Potomac Health Foundation grant will support expanded community mental health services in Prince William County

As executive director of the Human Services Alliance of Greater Prince William, Martina Jackson Green said many of the needs the nonprofit organization addressed coming out of the pandemic were immediate.

The association provided funding to community organizations and individuals who helped Prince William County residents with paying their rent or resolving food insecurities. While mental health services received some aid, Jackson Green said it has become a priority that residents have access to affordable options.

George Mason University's Center for Community Mental Health (CCMH) aims to fill that need. Recently, the CCMH received a grant from the Potomac Health Foundation that will directly support its Stepped Mental Health Care Program.

"Funding for the center is important because there are so many people in the community who need quality care at a rate they can afford," Jackson Green said. "This center provides accessible care that meets community members where they are. Language, cost, and transportation are often barriers to service. This program has accounted for those barriers. I think the center meets the needs of our community in a lot of ways."

The three-stepped program from CCMH offers evidenced-based mental health care and provides a free, confidential emotional support line seven days a week with clinicians fluent in Spanish and English. The second step provides skills-based therapy for adults, with a three-session telehealth intervention, which is free for Prince William County residents (along with veterans and George Mason students, faculty, staff or contractors). Finally, longer-term therapy is available upon referral to children, teenagers, and adults on a sliding pay scale.

In addition to funding services for Prince William County residents, the Potomac Health Foundation grant will also support community outreach, including making presentations, connecting with community leaders, and developing a community advisory board.

"We understand mental health is a huge need in the community," said Imani Amponsah, senior program officer for the Potomac Health Foundation. "We loved that it was in Spanish and English so that it was bilingual, which we think is very important for our community. Prince William County is home to such a diverse population-it serves a very important need in our community."

According to the 2020 U.S. Census, more than 21% of all households in Prince William County reported Spanish as their primary language.

George Mason psychology professor Robyn Mehlenbeck, who has served as the director of CCMH since 2010, said the emotional support line and the telehealth option is important for many of the center's Spanish-speaking clients who are hesitant to leave their homes for safety reasons.

On the other side of the phone line and in therapeutic sessions are George Mason undergraduate and graduate students providing services under the supervision of licensed faculty who are practicing, teaching, or conducting nationally funded research.

Mehlenbeck believes the special hands-on experience students receive by being immersed in the community, especially working with groups such as veterans, will hopefully spur them to pay it forward in the future.

"We have so many people who are so passionate about wanting to get experiences; it is just a win-win," Mehlenbeck said. "They get real-life experience. So many of our George Mason students want to give back to the community and we have a developmental trajectory. I think it is incredibly rewarding because I feel very strongly the more we train folks in communities, the more they are likely to give back later on."

Clinical psychology PhD candidate Patricia Mejiaalready appears to be on that track. Meijia, who also received her master's degree from George Mason, has spent the past three years working at the center in a variety of roles. She is currently the supervisor for the Spanish emotional support line, has served as a student clinician for adults and children in therapeutic sessions, provided psychological assessments, and conducted qualitative interviews for her research.

Mejia says the center has opened her eyes to possibly pursue a career similar to Mehlenbeck's where she is teaching in higher education while also overseeing a center devoted to community mental health. "Given that I want to wear numerous hats, the clinic really does provide a great training opportunity either for those who know what they want to do and want to get training, or it is a good space for finding yourself," Mejia said. "Truly, it is a very enriching experience and, importantly, we are able to work with really great community [members] and see the impact we are making on a day-to-day basis."