Stacey Gross
Warren County residents now have an additional option when seeking mental health care.
(Photo by Stacey Gross. Picture Left to Right Amy Philhower, LCSW and Owner, Michael Philhower, LCSW and Owner, Rachel King, PMHNP, Shahanawaz Meer, MD.)
While there are several options for those seeking therapy or counseling locally, those seeking mental health prescriptions, medication management, or psychiatric evaluations have had only one option: Beacon Light Behavioral Health.
Through collaboration between Sunrise Collaborative and Jamestown Psychiatric, those in need of psychiatric services will soon be able to access them through either Beacon Light or Sunrise. Sunrise Collaborative, co-owned by clinicians Michael and Amy Philhower, has announced that the credentialing process has begun to add Dr. Shahanawaz Meer and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Rachel King to their practice.
“Both Dr. Meer and Rachel are familiar with the mental health needs in Warren County through their work on the inpatient psychiatric unit” at Warren General, said Michael Philhower. Both, he went on, “are looking forward to providing additional services in the outpatient setting.”
From lengthy waits for new patients to high patient to provider ratios for existing patients of current prescribers, said Philower, the lack of additional prescribers for mental health medications and medication management services puts local consumers at a disadvantage.
“It’s important to have additional psychiatric services in Warren, to help alleviate extended wait times, and to provide additional provider options for the community,” Philhower said.
According to Meer, “we’re looking forward to joining a dynamic team to provide improved, prompt care for people with mental health symptoms, including substance abuse, in Warren County.”
Said King, “I’m incredibly excited to join Sunrise Collaborative to bring further resources and support to the Warren Community. I think we’re going to make a great team providing those in need with well-rounded therapeutic care. Working within my home community and helping people feel supported and cared about has been a goal of mine.”
Having put a lot of thought into the types of providers they wanted to work with, both Mike and Amy took their time seeking out clinicians whose therapeutic values and philosophies aligned with those of Sunrise.
“We believe Dr. Meer and Rachel King will be a great fit,” said Amy, adding that both Meer and King understand the Sunrise focus on trauma-informed care based on the current knowledge evidence base regarding what’s helpful for those having experienced trauma and what’s not.
Meer graduated from the Dow Medical College in 1992 and specializes in Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatry, and Neurology. King is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and resident of Warren County.
Once Meer and King are credentialed and approved to accept patient insurance plans, said Michael Philhower, Sunrise will begin accepting new patients for their psychiatric and medication management services, as well as their ongoing offerings of trauma-informed therapy through any of their seven licensed therapists.
