With $12 million in federal funding, UCLA to expand reach of its depression treatment

Key takeaways:Partnering with Los Angeles County connects UCLA expertise to where it ’s needed.East Los Angeles College program could be a model to further growth throughout California.Related research will address how to reduce stigma around mental health care in Latino communities.Based on a promising pilot program that screens for and treats depression in college students, researchers and faculty with UCLA ’s Depression Grand Challenge have received a five-year, $12 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to increase the reach of their efforts.The funding will enable the UCLA Depression Grand Challenge team to refine and expand the care program known as STAND, or Screening and Treatment for Anxiety and Depression.  The highly competitive federal funding supports the establishment of a campus research center under the National Institute of Mental Health ’s program called Advanced Laboratories for Accelerating the Reach and Impact of Treatments for Youth and Adults with Mental Illness, or ALACRITY. TheALACRITY center at UCLA will focus on optimizing STAND for community colleges and support related research topics such as pairing patients with treatment that takes into account a patient ’s social and environmental factors alongside their symptoms while exploring innovative ways to use data when screening for and treating anxiety and depression. The grant will support other projects that are designed to tackle reducing barriers to seeking care in L...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news