How this model reimagines mental-health care for youth

Nuci’s Space aims to prevent suicide by providing a safe space for people of all ages, particularly youth, to connect and play music. They also offer affordable practice spaces and mental and physical health care services for participants, including affordable counseling.

Amongst an increased need for mental health care, Monadnock Family Services is offering group therapy to children to get them in for some level of care as staff shortages make offering individual therapy too difficult. The American Psychological Association found that group therapy is as effective as individual therapy for most conditions — as well as more efficient. Monadnock Family Services offers a variety of groups depending on a patient’s interests and identity, like groups for those who enjoy hiking to groups for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The Crisis Response Center provides mental health and crisis care services as an alternative to emergency rooms or jails. The center is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and offers a variety of services focused on recovery for children, teens and adults struggling with mental health and/or substance abuse. The Center is set to expand ahead of the new 988 dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Once expansions are done, the Center will have the capacity to serve between 400 and 600 extra visits a month, on top of the 800 to 1,000 adults who visit the center each month.

Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANi) offers free programs that provide mental health first aid and suicide intervention. MANi provides virtual counseling facilitated by trained, volunteer professionals as well as in-person offerings like conversation cafes and other group talks that aim to sensitize and educate people about mental health. In the last four years, MANi has provided direct support to over 40,000 people, the majority of which are between the ages of 10 and 25.

The Kalamazoo Collaborative Care Program provides social workers and other mental-health expertise to help primary-care physicians treat patients with behavioral health issues. The program is currently working to expand by creating a psychiatric clinic to help further address the shortage of psychiatrists and mental health professionals.

After shortages of mental health options for kids and untold grief, counties in Wisconsin have responded with new kinds of support for at-risk youth. Wisconsin communities have increased access with reduced wait time, and have used horse therapy, support groups, charity golf that raises awareness, school-group therapy, as well as mobile live chat sessions, among others.

Music therapy is helping teens identify, verbalize and cope with their emotions, and is emerging as a solution to bridge the gap in the national shortage of adolescent mental health professionals. Michigan State University alone has credentialed more than 9,000 music therapists since the degree program emerged in 1944. Studies show that when used in conjunction with medical treatement and traditional talk therapy, music therapy can improve health outcomes and reduce levels of depression and anxiety.

A summer youth-employment program at a local school district led to a student-led forum where Black high school students could open up about their experiences with mental health, racism and stigma. Students who participated in the forum could also join a peer-mentoring program where students worked with middle schoolers to mentor them on how to understand and cope with their feelings.

A rural school is taking a “try everything” approach to helping students cope with mental health struggles, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. From providing various forms of therapy, to school-based clinic services and mental health education, school staff are leaning into more of a public health approach to mental health care. The services are also seeing support from parents and guardians as nearly all who were asked for permission to treat their child agreed, compared to just 70% before the pandemic.

Studies have found that youth who play sports have higher levels of self-esteem and social support and lower levels of depression and loneliness. Several organizations — like Girls on the Run and DC Scores — have emerged to provide sports programming that doubles as a space to teach interpersonal skills, problem-solving and how to talk about feelings and ask for help.