Behavioral Health Director John Eby: ‘Mental Health touches everyone’
Behavioral Health Director John Eby embraces the challenge of connecting with patients suffering from mental health issues and providing much-needed services.
“I want to increase the knowledge of and compassion for mental health issues,” says Eby, who joined Western Sierra Medical Clinic in June 2022.
“Mental health has always been an issue, but today stressors on mental health are amplified five-fold. There are so many crises: the pandemic, inflation, political divisions, gun violence, international wars, terrorism, etc. Our plates are full of concerns and for those that are already struggling with mental illness this can become very overwhelming”, says Eby.
Western Sierra has committed to supporting their communities by building a top-rate Behavioral Health Department in order to support those in need. The Federally Qualified Health Center – all patients are welcome, regardless of their income or insurance which means that no one in need is turned away.
Eby has more than 15 years of experience managing mental health staff – and almost three decades in the profession.
Eby most recently served as Program Director for the Center for Discovery, a residential treatment facility in Granite Bay for teenagers suffering from mental illness. He is also a former Regional Director of Mental Health Services for Wellpath, a Correctional Health Service Corporation. Eby oversaw the mental health services in over 20 California counties jails and juvenile halls facilities.
“I’ve had the honor of being part of the process of supporting others in improving their lives,” says Eby, who is quick to add that addressing behavioral health demands multiple professionals. “Western Sierra Medical Clinics takes a holistic approach in treating the whole patient: emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually”.
“Nobody is healed alone,” says Eby, who came across his second career in mental health more by accident than design.
Eby, who was born and raised in Denver, earned a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts from Mesa State University in Grand Junction, Colo. He moved to the Bay Area and attended St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park to work on his Master’s in Divinity. Prior to receiving his degree, Eby left the seminary but not the Bay Area. He had become hooked on sailing on the San Francisco Bay and found work as a bond trader in San Francisco.
The bond trading industry failed to hold his interest and he felt it was time for a course change. Eby remembers how often he thought about how much he enjoyed pastoral counseling while in the seminary.
Eby did his research and decided that he would trade bonds during the day and attend graduate school at night and on weekends. He earned his Master’s in Clinical Psychology at John F. Kennedy University in Moraga, CA. and completed his internship at Nevada County Behavioral Health in Nevada City.
Today, Eby enjoys living with his wife and children in Grass Valley. “We love the area, we love the Yuba, and it’s a great place to raise a family.”