Coming together for mental health awareness

MSU and the University of Montana (UM) have collectively been working towards improving the health of Montanans by preparing students to aid people with mental health care needs. The two universities recently received a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration to advance the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program (BHWET-West) for its second grant cycle and fifth program year. This program focuses on addressing the needs of children, adolescents and youth in western Montana.

“This grant creates opportunities to impact graduate students, affiliated faculty and site supervisors, while also improving health outcomes across diverse communities in a state with high behavioral and mental health needs with limited access to mental health care,” said Tracy Hellem, professor in the College of Nursing at MSU. This project allows skill and knowledge in the mental health workforce to grow as it increases its access to primary health providers in Montana.

The four-year grant covers funding for 72 graduate students from MSU and UM to further their knowledge and application of mental health care needs. The program is designed to place these students in agencies and organizations that focus on the mental health care needs of youth in their communities. The students partaking in BHWET-West are pursuing a variety of careers including psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners, clinical psychologists, licensed social workers and licensed professional counselors.

“People living in Montana are often required to travel hundreds of miles to access the nearest healthcare facility, and many times even further to access a licensed behavioral health provider,” Hellem said. According to Hellem, upwards of 50 counties in Montana are classified as rural and research has  proven that half of adults in Montana do not receive adequate mental health care from professionals to address their needs.

The ultimate goal of BHWET-West is to improve the mental health care field in Montana as a whole. “The suicide rate in Montana has been the highest or near the highest in the nation for nearly 40 years,” Hellem said. “The linkages between mental health, suicide and substance use, paired with the rural isolation facing many Montanans, create a critical behavioral health need.” The students in the program receive integrated training in behavioral health and primary care, which will be crucial knowledge to carry into their future careers.

Students are given not only the resources to study, but also engaging experiences in the field. This training takes the form of coursework and monthly interprofessional meetings. The 72 students in the program will receive stipend support for their doctorates and master’s degrees during clinical site placements. They will also receive financial support for ongoing program management along with individual student training and financial training support.

“The majority of funding supports students during their site placements and is distributed by discipline and level of degree,” Hellem said. “Currently, the program expects to enroll and graduate 72 behavioral health students representing five disciplines at two universities.”Over the course of the four-year grant, 12 students will receive financial support at the doctoral-level at UM for Clinical Psychology, 48 students at the masters-level at UM in Social Work and 12 students pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree at MSU. The program continues to be a national leader in providing students with the resources they need for interprofessional behavioral health in rural areas.