When I finished my fellowship and entered practice in 1985, I started consulting in a few local nursing homes. This was at a time when very few psychiatrists were interested in geriatrics or setting foot in a skilled nursing facility. I found that I loved working with the elderly. It was endlessly challenging, requiring the use of all my skills and training. It also forces one to keep up with general medicine, which I think is essential to practicing psychiatry as well.
– Martin Cooper MD FAAP
Medical Director, Co-Owner CMHS
In 1997, two Connecticut clinicians embarked on a journey to change the delivery of geriatric mental health services. Dr. Martin Cooper and Dr. David Shack designed a mental healthcare model to promote optimal levels of mental, social, and physical functioning. Connecticut Mental Health Specialists has since grown to become the mental health provider of choice for more than seventy health care facilities state-wide. CMHS is the largest clinician owned psychiatric consultant to health care facilities in Connecticut.