Youth Mental Health Academy Pilot Program an Overwhelming Success!

In an effort to address the nationwide shortage of diverse mental health clinicians, the Child Mind Institute has partnered with the state of California to create the Youth Mental Health Academy (YMHA). This innovative program will provide 2,500 California high school students from underserved communities, including BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ teens,  with mental health career development, including project-based learning, paid summer internships, and mentorship.

The program, developed for the California Department of Health Care Access and Information, as part of the California Child and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, launched this year with a pilot program in the greater Los Angeles area. Plans are to expand throughout the state of California next summer.

In June, over 160 high school students, plus mentors, instructors and support staff, convened at four locations around Los Angeles. For five weeks, the students participated in an intensive learning experience and developed innovative projects. On July 22 we hosted an inaugural capstone event in which each group presented their work. Nearly 400 students, family members, mentors, and program staff attended to celebrate this first cohort’s accomplishments! 

We are grateful to and proud of these students, whose work was nothing short of inspiring. They represented their unique perspectives and ideas through creative mediums such as paintings, poetry, podcasts, children’s books, and 3D-printed models. Seeing their dedication gives us hope for the future of child and adolescent mental health.  

Now EdSurge, a digital magazine about education, has published an article about the Youth Mental Health Academy. The article goes beyond what kids did in the program to tackle head-on the subject of why such a program is needed.

Read the full article to gain a better understanding of how and why the Youth Mental Health Academy seeks to change the landscape of mental health care.