This month the NCAL Kaiser Mental Health Training Program is excited to highlight the work of Scott Charlton, LMFT. As a Clinical Supervisor at the KP Counseling Center, Scott has been instrumental in implementing evidence-based therapies that make meaningful differences in patients’ lives. He supervises a cohort of trainees, trains on a variety of mental health topics, and leverages implementation of evidence-based interventions
Scott’s journey to mental health was unconventional. Before entering the field, he worked as an automotive technician. When he decided to return to school, his initial plan was to become a teacher, but he discovered his true calling was teaching what he calls the “juicy” topics: emotions, relationships, and the meaning of life. This passion led him to California State University, Stanislaus, where he studied counseling psychology and implemented bullying prevention programs at several elementary and middle schools.
Scott was drawn to Kaiser Permanente because of its integrated health model and reputation for high-quality professionals. Before joining the Mental Health Training Program, he thoroughly enjoyed his time at the Stockton clinic. There he provided care for individual patients, couples, and groups. He started two Acceptance and Commitment Therapy groups and served as part of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) consult team.
What Scott finds most meaningful about working with trainees and clinicians at Kaiser is witnessing how training enhances therapeutic connections and interventions, creating ripple effects that impact members, their families, and the broader community. He has helped implement what he calls “what matters” – evidence-based therapies including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and the Unified Protocol (UP).
One piece of wisdom Scott would share with others that “simplicity and fundamentals are powerful determinants of change. Little changes make all the difference.” This philosophy guides his approach to training and patient care (and mostly learned the hard way)!
Among his proudest professional moments are witnessing his trainees support patients in expressing “previously trapped stories, tears, and yearnings.” Scott notes that these breakthrough moments lead to changed behaviors and functioning that create waves of positive impact extending into all our lives.
When he’s not at work, Scott can typically be found training jiujitsu in Modesto most mornings. He finds the practice both mentally and physically challenging, and jokes that “a day at work is so easy after people try to strangle you.”
Scott wants to remind everyone that what you do matters, sometimes more than you will ever know – “be it a smile walking down the hospital hallway, a staff message to a colleague, or that extra effort taken with a patient.” And on days when that doesn’t feel true, Scott wants you to know that people like him are here for all of us.
Contributed by: Scott M. Charlton, MS, LMFT
