Jewish Family Services program expands mental health access
A shortage of mental health providers has created long wait times for new patients to access care.
The Jewish Family Services Mental Health Fellows program, funded by a $3.5 million congressional grant in 2022, has helped reduce waiting times by putting 20 new mental health professionals into the field while accelerating their track to certification as licensed clinical social workers in Delaware.
The licensing allows therapists to make diagnoses and provide therapy without supervision.
By the time funding ended in September, nine of the 20 fellows had received their licensure and the group had provided therapy to more than 1,300 individuals, according to Becca McAdams, JFS Delaware’s clinical supervisor for community-based programs.
Much of that therapy was directed toward individuals in high-need groups through 30 community partnerships and provided at no cost to the clients. Individuals receiving services included single women and families in emergency shelter and transitional housing, youth aging out of foster care, and sexual abuse survivors.
Fellows put in 40-hour weeks, either at JFS Delaware or at one of the partnering agencies, treating issues like anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and a range of food, personality and behavioral disorders, said Wendell Covell, deputy director of programs at Jewish Family Services Delaware.
Lisa Forever, chief housing officer at YWCA Delaware, said many of the YWCA clients who met with the JFS fellows reported reduced anxiety, improved self-care and a better understanding of the traumas they were experiencing. In addition, she said, the fellows led group therapy sessions, and their suggestions led the YWCA to set up programs in gardening, yoga, arts and crafts, and crocheting that have enabled the women to enrich their lives.
“It’s awesome. JFS provided services at no cost to our clients, and the fellows do more than the hours that they’re here for,” Forever said.
Fellow Laura Dickol, who received her LCSW certification in October, said she pursued social work after working in the federal government and law enforcement on programs related to missing and exploited children, and also spending time as an emergency medical technician. She was drawn to social work by a desire to support individuals in the groups she served in her earlier careers.
During the fellowship, she worked in outpatient behavioral health settings with teens, and learned techniques for working with individuals, groups, couples, families and children. Most of her work has been caring for older adults with memory problems, meeting with individuals with dementia along with their caregivers including spouses, siblings and adult children.
JFS Delaware not only provided fellows with the clinical supervision needed for licensure, but also training, both on-site and in conference settings, and paid for the texts and supplies needed to prepare for the LCSW exam.
“It’s almost unheard-of to receive such training and supervision,” Dickol said, and being part of a 20-person peer group was another benefit.
Through the fellowship program, JFS Delaware has pretty much wiped out its waiting list for mental health services while creating a pipeline for new treatment professionals in the state, Covell said.
With the expiration of the grant, it will be harder for JFS Delaware to offer as much no-cost care, and its outreach into the community will be somewhat limited, he said. The organization is encouraging prospective clients to learn whether their insurance plans include mental health coverage, and it is continually seeking grant opportunities to keep its costs low, he said.
In addition, Covell said, some of the community partners in the fellowship program are including requests for mental health counseling through JFS Delaware in the proposals they write for workforce development grants.
