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We are Help for the Helpers

A statewide mental health and substance use agency that supports behavioral health professionals

Health Affiliates Maine (HAM) is a statewide mental health and substance use agency founded to support behavioral health professionals in their important work to help Mainers build resilience and improve quality of life. 
 
Through our affiliate model, we work with independent behavioral health clinicians in private practice as their advocate, insurance biller, and business administrator so they can focus on what matters: helping Mainers reach their potential. 
 
In addition to being able to provide outpatient therapy and substance use counseling for clients through our network of affiliated clinicians, we also employ case managers, Veterans case managers, and Behavioral Health Home teams to provide behavioral health supports and case management services to people of all ages.

Kate and Andrea from Health Affiliates Maine pose together at the Health Affiliates Maine Consortium.

For clinicians, we are here to help them do their important work to help others. For individuals, we are here to help normalize the reality that all of us struggle at some point with mental health or substance use issues.

Our Mission

Health Affiliates Maine believes that we all struggle at times with mental health or substance use issues. Our mission is to empower and support Maine’s behavioral health professionals so that they may help individuals to enhance their own quality of life. By removing barriers that stand between Mainers and their access to mental health services, we build healthier communities.

Our Vision

By recognizing that all people are affected by mental health and substance use issues, we will reduce the stigma associated with accessing such services, thus increasing the opportunity for all people to participate in their own journey to wellness.

Our History

In 2010, Health Affiliates Maine was founded by Emile Clavet and Andrea Conley, LCSW. Alongside a passionate group of like-minded advocates, they aspired to create a new kind of mental health agency. Tired of mandated quotas and bureaucracy, their aim was to support the work of clinicians by building a flexible, collaborative alternative, thereby allowing behavioral health providers to focus on their most important work: their clients. In doing so, HAM built a new community where none existed before—a community where the agency could partner with independently minded clinicians to better serve Mainers and share in a journey to wellness for all.

The agency has since grown to be a highly respected licensed Mental Health, Substance Use, and Psychiatric Assessment & Treatment agency, with over 300 affiliated clinicians and 80 case managers serving clients in every county in Maine.

We have been continually recognized for our commitment to quality care and advocacy. In 2013, our agency was named one of the fastest growing small businesses by Inc. Magazine—one of only thirteen businesses named in Maine. In 2018, we were named Agency of the Year by National Alliance on Mental Illness Maine (NAMI Maine). HAM later earned the title of Agency of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Maine Chapter in 2023. Each accolade reflects our unwavering dedication to our mission.

 

 

“I believe that all people function on a continuum of mental health; at times, our mental health is strong, and at other times our mental health needs support.  We all struggle in life, and we all have the natural ability to grow and build resilience.  At HAM, we are Help for the Helpers;  believing that when clinicians and case managers are supported in their work and feel valued and appreciated in their strive for excellence and ethical practice, the people who need help benefit.”

Andrea Conley

Executive Director

Our Values

  • Resilience: As professionals, as people, as an agency, we believe that all people have the strength and capacity to grow. We work to help others and ourselves develop our natural abilities to face challenges, solve problems, and build resilience.

  • Integrity: We hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards in our commitment to each other, our clinicians, our case managers, our BHH team members, our staff, our clients, and our client-centered treatment, providing responsive, open, and honest communication and the equitable treatment of the diverse people we serve.

  • Support: We consistently support clinicians, case managers, BHH team members, clients, and staff, equipping them with the tools they need to achieve individual success, and a positive environment to thrive.

  • Collaboration: We are continuously building relationships, working for and with clinicians, case managers, clients, government, and within the HAM team. We encourage mutual respect, understanding, and successful partnerships.

  • Advocacy: We are champions of mental health awareness, making mental health and substance use treatment easily accessible and commonly accepted throughout Maine and beyond.