Men's circles are helping rural Australians express their emotions – but experts say more support is needed

Connecticut colleges are implementing QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training to teach students how to recognize suicide warning signs, ask direct questions like "Are you thinking about suicide?" and connect peers to professional help. Since 2022, over 1,000 people have been trained through Connecticut Children's Youth Suicide Prevention Center alone, with hundreds more trained at individual campuses like Southern Connecticut State University.

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.

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.

The Colorado Agricultural Addiction and Mental Health Program (CAAMHP) works to make mental health care more accessible by offering residents six free counseling sessions with licensed behavioral health professionals who have completed culturally relevant training in order to better connect with farmers and ranchers facing mental health issues. So far more than 30 clinicians have completed the training and there are about 15 therapists working with CAAMHP, helping to provide care and reduce stigma surrounding mental health in the farm and ranch industry.

ACCESS Open Minds connects youth and young adults to mental health support, including therapists, caseworkers and peer navigators to help them get the care they need. One of ACCESS’s main goals is to bridge the gap between the complexities of the mental health care system and the community. By creating these youth wellness hubs and connecting people with the appropriate services, ACCESS has decreased the number of hospitalizations and emergency room visits and increased the number of people getting mental health care.

The Native and Strong Lifeline aims to provide culturally relevant mental health care services and support to members of the Native community. Since launching, the lifeline has received over 1,200 calls from across the state, handled by its team of tribal crisis counselors, many of whom have their owned lived experiences with mental health struggles.

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.

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.

Jela’s Development Initiatives provides mental health support services through counseling sessions to help people with disabilities identify the causes of depression and resources to care for their mental wellbeing. One of their mental health initiative, Unburden, allows individuals access to free monthly group therapy sessions, experts, and a safe, judgment-free space where they can talk about what’s bothering them and work toward finding possible solutions.

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.