36 | DECEMBER 28 • 2023 
J
N

W

hen COVID hit 
in early 2020, 
many businesses 
were thrown into turmoil. 
But for the Rochester Center 
for Behavioral Medicine 
(RCBM), the pandemic offered 
new accessibilities to provide 
much-needed help to more and 
more people.
Under the direction of Jaime 
Saal, who was then chief oper-
ating officer and who has since 
been promoted to chief execu-
tive officer, the practice quickly 
pivoted to an almost-entirely 
online model. As a result, the 
clinic nearly doubled the num-

ber of patients it serves.
RCBM was started in 1993 by 
psychiatrist Joel Young, M.D., 
who continues to serve as medi-
cal director. The clinic describes 
itself as a leader in the diagno-
sis and treatment of attention 
deficit-hyperactivity disorder 
(ADHD) and learning disabili-
ties, as well as depression, bipo-
lar disorder, and other mood 
and anxiety disorders, work-re-
lated concerns, family and mar-
ital issues, and substance abuse 
and eating disorders. 
Its more than 100 employees 
includes 47 therapists, with 
28 of the psychiatrists, nurse 

practitioners and physician 
assistants able to prescribe med-
ication.
Young, of Bloomfield Hills, is 
a member of Temple Israel, as 
is Saal.
Saal joined RCBM 20 years 
ago as a clinical therapist. She 
grew up in Southfield and grad-
uated from Groves High School, 
then attended the University 
of Michigan, where she earned 
a B.A. in psychology, and the 
Indiana University School of 
Education for a master’s of arts 
in counseling. 
She also holds certifications 
in executive healthcare lead-
ership and healthcare change 
management from Cornell 
University Online.
When Saal started at the 
clinic, few mental health 
practices followed the multi-
disciplinary model for which 
RCBM has become known. 
Young brought various provid-
ers under one roof including 
nurse practitioners, physician 
assistants and a registered 
dietitian — a practice not very 
common in the 1990s.

GOING DIGITAL 
At the start of the COVID pan-
demic, the RCBM profession-
als were concerned about what 
would happen if they couldn’t 
see their clients in person. At 
the time, said Saal, the staff had 
been recording their sessions on 
paper. Only a few people in the 
practice used Zoom, including 
one based out of state (but who 
held a Michigan license). Few 
of their patients even knew of 
Zoom.
The staff delved into research 
about telehealth platforms and 
methods for making the forms 
they needed accessible electron-
ically.
Saal set up a command center 
in her West Bloomfield home, 

where she lives with her hus-
band, Matt Pulliam, and her 
sons, Alec, now 11, and Jake, 
now 7, working around the 
boys’ virtual school sessions.
The clinic shut down for a 
few days — and then the staff 
simply started seeing their 
patients via Zoom and tracking 
activity on their computers 
using an electronic medical 
records system.
“Within two weeks, we were 
set up with protocols that 
worked for us,
” said Saal.
The transition was difficult 
for everyone, but the alternative 
— that their patients wouldn’t 
get the mental health care they 
needed — was simply unaccept-
able, she said.
Many of the staff were initial-
ly overwhelmed, but once they 
started using the remote system, 
they loved it. “Their fear of 
change was quickly overcome,
” 
said Saal.
Some staff members have 
returned to the office, but no 
one works completely on-site. 
Most prefer to work from home 
because of the flexibility it gives 
them. Working remotely also 
minimizes personal safety con-
cerns. 
Some parents prefer in-per-
son counseling for their young 
children because it gives the 
children a chance to talk to the 
therapist without the parent 
being present. But remote coun-
seling works well for adoles-
cents, Saal said.
The staff found that remote 
counseling broke down a lot 
of barriers and brought in new 
clients who lived in areas where 
mental health services were not 
readily available.
Cancellations used to be 
fairly frequent, Saal said. With 
the new system, patients don’t 
have to worry about travel time 
or bad weather. Their appoint-

Pivoting to 
Telehealth 
Grows a 
Practice

Mental and behavioral health care 
delivered digitally.

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Jaime Saal and 
Joel Young, M.D.

HEALTH