OUR PURPOSE
ENGAGE is committed to addressing mental health disparities by empowering lay Community Wellness Workers (CWWs) to provide essential screening and interventions in historically underserved communities. By utilizing a digital mobile tool that offers step-by-step guidance, ENGAGE bridges the gap in access to evidence-based interventions, especially for organizations facing capacity challenges in behavioral health.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to close the gap in mental health and substance use disorder care across the United States and in low- to middle-income countries. Through a holistic approach that integrates education, training, clinical services, and research, we aim to address the root causes of disparities. By partnering with community-based clinics, ministries of health, and underserved communities, we develop scalable, sustainable solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of each setting
OUR MODEL
Our model is built on three key evidence-based interventions:
Interpersonal Counseling (IPC)
Patients with common disorders will receive INTERPERSONAL COUNSELING (IPC), a briefer (4 sessions) and more structured version of interpersonal therapy designed for non-specialist settings that focuses on the relationship between interpersonal problems (i.e., disputes, life changes, grief, and social isolation) and the onset of psychiatric symptoms.
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
For the treatment of patients with substance use disorders, staff will use MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING (MI), a brief (1 session) therapeutic approach that uses active empathetic listening to explore patients’ goals, resolve ambivalence, and elicit motivation to change a behavior.
Safety Planning Intervention (SPI)
Patients with acute suicide risk will develop a suicide safety plan (SAFETY PLANNING INTERVENTION – SPI; 1 session) that includes a personalized set of coping strategies and sources of support to utilize during a suicidal crisis when hospitalization is not clinically indicated.
All of our activities are overseen by mental health professionals who are trained in the ENGAGE model, ensuring a high standard of care and support.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR HISTORY
GOALS OF ENGAGE
Our mission is to close the gap in mental health and substance use disorder care across the United States and in low- to middle-income countries. Through a holistic approach that integrates education, training, clinical services, and research, we aim to address the root causes of disparities. By partnering with community-based clinics, ministries of health, and underserved communities, we develop scalable, sustainable solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of each setting
Reduce Disparities
Lay providers screen and deliver evidence-based interventions in areas where resources are limited (shelters, clinic waitlists, etc.)
Improve Timely Access
Evidence-based interventions are offered immediately after screening in organizations facing capacity and infrastructure challenges.
Create Career Paths
Lay providers receive rigorous training and hands-on experience guided by mental health professionals, which serves as a foundation for pursuing careers in healthcare.
Brief Interventions
Trained staff provide immediate access to interventions tailored to clients’ needs, which can be a supplement to clinical services.
Community well-being
Additional service offerings and referrals enhance the effectiveness of mental health care by addressing social determinants of health (SDOH).
OUR collaborators
Foundation For Professional Development
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NYS OMH
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Services for the Underserved (S:US)
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