SHFT Behavioral Health Expands To Reach Broader Population

Holley Brandchaft-White is the Co-Founder and Clinical Director of SHFT Behavioral Health. Photo provided by MYWHY AGENCY.
Holley Brandchaft-White is the Co-Founder and Clinical Director of SHFT Behavioral Health. Photo provided by MYWHY AGENCY.

SHFT Behavioral Health Expands To Reach Broader Population

By Tia Carol Jones

SHFT Behavioral Health, located at 730 N. Franklin, has expanded the ages of its patients as a way to provide necessary care to more people. The behavioral health service provider also expanded to be in-network for health insurance providers. These moves are meant for SHFT to continue in its mission to provide quality behavioral health services, without having cost serve as a barrier to families seeking care.

Holley Brandchaft-White, Clinical Director, and Genia Yovankin, COO, bring a combined two decades of experience working in behavioral health. SHFT has an urgent care model that is meant to be more accessible, calming and more suited to the families it serves.

 SHFT is open seven days a week and has walk-in and scheduled availability. The goal is for the behavioral health care provider to be an alternative to people seeking behavioral health care in the emergency rooms of hospitals. SHFT also does routine therapy, medication management and single session chats.

“We’re seeing that people of all ages are finding so much value in it and people are so excited that we are reducing this barrier of having to find the right person and do all this work … you can now just come in and talk to somebody, no matter what’s going on in your life,” Yovankin said.

SHFT recently expanded the age of the people it serves from 10 years old to 30 years old to 5 years old to 70 years old. Brandchaft-White said the inclusion of ages 5 to as old as 70 happened because SHFT saw a need to service younger children and older individuals. She said the parents, through referral services and schools, asking if SHFT would be able to see younger children. They have child, adolescent and adult providers that work with SHFT. Brandchaft-White said that with younger children who are managing a lot, and their families, who are carrying the stress of the current events in the world, the demand called for SHFT to provide broader access to care.

SHFT is now in-network with Aetna, BCBS PPO, United Healthcare, Blue Cross Choice, and Cigna and also supports some college student insurance plans. Yovankin said that when SHFT opened last fall, it was helpful that it was a self-pay model, but there were still some barriers around patients and their families paying up front in full. By going in-network, SHFT is able to serve a much broader population and cater more to students, with student healthcare plans. It is something that Yovankin said SHFT is very proud to be able to broaden the population it serves.

Brandchaft-White said that if parents are noticing a change in their child’s behavior, or the child is struggling with anxiety or depression, whether they see the change or have been referred by a teacher or pediatrician, they should seek behavioral health services. When it comes to what to look for in a behavioral health provider, she said parents should find providers who work within the specialties the parent is looking for.

She also advised that parents should seek providers who are in-person instead of virtual, as a way to build a connection between the child and the provider. She said that with children, it is important to be open to what behavioral health care could look like for them. She said patience is key as care can take some time.

For more information about SHFT Behavioral Health, visit www.shftbh.com.


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