You can go to Walmart to buy detergent and shampoo, order glasses or fulfill a drug prescription. Now, Walmart is offering a new outpatient mental health clinic in its Carrollton, Texas location, north of Dallas.

People can walk in, call or make an appointment online to see a licensed mental health professional about problems such as anxiety, depression, relationship troubles or the stresses of everyday living. Executives said the goal is to offer mental health services to people in rural communities who might otherwise not get care.

The question is: Will they get the appropriate help? Some critics questioned whether this particular approach is the way to go.

“Certainly the opportunity to provide that care in the Walmarts of the world is not a bad thing — I’m all for breaking down the stigma of mental health,” said Ian Lang, executive director of the Brookline Center For Community Mental Health in Brookline, Massachusetts.

“Where I am differing with this concept is that I think there are providers out there that if we thought about how we can partner with existing providers to strengthen those systems, we would end up with a more sustainable solution to the access problem.”

“There’s a lot of reluctance for seeking services because people feel funny about it. And by putting it in an environment like a retail store, it may make it more comfortable and more normalized,” said a Walmart executive.

My question you is what do you think of this concept?

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Tori Goodrich is a life, business and professional; What Should I Do Now coach. She is also the co-owner of Gener8tional Connections helping companies work through the great divide. Contact Tori by telephone at 610.613.2127, on the web at www.victoriagoodrich.com, or via email at tgoodrich@vista.today.

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Top photo credit: JeepersMedia Ingenico Credit Card Reader Swipe Device, Walmart 12/2014 via photopin (license)