IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. — A new mental health center opened Tuesday on East Ridge Road, offering walk-in services to adults seeking counseling and therapy.
The Rochester Mental Health Center is Rochester Regional Health’s latest addition to its East Ridge Road plaza. News10NBC’s Erin Mahon was at the center ahead of its opening.
More than 40,000 people in Monroe County received some form of mental health help in 2024, according to the Monroe County 2024 Mental Health Summary Report, with many of them in outpatient settings.
FULL REPORT: Mental Health Services in Monroe County, NY
The center has a team of about 30 therapists and 45 rooms for individual and group sessions. Walk-in availability is offered Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
“It depends on kind of what people’s needs are coming in. Some people may only need a few sessions. Some people may need, let’s say, care for six months or a year. Both are available here,” Eve Hosford said. Hosford is the vice president of behavioral health at Rochester Regional Health.
People should plan to spend up to three hours at the center on walk-in days. The time accounts for registration, triage and waiting for therapists to become available, said Beth Cenci, a lead therapist at the center.
Cenci has worked in the mental health industry for nine years. She said poverty, lack of resources and unsafe neighborhoods are major factors in distress for people seeking community mental health services.
“When you’re worried about where your next meal is going to come from, it’s kind of hard to really feel safe and secure doing anything,” Cenci said.
The center’s location on three different bus lines makes it easier for people to access care compared to the previous location, Cenci said.
The East Ridge Road location serves adults. Rochester Regional Health also has walk-in options for children ages 5 to 21 at its Alexander Park campus on Monroe Avenue.
From 2020 to 2024, about 40,000 people each year sought mental health help in Monroe County, according to the county’s website. The highest year was 2021, during the middle of the pandemic, with 43,500 people seeking help.
The post New Irondequoit mental health center on East Ridge Road offers walk-in counseling for adults starting tomorrow appeared first on WHEC.com.
