To increase inclusion, equity and diversity in the field of mental health by providing historically underrepresented communities with access to evidence-based prevention and treatment and by training racially diverse providers.
Our Mission:
Increase access to proven, successful mental health interventions for underserved, racially diverse populations by directly providing treatment scholarships and by growing and diversifying the provider community trained in these interventions.
Our Vision:
A future where equitable access to proven, successful mental health services and training is a reality for all communities.
We value diversity, inclusion, teamwork, empathy, respect for others, integrity, accountability, growth and development, dedication to science and data, and excellence.
Respecting diverse thoughts, opinions, and acceptance of all persons regardless of background.
Cooperating, collaborating, building meaningful relationships with kindness and compassion, respecting differing viewpoints, and working towards the greater good of the organization.
Speaking the truth to others with sincerity, compassion, authority, and confidence. We will demonstrate strength in character to our clients, potential clients, ourselves, vendors, staff, and others with whom we interact.
Accepting responsibility for our words, actions and results, and making necessary adjustments, if needed, to ensure success.
Ensuring science and data informs the selection of mental health treatments and education, and how we approach the achievement of our larger mission.
Achieving excellence by serving with passion and creativity and striving to perform at the highest level, being open to feedback, being fallible, and being open, nonjudgmental, and engaging in a process of critical thinking and life-long learning from ourselves and our colleagues.
Balancing our commitment to learning, teaching, and applying evidence-based and life-saving treatments to our clients, we simultaneously encourage and promote an atmosphere of enjoyment, laughter and fun, when interacting amongst ourselves, our clients, and others.
Seeking out and embracing opportunities to enhance our personal and professional development.
Whether online or in person, there are still many barriers that prevent those in need from accessing mental health care. High cost of treatment, limited options when searching for a therapist, and a glaring lack of clinicians of color can all hinder the ability of minority populations from connecting with care.
Finding a therapist who understands the lived experiences of people of color can be much harder, as historically, psychology is a predominantly white field. Not only that, but schools offering psychology courses and tracks offer limited training on the intersection of race and mental health.
Increased suicide rates among Black people
Even pre-pandemic, rates of suicide among black people increased 30% from 2014-2019, while rates among white people began to drop by the end of that period.
Youth ages 12 - 17 have experienced at least one major depressive episode
In 2022, nearly 3.8 million children and adolescents in the US experienced at least one major depressive episode, and of these individuals, over 60% received no care.
Only 8.7% of black adults receive mental health treatment, compared to 16% of white adults
The disparity is even more apparent when considering that only 13% of children from diverse backgrounds receive mental health care as opposed to 31% of white children.
More US adults felt symptoms of depression or anxiety
According to the CDC, between January and February 2021, more than 41% of US adults said they felt symptoms of depression or anxiety in the past week compared to 36% in the summer of 2020.
Statistic Sources: JAMA Open Network, Mental Health America, Simmons University, CDC
Where are the treatments that work for mental disorders?
Increasing access to evidence-based treatments. Unfortunately, to date, there are still a large number of therapists who are not trained and thus do not provide evidence-based psychosocial interventions for their clients with mental disorders.
Answer: Access Psychology Foundation will provide scholarships to clients to receive evidence-based therapies for a range of mental disorders.
Where are the therapists of color?
Nearly 81% of all mental health professional in the US are White. Hispanic providers make up 9%, and just over 7% of all mental health professionals are Black.
Answer: Access Psychology Foundation will increase the network of mental health professionals from underrepresented populations through innovative training programs and generous scholarships.
How do schools respond to the increasing mental health demands of their students?
School psychologists are overwhelmed as they are responsible for, on average, 1,211 students.
Anxiety and depression were up 20% in 2020 especially among young people, with a 334% increase in self-harm among teens.
Answer: Access Psychology Foundation will provide grants to schools to help support the students and families they work with through ongoing training and consultations.
Our staff is dedicated to eliminating inequities in mental health treatment and training through APF’s generous scholarships and high-quality programming.
Executive Director
President
Vice President
It’s our responsibility to act now and embark on building a scalable network of mental health professionals and educators who will bring evidence-based therapies to underserved communities
