Medical University of South Carolina, Mental Health Disparities Among Trauma-Exposed Youth Center [1]
The Mental Health Disparities Among Trauma-Exposed Youth Center is located within the Mental Health Disparities and Diversity Program in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina. Our center focuses on increasing access to, engagement in, and completion of culturally- and linguistically-appropriate, evidence-based treatments (EBT) for trauma-exposed African American, Latino, economically-disadvantaged, and rural/urban children and adolescents residing in 9 counties across South Carolina. We have a particular focus on utilizing specialized service modalities with evidence of reducing barriers to care, in particular community-based treatment and telemental health. The center seeks to (1) increase access to EBTs, among underserved populations through community-, telemedicine-, and office-based service provision modalities; (2) increase capacity of therapists to provide EBTs (Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Culturally Modified-TF-CBT (CM-TF-CBT)) through learning collaboratives on EBTs; and (3) increase completion of services through reducing barriers to care and the provision of culturally-tailored treatment aimed at increasing engagement and reducing premature drop-out. Services are provided in a variety of community locations, including local child advocacy centers, schools, and pediatric primary care locations.