Mission Statement

 Sumner Mental Health Center is committed to providing compassionate, comprehensive and individualized treatment that meets the complex needs of individuals and families. We endeavor to deliver the highest quality and cost-effective treatment for behavioral, psychiatric, and/or addictive diseases.

Our Core Values

Human Dignity, Community, Service, Integrity, and Innovation.

History

Sumner Mental Health Center, in it's various forms over the years, is a state licensed community mental health center providing comprehensive behavioral health and addiction services to Sumner County for 48 years. Mental health services began in Sumner County in 1969 as a result of JFK’s 1963 CMH Act. The intent of this legislation was to eliminate the warehousing of individuals with mental illness in state hospitals, which was common prior to this legislation. This was to be accomplished by providing mental health services in the local community to prevent or limit the lengthy hospitalizations. SMHC began life as a satellite office of South Central Mental Health and Counseling Center, Inc. in Butler County. In the beginning one therapist came to Wellington several days per week. By 1975 there were 3 full-time therapists, one part-time therapist, and a part time psychiatrist providing behavioral health services in Wellington.

Sumner Mental Health Center became incorporated as an independent community mental health center in 1983. In the 1980s the deinstitutionalization movement was in full swing with the impetus on developing community based services, including Community Support Services for adults with severe and persistent mental illness and Children’s Community Based Services for children with serious emotional disturbances. As SMHC grew it consecutively occupied several offices in Wellington until building its current office space in 1995. SMHC averages approximately 50 staff members, with 17 licensed clinical professionals and contracts for psychiatric medical coverage 4 days per week.

Sumner Mental Health provides services from birth through geriatrics. While our clinicians are considered generalists, there are many who have developed expertise in areas such as infant mental health, play therapy, childhood trauma, marriage and family therapy, crisis services, faith based services and cognitive behavioral approaches as well as other specific treatment modalities.

Sumner Mental Health Center also has a long tradition of providing consultation and education to area agencies and organizations. Currently, we have representatives participating in the Tiny-K Advisory Committee, the Sumner Health Advisory Council, Multidisciplinary Team and the Futures Unlimited Behavior Support Committee. Of note is our history of children’s programming in the areas of infant mental health, therapeutic preschool services and more recently, the expansion of school-based therapeutic services by providing clinical staff in the county’s school districts. Several of these programs have achieved national prominence resulting in publications and national level presentations.