Saint Mary’s is excited to partner with the new Bloomington Community Brain Health Services program, an innovative mental health pilot program that will provide in-home, telehealth, and in-office mental health services to individuals and families in need following a mental health crisis and police intervention with the Bloomington Police Department (BPD). Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges, an alumni of Saint Mary’s, has had a vision of creating easier access to mental health resources for those in crisis for many years. He reached out to Saint Mary’s because of the quality education both he and his wife received as students and the fact that our Lasallian mission of respect for all persons, inclusive community, and concern for social justice ring true in the service of our students.
M.A. in Counseling Psychology (PY) Program Director, Dr. Lindsey Teigland, PhD, LP, PLLC, and M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) Associate and Clinical Director, Sara Heinzen, MA, LMFT, have `been working with Chief Hodges and his team this year to consult on best practices and create a very unique practicum experience for students from both the PY and MFT programs. Two members of the Saint Mary’s community, former MFT faculty member, Janet Yeats, MA,LMFT, and graduate of the MFT program, Luke Campbell, MA, LAMFT, were referred to and selected as the Licensed and Administrative Supervisors who will lead the students in this program.
Up to 8 students from the PY and MFT programs will be working as mental health counselors in the pilot program, which launches in December. Following a referral from the BPD after a mental health crisis call, our students and their supervisors will provide free mental health care and treatment to individuals and families, for up to 10 weeks – something that has been unheard of until now.
Administrative Supervisor and MFT program alumnus, Luke Campbell, MA, LAMFT, M’21, said, “I am incredibly excited and thankful to be a part of the new mental health pilot program with Bloomington City Police Department. Since graduating from the Marriage and Family Therapy program at Saint Mary’s in 2021, I have realized that we are at a critical point in terms of mental health and well-being as a result of what we all have endured in the last couple of years and limited number of providers. Our hope with the Bloomington Community Brain Health Services program is to alleviate some of the burden and increase accessibility for those in need of mental health services and support.”
Eliminating barriers to mental health services can be the first step in creating systemic change for families in our community and beyond. We see this as an amazing opportunity for our students to be on the front line of doing community support work and offer resources to those in need.
Learn more about this exciting new program from KARE 11 news: https://www.kare11.com/article/news/health/mental-health/bloomington-police-mental-health-rapid-response-pilot-program/89-059b4f01-8de5-4757-ade5-174e5c5e1e9f
