Nice Work, Partner

by Emily Raij

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ccessibility to mental-health resources has long been a priority for Jewish Family Services (JFS) Orlando. This includes removing financial barriers to care by accepting Medicare, Medicaid, and most insurances, as well as being one of the few Central Florida agencies that offers a sliding-fee scale for counseling clients without insurance. But the persisting stigma and lack of awareness when it comes to mental health can also be barriers, particularly for students seeking care. And with a pandemic that exacerbated anxiety and depression for many while also requiring a shift away from in-person counseling, JFS has found new ways to meet the needs of these younger clients with two recent community partnerships.

Building a Bridge

For elementary-, middle-, and high-school students, JFS is working with Social Bridges, a Maitland-based program that helps build social skills and emotional intelligence. JFS now has three Social Bridges-trained therapists on staff, and those therapists began running peer-based, social-emotional skill groups in October that meet virtually.

“We wanted to help make Social Bridges programs more accessible,” says Ashlyn Douglass-Barnes, LCSW, JFS Orlando’s counseling clinical director.

Once parental approval is given, each student group, along with a teacher facilitator, utilizes a classroom camera and Zooms in for a telehealth session led by a Social Bridges-trained JFS therapist. A second therapist is also on hand in case one of them needs to break off into a one-on-one Zoom session with an individual student. After completing the shortened October-December semester, JFS plans to start a full-semester program in January. 

The ideal group size is no larger than 10 kids with initial groups ranging from four to six. JFS counselor Shaina White Williams, MSW, says her Social Bridges training helps her build community with the students and explore emotional regulation and social awareness. 

“It’s really social/emotional skill-building in every realm,” says Shaina, who explains that, rather than using a lecture format to present the program, counselors model all of the skills and students practice them.

Help from Hillel

Shaina is excited about another JFS partnership for students – this time for college students through Central Florida Hillel, which is located just off the UCF campus. Even before the pandemic, Hillel staff approached JFS to expand student-counseling services because they were getting more requests for help than the existing UCF counseling department could take on.

“UCF has 40 full-time therapists on staff, and that’s not nearly enough,” says Hunter Gold, Central Florida Hillel’s executive director. “Those therapists can see a student approximately six times a semester, but there’s no ability for crisis counseling. Being able to partner with JFS means we have someone our students know and can turn to. Shaina comes to our Hillel programs, so students get to know who she is.”

Shaina visits the UCF campus every week for Hillel events like Shabbat dinners, Fresh Fest, Market Wednesdays, a De-stress Fest in December, and other social gatherings. Hillel is also renovating its Wellness Lounge, which is set to open for the spring semester. The lounge will offer yoga, seminars, lunch-and-learns, open counseling hours with Shaina (both in-person and via telehealth), and a welcoming space for students to focus on their mental health.

The lounge was funded by a $10,000 grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando.

“Through a Federation grant, if students don’t have insurance or the ability to make a co-pay – or don’t want parents to see they’re going to therapy for some reason – we can cover those costs,” says Hunter. “We’re really trying to look at students holistically, and the partnership with JFS really puts us at the forefront to be a national model. We want the students to have that direct line to Shaina and JFS. This lets students feel more in control, which hopefully presents a path to getting help. We wouldn’t be able to do this without JFS.”

The partnership also involves student input about what mental-health issues need to be addressed. So far, top-of-mind topics include social or separation anxiety, roommate issues, peer pressure, suicide, substance abuse, transitions in your 20s, what to do when your life goals do not necessarily match with your parents’ goals, and being away from home.

From elementary-school students to young adults at UCF, these new partnerships are erasing the stigma of mental-health counseling and connecting JFS counselors directly with those in need. All the while, JFS is expanding its impact and doing more than ever to make Central Florida a healthy and inclusive community for all.