In 1899, the Arkansas Methodist Orphanage was built as a ministry of the Arkansas Methodist Church. More than a century later, Methodist Family Health continues this legacy — serving children and families with a continuum of services that meet the evolving needs of Arkansans. This includes Methodist Behavioral Hospital, Methodist Counseling Clinics and Arkansas CARES (Center for Addictions Research, Education and Services) as well as different levels of psychiatric care and counseling.
Methodist Family Health Outpatient Administrator Cyndi Coleman has been helping children and families for more than two decades. She has helped expand outpatient counseling in the state and establish clinics and school-based mental health programs in the school districts that are affiliated with Methodist Family Health. “I have had the amazing opportunity to grow with Methodist Family Health because when I started as a therapist, we were still just the Methodist Children’s Home,” Cyndi explains. “At that time, we had about 50 employees statewide, and now we have close to 500.”
Methodist Family Health is renowned for its work managing the trauma of children who have experienced multiple failed foster home placement attempts. “We are known for taking kids that other providers won’t,” Cyndi elaborates. She also notes that Methodist Family Health helps mothers who have a dual diagnosis of mental illness and substance abuse. “We’ve been able to help overcome accessibility issues for families and children in the state to make mental health services more easily available,” Cyndi notes. “Arkansas is a rural state. Access is still an ongoing challenge and a barrier for families. We have been an organization that has been willing to go into small communities and areas to help.” This reflects the heart of the Methodist Family Health mission. Director of Communications Kelli Reep agrees. “The foster care system is looking more into reintegration of children and how they can stay with family or someone in their community who knows them and wants to support them, and so we’re looking into more programs like that,” Kelli adds. “Children do better if they have an adult in their life who they know is on their side, supports them and loves them. They will do well and want to achieve. Our goal is to help children and families find that person or be that person.”