center for Innovation & Community Health, Baker works to develop presentations, training opportunities and workshops focused on mental, behavioral and relationship needs. She also works with the business community to educate employers on how healthy relationships can positively affect the bottom line. One example is the Good Dads initiative, which focuses on health and wellness at work and at home.

She’s also led Forest Institute’s Mental Health and Corrections Conference for the past six years, an annual event emphasizing mental health needs in correctional facilities at the local, state and federal levels, as well as re-entry issues for the formerly incarcerated and their families.

“It’s a community safety issue, as well as one of fairness and equity for the disproportionately high number of mentally ill people who are incarcerated,” Baker says.

A licensed clinical psychologist, Baker sees a few clients regularly to keep her skills sharp, and she’s overseeing six therapists for licensure.  

“My licensure and training as both a marriage and family therapist and a clinical psychologist cause me to consider the large context or system when it comes to overall health and well-being,” she says. “Over the years of seeing clients, I’ve come to believe many of the problems they encounter might be presented by approaches that teach skills and help to build community.

“We cannot address all mental health concerns in a group setting, but we can often do more in a very cost-effective way when we help  people build a supportive network while learning new skills. In this way, we symbolically build a fence at the top of the cliff to prevent people from going over the edge, while saving our highest intensity resources for those who land at the bottom and need the most help.”[[In-content Ad]]