D. Joseph Hupp Jr., MSSA, LISW-S
Clinical Director
From a young age I knew that I wanted to help people, but I didn’t exactly know what that meant. As a teenager, I was the person who was on the phone at all hours (I am certain my parents did not appreciate that), talking to my friends and working with them on their problems. It was always important to me to help someone to feel better.
As I went on to college, I pursued a dual degree from Bowling Green State University in Psychology and Inter-personal communications. At that time, I still had this sense of wanting to help people, but it wasn’t clear as to how. Feeling that I was going to be a researcher in the field of experimental psychology perked my interest for a time, but something was missing.
After graduating with Bachelor of Arts in 2001, I was a bit lost and re-evaluated what my next course of action was. My interest in research was waning and I wanted to work directly with people but didn’t know how to approach it.
One Summer, I decided to volunteer at a nursing home and had the wonderful opportunity to speak to some of the residents there and hear their stories. This became much more than a volunteer activity for me as it was developing into a passion. The desire to work with and help people flowed strongly through me and I decided that I wanted to go into Social Work to advocate, empower and just generally help people.
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Therefore, I re-enrolled at Bowling Green State University and obtained my Bachelor of Science in Social Work in 2003. Upon graduating I knew that I found the field that I would devote my professional life to. Wanting to pursue a graduate degree, I applied and enrolled at Case Western Reserve and earned my Master of Science in Social Administration in 2005.
In 2002, I landed my first job in the field of mental health at Behavioral Connections in Bowling Green Ohio. My role was as a case manager helping the severely and persistently mentally ill. This job solidified that I knew I made the right choice. During my tenure there, I was promoted to Case Manager Coordinator, Program Manager I, and ultimately a Program Manager II. I found that administration as well as direct practice were equally as satisfying.
In 2008, I decided to take the next step in my career and apply for a Clinical Director position in Mentor Ohio. Pathways, Inc. hired me, and I started in January of 2008. I was very sad to leave my clients and coworkers at Behavioral Connections (BC). To this day, some of my most fond memories of working with a team are with the staff from BC.
As Clinical Director at Pathways, the experience allowed me to see a 100% administrative side to the mental health field. Not only with managing the clinical staff, but I was able to establish, grow and expand clinical programs, not only for Pathways, but for Lake County. Establishing a walk-in assessment clinic allowed residents of Lake County to not have to wait for an assessment and cut down wait times. My tenure at Pathways was only two years. The constant issue of State budget cuts, local politics, and general uncertainty with the system had me pursue my next step. At that time, I was feeling again at a crossroads and decided to pursue private enterprise.
From 2010 to 2013 I was the Chief Clinical Officer at Charak Center for Health and Wellness. My experience here was more of a hybrid position of administration and direct practice. I was happy to again be in front of people working with them directly (an experience I had missed while at Pathways). During the time at Charak, I am grateful for learning much about accreditation, the business side of seeing how a practice ran. The dynamic and ever-changing atmosphere was exciting as was working with professionals from vast clinical backgrounds.
Then fate struck me in 2013. I was not looking for a change, but change came to me. At that time, my wife was pregnant with our third child and I thought that I would do some contract hours on the weekend to make a little extra money and to expand my knowledge of private practice. I was brought on to Benhaven Counseling in 2013 and my intention was only to be there for a little while keeping my current position at Charak. What I didn’t expect was that I completely fell in love with being a direct provider 100% of the time again. It had been several years where my only concern was the concern of my client and not assisting in running an organization. I found myself totally immersed in directly helping people and my clientele grew quickly. In a matter of a few months I had a decision to make as I would not be able to sustain both positions. Therefore, in June of 2013 I took the plunge and devoted my entire time to private practice; finally, I felt that this was indeed the perfect fit.
Interestingly enough, administration came “knocking on my door” again and I was asked by Benhaven’s then Owner/Clinical Director, Gene Benedetto to help him run the practice. Together we expanded the practice by bringing in more staff and new programs. As reluctant as I was to get back into administration, this was very satisfying, and Gene in I were in simpatico.
Gene had made the decision in 2017 to step back, and it was in that year that I became the Owner and Clinical Director of Benhaven Counseling. Benhaven has continued to grow and adapt to all of the changes that have gone on in the world. I am very proud of the practice and the services we provide.
My passion and personal philosophy are to be able to help people in an affordable accessible manner. Care should be personalized and tailored to the specific needs of the individuals. Therapists should be available to their clients, and the relationship should be productive, yet personable and approachable. I am humbled and grateful to be able to provide services and is it my commitment that myself and our providers provide effective and unique care.
If you have any questions about or practice or would like to learn more, please feel free to contact me at (440) 526-0468.
