New Helpline Offers Mental Health Services for Residents

About weeks ago, Chelmsford joined Project INTERFACE, an initiative to improve access to mental health care for participating communities.

Project INTERFACE is a helpline available to all Chelmsford residents from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in which callers are referred to specific providers based on individual needs. 

Project INTERFACE was developed at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, and now has nine locations in eastern Massachusetts. When residents call the helpline, a trained representative from MSPP will be on the other line and will work with the resident to find the help they need.

Representatives take into account an array of needs such as health insurance providers, how far residents are willing to travel, and whether residents are looking for someone specializing in substance abuse, anxiety, depression, or other diseases. They find a match and typically set residents up with an appointment within two weeks. Furthermore, the representatives will follow up after the appointment to see if this doctor was a right match.

Sue Rosa, manager of health care services for the town and a registered nurse, first began to work with Project INTERFACE after the Chelmsford Youth Risk and Behavioral Survey for 2010 was released.

The survey said that of the 1,133 students who responded at Chelmsford High School, 14.7 percent hurt themselves physically, and nine percent actually attempted suicide within the last 12 months of the survey.

When it came to drug use, 32 percent of kids reported using marijuana, 3.4 percent used ecstasy and five percent had used oxycontin at least once in their life.

“Some of the statistics on mental health blew my mind," said Rosa. Soon after, a school psychologist suggested she look into Project INTERFACE.

Rosa started coordinating, getting information about Project INTERFACE, and meeting up with people from MSPP.

The project requires an annual fee for based on population, so Rosa found funding through the town, the Chelmsford School Department, the Disabilities Commision, See a New Sun, Teenage Anxiety and Depression Solutions, and other community members. 

Finding the right therapist or doctor for your needs, Rosa said, can be frustrating.

“It (can be a) totally daunting task," she said.

When someone is first diagnosed with a mental health problem, they can’t wait months for an appointment, she said, and often need immediate care.

Rosa said a combination of not enough mental health care specialists, as well as a rise in mental health problems as a population, makes finding help so difficult.

"It's not just teenagers that need help, it’s the whole population," she said.

Within two weeks of launching the helpline, Rosa said it had received five phone calls.

The helpline is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at  617-332-3666 x 411.