Federal grant allows UB to continue work with underserved mental health patients

A four-year extension of an interdisciplinary federal grant will allow UB graduate students to learn necessary, evidenced-based knowledge and skills to help people suffering from mental health problems and substance abuse, especially those in underserved areas.

The grant from the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training program, or BHWET, will bring $1.92 million to UB programs and continue a current BHWET grant for four more years. The existing grant has helped train 92 graduate students from nursing (psychiatric-mental health program), social work, mental health counseling, and rehabilitation counseling.

“The COVID pandemic has only highlighted the urgency, necessity and significance of such a program, and this funding will allow us the ability to continue to provide inter-professional education and training, along with stipends, to our UB graduate students,” says principal investigator Yu-Ping Chang, professor and associate dean for research and scholarship in the School of Nursing.

“In an effort to address the shortage of well-trained and highly skilled members of the behavioral health workforce, this program is helping to address the health inequities faced by these areas, as many of our graduates are staying to work in the same underserved areas that they were trained in,” Chang says. “We are truly having a positive impact on the surrounding communities.”

The BHWET grant, which will bring these UB departments $480,000 a year for four years to support these graduate students, is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, or HRSA.

The program also drew praise from UB administrators in other departments with students who have and will benefit from the grants.

“These HRSA grants have allowed us to strengthen the behavioral health workforce as we graduate students in social work and other professions with greater skills and expertise in responding to the complex behavioral health needs of children, youth and adults in our communities,” says Diane Elze, co-investigator on the project and associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Social Work.

“Complex behavioral health needs require coordinated services from multiple professions, particularly given the racial health disparities that exist in the Western New York region. Through these grants, our social work students also have wonderful opportunities to learn from and work with students from other professions, and we know that effective communication and teamwork among health and mental health professionals are essential to competent service delivery,” Elze says.

Tim Janikowski, co-investigator on the project and associate professor in the Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology, Graduate School of Education, praised the grant for providing support to students able to address these underserved patients dealing with mental health issues.

“Specifically, the rehabilitation counseling and mental health counseling master’s degree programs typically have no financial support, other than financial aid, for students completing their programs,” Janikowski explains. “In addition to our master’s degree students, this year we were able to recruit and support PhD students in our counseling/school psychology program.”

The BHWET scholarships provide welcome financial support for students during their internships, allowing them to discontinue outside work and focus on their training, he says. In addition to the standard internship experience, the grant provides unique opportunities for the GSE students to interact with students in nursing, social work and family medicine as they attend workshops on integrated care practice.  

“Our students have reported that the simulated patient interactions they have, allowing them to practice motivational interviewing, have been particularly meaningful,” Janikowski says.

Other co-investigators on the project include Chris Barrick and Patti Nisbet from the School of Nursing, Laura Lewis from the School of Social Work, Kim Griswold from the Department of Family Medicine, and Scott Sabella from the Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology.

Chang also expressed appreciation to the staff of the Center for Nursing Research at the School of Nursing, specifically Steve Lamkin, Diane Dempsey and Nicole Roma, as well as Alison Mical from Sponsored Projects Services.

Chang also recognized UB’s BHWET project manager, Josh Altemoos, for his “excellent support and assistance throughout the grant application process.”

“They all worked tirelessly to support me and the team in putting together an excellent grant application,” Chang says.