Forest Institute, Burrell Behavioral Health to merge

The School of Professional Psychology at Forest Institute and Burrell Behavioral Health have entered into a merger agreement - roughly three months after Forest Institute ceased merger talks with Missouri State University.

The boards of directors of the two nonprofits last week approved the decision, which is subject to accrediting and regulatory approvals, according to a news release.

The merger would allow Forest Institute graduate students to practice in a clinical setting, while Burrell would benefit from Forest Institute faculty members' experience supporting grant development, program evaluation and research initiatives.

According to the release, the organizations entered merger talks because of a history of cooperation and overlapping objectives, including clinical services, education, training and research. "Also, changes in health care delivery, including focus on integrated health care teams and evidence-based practice, are driving the need for more experiential-based education and training of behavioral health providers," the release said. "Further, the merger will provide for efficient maximization of resources, including deployment and engagement of student trainees for service-learning, sharing of clinical staff, improving operational efficiencies and seeking collaborative grant funding opportunities."

Burrell, which has an agreement to provide outpatient mental health services for CoxHealth, was founded in 1977 and employs nearly 900 at 27 location locations in its 17-county service area. Established in 1978, Forest Institute is an accredited independent graduate school that employs 56 and has 281 master's and doctoral students training for careers as psychologists, counselors, marriage and family therapists, and applied behavior analysts.

Forest Institute had been in merger talks with MSU, but the organizations ceased those plans in October after determining the merger wasn't in the best interest of the two parties, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.