Campus religious groups step into a new realm: mental health counseling

Assertive community treatment teams working through outreach-centered programs in Maricopa County have become an industry standard for treating those with persistent and severe mental illnesses who have recently been incarcerated. They provide a long-term approach, aiming to halt a cycle of incarceration and hospitalization by focusing on underlying issues such as what caused the police interaction and incarceration.

Georgia State University's predictive analytics system has helped students graduate by flagging at-risk students using a variety of factors, including college and high school grades, financial aid statuses, and more. While other universities attempt to scale the program to increase retention at their universities as well, serious concerns about privacy and surveillance persist, as do hesitations regarding the cost of expanding advisory services as Georgia State has done.

In several small rural towns in Texas, mental health professionals from Texas Tech are offering telemedicine counseling to make up for a lack of counselors available in local middle and high schools. The Governor's office has now asked the successful school districts to develop a training program for teachers in other Texas districts in order to scale the model.

Based out of the city of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, a live radio show is tackling the stigma around mental health care by combining their platform with those in the mental health care field. Not only does the radio show discuss psychological issues on air, but it also offers free and reduced-cost mental health services to those that serve as guests on the show.

As colleges and universities across the United States have shifted to online classes and shut down their campuses, not every student simply has the ability to move home. To help support these students, many of whom are low-income or international, the Stay Together Appalachian Youth Project began working with local communities to find housing for displaced students, as well as to provide other support like money or supplies.

The Romani Education Fund in Slovakia is helping children from the Roma community, which has a history of social and economic disadvantages as well as being subject to ethnic discrimination, overcome challenges to finish high school and pursue higher education. The REF works by providing qualifying students with a stipend to pay for educational supplies, as well as providing school guidance and personal mentorship to help both students and parents overcome the social hurdles that impede the student's desire or ability to fulfill their potential.

Persons Marginalized and Aggrieved in Kenya works with religious leaders over the course of many years to build empathy and understanding towards the LGBTQ community. Faith leaders are often not immediately aware of the goal, but PEMA’s continuous and carefully orchestrated engagement allows them to gradually build relationships, hear personal stories from real people, and learn to preach tolerance. PEMA has worked with 619 religious leaders, 246 of which are currently active, and runs a Training of Trainers program where “converted” religious leaders train their colleagues to increase LGBTQ acceptance.

The Save the Boys Initiative provides counseling, group and family therapy, programming around mentorship and leadership, and other forms of assistance for boys who have experienced sexual abuse.

Flare Initiative provides literacy education for students enrolled in Islamic schools, with lessons on the English alphabet, proper sentence construction, and effective communication skills offered in the evenings to avoid disrupting students’ Qur’anic studies. Participants say the program has given them newfound confidence to pursue future careers that require English language proficiency.

Poco a popo, el Fondo de Bienes Decomisados por tráfico ilícito de drogas, que el Plan Nacional sobre Drogas se creó en 2003, se han desviado los bienes confiscados a entidades con fines sociales. La asociación por la Salud Mental-Marina Alta es una de las organizaciones que se ha beneficiado hasta ahora.