Dr. Ben Kearney is a licensed psychologist, SVP, and Chief Clinical Officer at Ohio Guidestone. Dr. Kearney received his bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and his Ph.D. from Cleveland State University. He was inspired to enter the healthcare field at a young age.
“I got into the healthcare field because of the significant impact of growing up in a Pastor’s family,” said Dr. Kearney. “Seeing my father counsel church members and having friends whose fathers were also pastors left an indelible imprint on my childhood development.”
His mother also impacted his career path.
“My mother was a nurse, and this further contributed to the strong family value of helping the hurting. This familial drive to help others led my siblings and me all into helping professions.”
Dr. Kearney is very accomplished. On top of his bachelor’s degree and PhD, he also has a certificate in Leadership from the University of Michigan and a Black Belt certification in Six Sigma from The University of Akron. He also completed post-doctoral work in Psycho-Pharmacology at NOVA Southeastern University in Florida. He has also co-authored many books.
“It is an incredible experience to have an articulate, intelligent, and creative team to work with,” Kearney said. “The ability to bounce ideas off each other and implement an effective change process enriches one’s life. Because of the team’s talent and the passion to equip others, we were able to create the CBT+ intervention manual series.”
The series is called Building Together and consists of nine cognitive behavioral treatment manuals. These manuals outline OhioGuidestone’s theory of change and Brain Building.
“Because of the team’s incredible capacity to take the new clinical models and further enrich them by developing very creative interventions, we effectively help our clients. It has been and continues to be a very rich experience to work with others that are like-minded and have a passion to help and equip others to make change.”
Dr. Kearney started at OhioGuidestone in 1993 as a Case Manager, eventually working his way up to Chief Clinical Officer in 2005. He says he wanted to work at OhioGuidestone because it matched his personal philosophies.
“OhioGuidestone’s motto: We heal the heart, soothe the soul, engage the spirit and expand the mind,” said Dr. Kearney. “I know of no place else that lives this motto out as fully as OhioGuidestone does. These words are the foundation of our culture at OhioGuidestone.”
About OhioGuidestone
OhioGuidestone is a behavioral health agency, offering community counseling, substance use disorder treatment, early childhood services, psychiatric care, workforce development training, and more.
“We creatively facilitate change,” said Dr. Kearney. “For example, OGS is delivering holistic values and practices, a type of service built on the need for people to address their behavioral health concerns from a spiritual lens. These interventions are behavioral health interventions, but they also have the flexibility to incorporate a spiritual element.”
Dr. Kearney says that this type of treatment sets OhioGuidestone apart from other organizations.
“Many other organizations will come from one or two therapeutic lenses but OhioGuidestone’s work includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma Informed Care therapy, Brain and Body therapy, and Spiritual therapy. The multi-faceted approached makes a meaningful impact on our clients.”
OhioGuidestone also works with other community organizations, such as the Ohio Department of Health and Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. OGS focuses on early childhood development and mental health evaluation within those organizations. Dr. Kearney says the OGS staff has the same mission, helping others.
“This desire – to help – and to see an organization grow in outreach, in impact, and to improve efficiencies and effectiveness in our work motivates all OhioGuidestone staff.”
OhioGuidestone During COVID-19
Many businesses and medical practices had to adjust to COVID-19 and the new protocols put in place. OhioGuidestone is no different.
“OhioGuidestone was able to take the opportunity and move very quickly into expanding telehealth services,” said Dr. Kearney. “By the end of March 2020, we were able to provide telehealth services to all of our clients.”
Dr. Kearney says that some services, such as substance use and outpatient counseling services, are offered in the office. He says that OhioGuidestone is set up to continue serving patients via telehealth if that works better for their lifestyle.
Making an Impact
Dr. Kearney says OhioGuidestone aims to help others, which makes an impact.
“We make an impact by helping others improve their life. Through our program outcome evaluation, we know that if a client completes 10 sessions at OhioGuidestone, on average, they get better! Just ten sessions!”
Dr. Kearney is proud of this.
“This is across the agency, no matter adult or child with behavioral health, mental health, substance use disorder, or a combination, if a client completes 10 sessions at OhioGuidestone they are better than when they started therapy.”
For more information about OhioGuidestone, visit ohioguidestone.org.
Mental Health and Disability
Dr. Kearney says that if you need help, to reach out.
“Recognize that as people, we all need help sometimes. If you’re able to recognize that you have a problem in your life, know that we all have had problems and difficulties, and that it is better if we reach out to one another. Having a problem is not a poor reflection on you, you deserve to be helped.”
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