Counseling, hope and healing in Park City

For more than 20 years, the Christian Center of Park City has been helping people facing hard moments, offerings essential: mental health care.

As community needs have grown, so has the center’s work. What began as a food pantry is now a place where individuals and families can find support for the challenges that often overlap, like housing instability, financial stress, and mental health concerns.

“Mental health care touches everyone,” said Steve Richardson, executive director of the center. “No matter someone’s situation, it’s something we all need at different points in life.”

About 14 years ago, the center added a counseling program to meet that need. Today, it provides therapy, medication support through an advanced practice registered nurse, and financial assistance to help make care more accessible.

How counseling helped one man reclaim his life

One patient came to the program experiencing severe instability driven by chronic anxiety and unresolved trauma.

His anxiety had become so overwhelming that he visited the emergency department more than 100 times in a single year. He was unable to maintain steady employment, and daily life had become increasingly difficult to navigate.

Through consistent, trauma-informed therapy, his care team focused on emotional regulation, anxiety management, and helping him process experiences that had shaped his mental health for years. Over time, he developed healthier coping skills, gained confidence, and began rebuilding his life.

Today, he is working full time and has not returned to the emergency department since beginning therapy. The resilience and independence he gained through treatment have allowed him to move forward with confidence.

His story reflects what can happen when people are able to receive the right support before their mental health challenges become even more overwhelming.

Richardson says success stories like this one are common, thanks to the center’s expert therapists who conducted nearly 9,000 counseling sessions in 2025.

How Intermountain Health is making mental health care more accessible

No single healthcare organization can meet every behavioral health need on its own.

That's why Intermountain Health works alongside community-based organizations that are already making a difference in the communities they serve. The Intermountain Community Care Foundation (ICCF), Intermountain's charitable foundation, provides grant funding that helps expand access to behavioral health services for uninsured community members across the region.

One organization helping deliver this care is the Christian Center of Park City.

Powered by collaboration

When Richardson joined the organization about a year and a half ago, around 7% of counseling clients received financial aid. Today, nearly 40% do, an increase that reflects both rising demand and a clear commitment to removing barriers to care.

“Reducing the cost barrier opens the door,” Steve said. “It allows people to get help they may not have realized they needed.”

Through ICCF behavioral health funding, organizations like the Christian Center of Park City can provide timely, affordable care to individuals who might otherwise go without support. The goal is simple: reduce barriers and help people get the support they need as quickly as possible.

Since 2023, participating organizations supported through this ICCF-funded behavioral health initiative have:

• Served more than 4,300 uninsured individuals
• Provided over 13,500 behavioral health visits
• Averaged 3.5 treatment sessions per person
• Reached communities where access is limited, with 54% of participants living in rural areas

Together, this work helps close gaps in care and strengthen access to mental health services across communities.

The Christian Center of Park City (CCPC) is a humanitarian community resource center that helps improve the lives of people and communities through meeting immediate and basic needs. Focusing primarily on the population centers of Summit and Wasatch counties, Utah, CCPC serves all people, regardless of race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or gender.

The Intermountain Community Care Foundation (ICCF) advances Intermountain Health's mission through strategic grantmaking. ICCF awards grants to nonprofit and governmental organizations that address identified community needs. Learn more.