Adversity and Mental Health
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Research and evaluation in Adversity and Mental Health centers on understanding and addressing the impacts of trauma, stress and adverse experiences across the lifespan. The center collaborates with academic and community partners to evaluate interventions, trainings and service models that promote resilience, equity and access to mental health supports. This work emphasizes evidence-informed practice, qualitative insight and community voice to guide system and organizational change.
Adversity and Mental Health Projects
Improving mental health in Appalachia through implementation and evaluation of electronically delivered therapy
Sponsored by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the Appalachian Mind Health Initiative (AMHI) is a partnership between CFCWB, University of South Florida, West Virginia University and community organizations in Appalachia to enhance mental health services in rural areas through partnering with primary care practices to offer electronically delivered Cognitive Behavior Therapy (eCBT) for depression.
Evaluating the University of Louisville's suicide prevention initiative, Cards SPEAK - Suicide Prevention, Education, Awareness, and Knowledge
The Cards SPEAK initiative is a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)-funded campus suicide prevention effort run by CFCWB that includes a multi-pronged approach to addressing the mental health needs of college students. One strategy includes evidence-based psychoeducational interventions, including the QPR Program for suicide prevention, Mind Matters(trauma) and Love Notes (relationships). Trainings and other direct services were evaluated by CFCWB.
Empowering youth to navigate life’s challenges, transform adversity into triumph and build lasting resilience
Mind Matters is a program designed to help teens and adults cope with adversity and stress. It offers practical tools for managing emotions, reducing stress and building resilience. Mind Matters helps participants develop skills to handle life’s challenges and promote long-term well-being. CFCWB has been awarded several JHFE grants to offer Mind Matters to the community. The most recent grant focused on working with Jefferson County Public Schools Mental Health Practitioners and working with community youth service agencies.
Supporting evaluation and dissemination activities for a needs assessment of organizations serving refugee and immigrant youth in the Louisville area
Catholic Charities, in collaboration with community-based partners, prepared a grant application to conduct a community needs assessment focused on refugee, immigrant and broader youth populations in the Louisville area. CFCWB is providing support for both quantitative and qualitative evaluation and dissemination activities related to community needs.
Bringing together public health, academic and community partners to better understand and prevent suicide in Jefferson County
The Jefferson County Suicide Fatality Review Workgroup (SFRW) includes stakeholders from the public health department and local universities as well as a variety of community partners. The SFRW’s mission is to (a) identify trends in data on which residents are most at risk , (b) identify opportunities to connect with our most at risk residents, (c) build working relationships between local stakeholders on suicide prevention and (d) inform local suicide prevention strategies by highlighting potential intervention points. To achieve this mission, the SFRW reviews de-identified data for all suicide deaths in Jefferson County compiled by the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office. This work is supported by the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, with funding from the American Rescue Plan.
Establishing a specialized workgroup to address the unique risks and prevention needs of Kentucky’s Veteran population
The Jefferson County Veteran Suicide Mortality Review (JVSMR) is an auxiliary of the existing Jefferson County Suicide Fatality Review Workgroup (SFRW). The workgroup is a multidisciplinary group of professionals and community members who meet to evaluate circumstances and risk factors associated with suicides within the Jefferson County community. The mission of the workgroup is to improve community and service systems and to act to prevent suicide. The purpose of the Veteran SMR is to utilize these processes to identify veteran decedents and develop tailored recommendations for prevention specific to Kentucky’s Veteran population. This work is supported by a cooperative agreement with the Kentucky Department of Veteran Affairs funded through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Evaluating trauma interventions for vulnerable Louisvillians experiencing violence
To address the growing crisis of stress on residents of Louisville’s most vulnerable neighborhoods, the Louisville TRC Project is a city-wide program that seeks to promote resilience and fairness for Louisville’s high-risk youth and families most affected by adversity, violence and civil unrest. Informed by findings from the TRC Project and Assessment, the Louisville American Recovery Plan (ARP) Project evaluated clinical services for individuals experiencing symptoms of adversity and stress in South and West Louisville. The evaluation team assessed changes in client outcomes related to general well-being, clinical stress symptoms, experiences with intolerance and protective factors, while also examining adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) at treatment onset and satisfaction with services at treatment completion.
Evaluating the effectiveness of the Trauma Resilient Communities Expansion program
Trauma Resilient Communities Expansion is a community-based program that builds trauma‑informed systems of care, delivers trauma‑focused services to youth and families impacted by violence and inequity and evaluates program impact through consumer feedback and outcome data. CFCWB is supporting the evaluation of this program.
Reducing and healing from community violence in Louisville.
Funded by SAMHSA and managed by the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods (OSHN), TRC ReCAST is a city-wide program that seeks to promote resilience for Louisville’s youth and families disproportionately affected by community violence. OSHN contracted with CFCWB to carry out specific day-to-day research and evaluation tasks.