Mental health payment options expanded for Jewish Family Service. Photo: courtesy of Jewish Family Service
PARK CITY, Utah — Jewish Family Service (JFS) announced this week that it’s ending the year with a transformative action for its future. JFS is now accepting Medicaid for mental health services.
Serving people of all backgrounds, regardless of denomination, JFS offers four core services to the community: emergency financial assistance, services for older adults and their caregivers, the Alex & Sally Lebwohl Food Pantry at the Salt Lake office, and affordable mental health services for all.
Through a combination of in-person and telehealth options, JFS ensures that individuals and families across the community are able to access mental health support, regardless of denomination or ability to pay. At a time when Medicaid cuts are becoming increasingly common nationwide—making it harder for vulnerable individuals to access consistent care—JFS’ new Medicaid contract represents a critical step forward in safeguarding mental health access for Utahns.
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Securing this contract in such a challenging climate demonstrates JFS’ ongoing commitment to meeting community needs, especially for those who rely most heavily on public resources.
“We are thrilled to be to accepting Medicaid for the first time,” JFS Executive Director Melissa Zimmerman told TownLift. “It represents a huge step forward for our organization. Mental health concerns need to be addressed with the same fervor as physical health and a Medicaid contract means that we can provide our high-quality, evidenced-based services to an even greater number of people in need.”
At JFS in Park City and in Salt Lake City, licensed therapists provide individual, family, and couples counseling with an emphasis on inclusive, affordable, and compassionate care. Counselors provide support for a wide range of issues including anxiety, depression, grief and loss, PTSD, relationship problems, and life transitions, just to name a few. JFS counselors are trained in a variety of methods for helping people including traditional talk therapy models such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), in addition to alternative forms of therapy such as Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR).
Specific therapeutic techniques are chosen based on each individual’s unique needs and preferences, according to JFS Director of Clinical Services, Lily Hanscom, who told TownLift “At JFS, our goal is to make therapy as accessible and person-centered as possible. This means that we believe that clients are the experts of their own experiences, and we trust them to guide their therapy as much or as little as they want. We have approaches that can meet most presenting issues, and styles that vary to accommodate different needs.”
In addition to Medicaid, JFS will continue to offer sliding-scale payment options for clients to ensure care remains accessible to all who need it.
If you are interested in learning more about therapy services through JFS, please contact Hanscom at clinical@jfsutah.org. People can also learn more about JFS’ critical work and learn about making a year-end donation to support their programs by by clicking here.
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