National Rural Behavioral Health Center (NRBHC) at the University of Florida
Grants
The NRBHC was established by Grant #1H795M53468-01 (P.I., R. Rozensky) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and the Suwanee River Area Health Education Center.
Current Grants
Columbia Linking Efforts for Alcohol Awareness and Responsibility (Department of Education)
This 3 year grant was obtained in partnership with the Columbia County School district and focuses on decreasing teenage alcohol use. This grant provides for additional alcohol prevention programming for 6th-12th graders, additional mental health services, and the development of Student Assistance Program (SAP) teams in the district middle and high schools. Dr. Wiens is conducting evaluation for this project, as well as supervising trainees providing mental health services to students referred by middle and high school Student Assistance Program (SAP) teams. This project will continue through June 2009.
Counseling and Resources for Elementary Students, 2008 (Department of Education)
We are excited to announce that we will be working in partnership with the Columbia County School District on another 3 year grant focusing on elementary students. As with the previously completed CARES grant, the current CARES grant focuses on increasing prevention and counseling services for elementary school students. Programs to be implemented include violence prevention, WhyTry, and The Incredible Years parenting groups. This project also includes additional guidance counselors at the elementary level to provide individual and group counseling services for students. Students may additionally be referred for more intensive counseling through our University of Florida Family Support Service in Columbia County, as well as other county mental health providers. The objectives for this project are: a) improve academic performance; b) increase positive attitude toward learning; c) increase pro-social skills and develop qualities needed to become successful/productive citizens; d) build resiliency; and e) improve family/school/staff collaboration. The NRBHC is providing psychotherapy services, guidance on the design of project components, and evaluation of the overall project. This project will continue through July 2011.
Project CATCh Mentoring Program
This 3 year grant awarded to the Columbia County School District focuses on providing mentoring services for middle school students in the district. Students in grades 6-8 who are struggling academically, behaviorally, and/or socially at school will be paired with mentors from the community or from district high schools. The goals and objectives of the mentoring services are to: decrease absences and behavioral problems, increase grades and school participation, promote personal and social responsibility, and improve emotional well-being and social skills. The NRBHC is providing evaluation of the overall project. This project will continue through April 2011.
Completed Grants
Counseling and Resources for Elementary Students (Department of Education)
This 3 year grant was obtained in partnership with the Columbia County School District and focuses on elementary school students. Several preventive services were initiated with this grant. The goals of these preventive services were: improve academic success, increase attitudes toward learning, increase prosocial skills and develop qualities needed to become successful and productive citizens, improve self-esteem and build character, and improve family, school and staff coordination. This project provided for enhanced guidance counseling for elementary schools in Columbia County; changes in policy regarding parent/school interactions; increased levels of preventive programs focused on character-building, increasing prosocial skills, promoting an anti-bullying environment; and increased intensive counseling and psychotherapy services to elementary students and their families. The NRBHC provided psychotherapy services, guidance on the design of prevention programs, and evaluation of the overall project. This project was completed in July 2007.
Graduate Psychology Education Program Grant (HRSA/Bureau of Health Professions)
This award, entitled Education and Training in Rural Behavioral Health, provided for interdisciplinary training through didactic coursework and seminars, as well as supervised clinical practice to build the skills of primary care professionals in the areas of assessment, intervention and problem management. The GPEP grant focused on training to equip professionals to recognize and detect mental health and behavioral issues in the primary care setting, provide effective intervention and behavioral management tools to treat behavioral and psychological concerns, and foster collaboration in the delivery of health care services to rural residents.
Columbia Acting Together for Children (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Juvenile Justice and Department of Health and Human Services through the Safe Schools/Healthy Students initiative)
This 3 year grant was obtained in partnership with the Columbia County School district and focused on violence and substance use prevention programs in Columbia County. Project CATCh allowed NRBHC staff to work across and within the school district and community agencies in Columbia County to conduct and evaluate a series of demonstration programs designed to reduce violence, delinquency, and substance abuse while fostering prosocial development in young children. The NRBHC was involved in providing psychotherapy services, providing guidance on the design of prevention programs, and evaluating the overall project. This project ended in September 2006.
Development of a Distance Learning Curriculum for Extension Professionals (USDA-CSREES, Smith-Lever Program)
For the USDA project we developed and disseminated an interactive training CD/DVD based on our Triumph Over Tragedy, Second Edition: A Community Response to Managing Trauma in Times of Disaster and Terrorism curriculum. This CD/DVD package was designed as a distance-learning tool to help Extension professionals assist their communities with a variety of disasters.
Implementation Issues in School-Linked Mental Health Services: An SS/HS Consortia Research Project
This 1 year grant was awarded to the collaborative effort of the National Rural Behavioral Health Center and the Harrisburg Enhanced Mental Health Model. It was an additional evaluation effort related to the grant funded work already being conducted at the two sites as part of their Safe Schools/Healthy Students projects. This project studied factors that affect the implementation of school-based selective, indicated, and mental health treatment services to children and their families. There were 2 components to this project. The first component entailed a web-based survey and focus group interviews of school staff regarding school cultural and climate variables that affect their attitudes toward referral, and effectiveness and valuing of these services at their schools. The second component included augmentation of assessment procedures for children and families referred for counseling services to further assess their cognitive appraisals of the need, value, and burdens associated with these services.
Bioterrorism Preparedness in Rural and Urban Communities (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
The aim of this project was to assess and improve the preparedness of rural and urban providers to deliver care for mental and physical health conditions resulting from bioterrorism, infectious disease outbreaks, and mass casualty events. This study integrated qualitative (provider and administrator interviews) and quantitative (knowledge-based testing) methodologies to assess existing resources and response mechanisms to meet existing health needs and anticipated health needs arising from bioterrorist and similar events. The evidence obtained from these assessments will serve as the basis for models and recommendations to policy-makers to improve preparedness to meet mental health needs. An intervention to educate primary care providers concerning important aspects of mental health care was also developed.
Impact of Bioterrorism on Rural Mental Health Needs (Health Resources and Services Administration)
The aim of this project was to assess and improve the preparedness of rural primary care professionals to provide care for mental health conditions resulting from bioterrorism and infectious disease outbreaks, specifically posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (ASD). Relatively little attention has been paid to the mental health needs of rural communities in the wake of such major catastrophic events. Prior experience with natural disasters suggests that first responders typically focus on immediate medical trauma or injury, leaving rural communities to struggle with the burden of unmet mental health needs both in the immediate aftermath and over the longer term. This project integrated qualitative (provider and administrator interviews) and quantitative (knowledge-based testing) methodologies to assess existing resources for mental health needs and anticipated resources that would be necessary following bioterrorism and similar mass casualty events. In addition, an intervention was developed to educate rural primary care providers concerning important aspects of mental health care, including PTSD and ASD, since these disorders have high post-event prevalence rates and yet have been neglected in primary care settings relative to other mental disorders such as depression.