At Fello, we recognize that supporting people with disabilities means understanding that mental wellness and daily life are deeply connected. Since 2020, our Behavioral Health team has helped people with disabilities and mental health diagnoses build the tools and strategies each person needs to navigate life on their own terms—strengthening independence, inclusion, and opportunity. 

Our team includes licensed clinicians and behavioral health associates who specialize in supporting people with complex and overlapping needs. But the Behavioral Health team doesn’t stand alone.  Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are essential partners in this work and collaboration is critical to providing the best possible support to the people we serve. 

DSPs are present in the daily lives of the people Fello supports. That closeness gives them a window into each person’s world. By partnering with DSPs, Fello’s clinicians support with strategies built around real experience—what happens at home, in the community, and everywhere in between. That makes all the difference when developing support that fits each person. 

A Partnership That Builds Confidence 

Whether just starting out or with decades of experience, all DSPs benefit from access to Fello’s Behavioral Health team. The partnership helps build confidence, strengthen their skills, and creates new ways of seeing and responding to the people they support. 

For Sandy, that relationship made all the difference. A new DSP with Fello, she wasn’t sure how to support Joe when he felt overwhelmed and reached out to the Behavioral Health team for guidance. Together they explored Joe’s behavior from a different perspective and offered advice on how to meet him in the moment. 

What began as a quick conversation to bounce ideas off each other grew into a comprehensive Behavior Support Plan for Joe and a much more confident Sandy. 

That’s partnership in action—clinicians and DSPs learning and teaching each other, leading to an integrative approach to support. 

Communication Makes the Difference 

Effective support depends on effective communication—and that’s as true for DSPs as it is for the people they support. 

When Denise, a DSP, needed to navigate a difficult conversation with the person she supported, she turned to the Behavioral Health team to brainstorm. The team met with Denise to address her concerns, create a shared plan, and practice communicating. When the time came, all three met together, with the clinician supporting in real time, modeling techniques that created a healthy, safe dialogue.  

That experience didn’t just help Denise in that moment—it strengthened her ability to better communicate with the people she supports going forward. 

Support That Follows 

At Fello, we believe exceptional, person-centered support happens through collaboration. 

DSPs bring deep, firsthand knowledge of the people they support. Clinicians bring specialized clinical expertise. Together, they offer behavioral health support that follows people wherever they go—at home, in the community, and everywhere in between. 

That’s what partnership makes possible: support that adapts, responds, and grows with each person so they can live the lives they choose and feel good about who they are.