Remote Mental Health Services

Expand existing program

The need for mental health services continues to expand at an alarming rate. In 2018, a study by the National Council for Behavioral Health showed that not only is American experiencing a mental health crisis, but that the lack of access to care is a root cause of that crisis. Low-income families suffer the most from this epidemic, not only because they cannot afford to pay for services, but because they do not have physical access to these services. Vista Del Mar offers high-quality, evidence-based mental health services on our West Los Angeles campus to more than 1,000 clients per year, without regard for their ability to pay. Our clients come from all over the Greater Los Angeles area, from some of the most under-resourced communities. Knowing that online therapy is the wave of the future, Vista has already begun to offer online therapy; however, our antiquated phone system is a barrier to the growth of this program because it cannot accommodate VoIP or streaming video.

For more than a century, Vista Del Mar has been an innovative leader in caring for children and families in need. We were the first to establish a cottage-style orphanage in Southern California, to incorporate the nascent foster care system into our services, and to identify the mental health challenges children in Los Angeles faced following World War II. We also built one of only two Level 14+ (24/7 supervised care) mental health facilities for severely disturbed children in California. Our clinical programs have been awarded a Gold Seal by the Joint Commission, the highest level of accreditation possible, and our educational facilities are fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). We have been a major front-line provider of mental health services in Los Angeles for decades; as such, this program represents a natural evolution of our services.

Thousands of people across Los Angeles need mental health services but are unable to access those services due to inability to travel. By providing mental health services remotely, we can eliminate that barrier. Mental health is a major cause of abuse, addiction, violence and homelessness. With more people receiving the mental health services they need, fewer children will be abused, fewer people will lose their jobs or self-medicate due to mental illness, and fewer people will become homeless as a result of these problems. Studies show that online therapy services cost less than face-to-face treatment and requires less of a therapist's time, meaning therapists can treat more people online than they can in-person.

Success for this project will be defined by our ability to provide online therapy services remotely to any client in Los Angeles who needs it. Our on-campus telephone switching system will have been upgraded to accommodate high volume VoIP so that any number of clients can be served simultaneously, if need be. Our therapists, as well as our clients, will have the necessary equipment and expertise to utilize this service as required.

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