Behavioral Health Initiative Action Team
Action Team Goal
Northern Michigan Child and Family Therapy Corps aims to meet the need for more therapists to serve uninsured or underinsured youth, ages 0-25, and their families in Northwest Michigan and remove financial barriers related to access to care.
Targeted Problem
Many families and children across Northwest Michigan who are uninsured or underinsured are unable to access mental health services due to a lack of providers, financial barriers, and referral requirements. Many youth and families who receive a diagnosis that is classified as either mild or moderate also face challenges in accessing care. Because of these barriers, mental health challenges go untreated, leading to and increase in mental health crises and negative, long-term mental health outcomes.
Our Collective Work
Therapy Corps is designed to meet the need for more therapists to serve uninsured or under-insured youth (0-25) and their families in Northwest Lower Michigan. The program matches youth and their families with participating therapists who have committed to offering free sessions. Once matched, families can coordinate directly with their assigned therapist to schedule sessions and begin their journey toward mental well-being.
Volunteer therapists, who are asked to commit to the program for one year, are offered compensation for their time through free group supervision or funds for continuing education credit.
Become a Therapy Corps Volunteer Therapist
Therapy Corps invites fully and limited licensed behavioral health providers to volunteer as part of this community-wide effort.
The model is intentionally flexible and designed to be both manageable for providers and impactful for families:
- One therapy session per week
- Serving one child or family
- Services provided at no cost to the client
Our team carefully matches therapists with clients based on clinical expertise and availability. Fully licensed volunteers are eligible for a stipend of up to $125 toward Continuing Education credits, and limited licensed providers may opt to participate in a monthly group supervision session at no cost. Therapy Corps also provides volunteer therapists with access to a HIPPA-compliant tele-therapy platform and reimburses for individual liability insurance policies, if needed.
Fill out the form below to volunteer and learn more!
Refer a client to Therapy Corps
If you have a client (a youth, age 0-25, or a family) in need of mental health services and have been unable to find them the supports they need due to cost, provider availability, or insurance, please fill out the referral form below to refer your client to Therapy Corps. Our team carefully matches therapists with clients based on clinical expertise and availability. Both teletherapy and in-person sessions may be available, depending on the clients preference, ability travel, access to internet, etc.
Once we’ve made a match, we will send the therapist contact information to the family listed in the referral form and inform you that a referral has been made. To comply with HIPPA, it will be the family’s responsibility to reach out to the therapist. We will follow-up with the family to confirm that a connection has been made and we will send you an update once the child/family has connected to the therapist.
