VOLUNTEER SERVICES
Joan Cottler, LICSW, Director of Social Work
Carol Brown, Coordinator
Becoming a Volunteer
Volunteer opportunities are available in many areas of the hospital.
The overall goal of the Volunteer Services Department is to provide service of the highest quality to assist McLean with its mission: patient care, teaching and research. Volunteers fill a variety of changing needs and help to create a friendly, caring climate, and thereby enriching the entire McLean community.
McLean volunteers come from many different areas and educational institutions throughout the United States and abroad. They vary in age, background, personality, interests and skills.
Volunteers provide assistance throughout McLean's clinical services and programs, including inpatient units, partial hospital and residential programs, rehabilitation programs, patient education programs, and the Mental Health Consumer Resource Center (see www.coleresourcecenter.org). They also assist with basic and clinical research, as well as provide support services to offices and the library.
Volunteers are asked to work a specified schedule for a predetermined period of time. They work under the direct supervision of staff in the program or area, utilizing their services, and receive general direction and guidance from the Coordinator of Volunteer Services.
McLean values its volunteers for their important contributions to patients, staff and the hospital as a whole. Patients learn a variety of helpful skills from volunteers and gain from the interaction with people who care enough to share their time and talents. Staff members are grateful for volunteer assistance and appreciate their energy, enthusiasm and dedication. The hospital benefits from the community insight volunteers bring and the information about mental illness, treatment and hospital goals volunteers take back to the community.
People volunteer at McLean for different reasons. Many use the work to test career goals and/or prepare themselves for graduate school. Others wish to sharpen skills with a goal to apply for a paid position. Still others are looking for a meaningful way to fill free time. All of them find satisfaction in helping others.
Telephone: 617-855-2118
E-mail: brownc@mcleanpo.mclean.org