The University of Rochester is launching a new initiative to address disparities in mental healthcare for youth.
The Uniting Nurses and Integrating Therapists for Youth or UNITY program is funded by a $2.4 million federal grant.
Nearly 50 mental health professionals earning a master's degree at UR will receive training over the next four years in culturally-responsive pediatric care for youth at risk for mental illness, and trauma-related behavioral disorders.
The grant dollars will help pay for the training and provide enrolled students with $25,000 annual stipends, said professor Susan Blaakman who is co-leading the initiative. Training for counselors and nurses also will address substance use disorders.
The UR program, a collaboration between the School of Nursing and the Warner School of Education, is focused in part on reaching youth who are in high-need areas that lack resources, including rural and urban sites. That includes internships at urban and rural sites including Mount Hope Family Center, Delphi Rise, Villa of Hope, Seneca County Community Counseling, and Family Counseling Services of the Finger Lakes.
One aspect of the training is in caring for mind-body wellness. Mental health issues in children often manifest as physical ailments, Blaakman said. Anxiety, for instance, can trigger headaches and stomach aches.
“When we are trying to help youth with mental health concerns, it's also very important to be thinking about, are they sleeping?” she said. “Are they exercising? What's their diet like? How are they experiencing their symptoms?”
After the four-year grant period, the work will continue as a master’s-level course called Sustaining Interdisciplinary Excellence in Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
“We don't want to do all this work and learn all this stuff and then just have it go away because the grant funding ends. And so one of the ways that we can continue to have students participate is to have ... an interprofessional course that they can register and take together and continue the work that way.”
The UNITY program begins this academic year.
