Dell Med, ACC to launch 2-year adolescent mental health pilot
The Amplify Center will open this fall and service a minimum of 200 ACC students between the ages of 18-29, offering mental health screenings and diagnostic assessments. The program will begin at ACC's Eastview campus, specifically to help provide mental resources to "a medically underserved part of Travis County," Dell Med officials said in a release.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin is collaborating with Austin Community College to create a new, two-year pilot program to help address adolescent mental health.
The Amplify Center will open this fall and service a minimum of 200 ACC students between the ages of 18-29, offering mental health screenings and diagnostic assessments. The program will begin at ACC's Eastview campus, specifically to help provide mental resources to "a medically underserved part of Travis County," Dell Med officials said in a release.
In addition to screenings and diagnostic assessments, students will be able to receive individual counseling, peer support and resource navigation assistance to connect with other community services.
The two-year pilot was established using grant funding from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and was developed over the course of a five-year brainstorming process. Love, Tito's and Twin Liquors also provided funds to help kickstart the pilot.
As the program develops, its focus will include expanding to additional ACC campuses and community sites throughout Travis County. Dell Med's Center for Youth Mental Health is also exploring additional donor opportunities to increase the number of people serviced through the program.
“Young adulthood doesn’t fit well into our existing mental health care systems,” said Dr. Deborah Cohen, a Dell Med assistant professor and Amplify Center's executive director, in the release. “Our current mental health system was created to support adults who are already living with chronic mental illness. A young adult usually can’t access those services unless they are in crisis or have a run-in with the police. We need better solutions for this age group than what’s currently in place."
For program participants with more acute mental health care needs, they will be referred to Integral Care, one of Amplify Center's collaborators.
“The Center for Youth Mental Health has collaboratively worked with community providers to propose a creative solution to address the gap in the care continuum for young adults,” Dr. Kathleen Casey, Ph.D., a senior director of clinical innovation and development at Integral Care, said in the release. “We hope this pilot is able to expand and fulfill unmet needs in our community.”