Project Overview

The T-HELP prorgram (Januray 2019 – December 2020) has ended.

Vision

Primary mental health services via telehealth for diverse populations.

Mission

Telehealth clinical training for nurse practitioners to provide community-based mental health services.

Funded by

Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD)

Overview

T-HELP was a pilot clinical training program designed for psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) students to develop culturally and linguistically appropriate motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy skills, and health education. Clinical training and engagement utilized both simulation and HIPAA compliant telehealth technologies, such as Zoom video conferencing, to enable students to develop the skills needed to run live and online group therapy sessions aimed at developing resilience. These sessions occured under the supervision of board certified psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners and all students are licensed and registered nurses.

The goal of this program was to train nurse practitioner students to effectively utilize telehealth technology to reach underserved individuals with mental health needs in community settings. Outreach efforts focus on, but were not limited to, Latino youth/young adults, to decrease stigma related to accessing mental health services. Training had a special focus on cultural competence which includes culturally and linguistically services that are responsive to individual culture, race, ethnicity, age, gender, and other spiritual beliefs in accordance with the goals of the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA). These sessions involved participants from CSULB Student Housing, HOAG Community Health Center, Jordan High School, and the Paramount Community Center. These community partners approved multiple groups to run over eight weeks each semester. In an effort to comply with the CA Stay At Home order, all Wellness Group sessions after the quarantine were online using Zoom video conferencing.