After completing a pilot phase that launched in December 2022, the Virginia Telemental Health Initiative (VTMHI), a nonprofit organization offering free telemental health services to eligible uninsured and underinsured Virginians, has launched. become the Commonwealth’s first free statewide virtual mental health clinic.
As a virtual clinic, VTMHI collaborates with pre-licensed volunteer mental health providers in the process of completing licensure to provide teletherapy services to eligible patients who are referred by participating free and charitable clinics. The VTMHI model expands access to mental health services and strengthens Virginia’s mental health workforce.
“We are very grateful to our partners and volunteers who participated in the program’s successful inaugural year of service. They helped build an innovative structure that is making mental health services available to Virginians who otherwise would not be able to afford or access them,” Mara Servaites, executive director of VTMHI, said in a statement. “It is the first model we know of in the US with the dual mission of providing free mental health services to medically underserved populations virtually and at the same time supporting the next generation of mental health providers with the process so they can enter the workforce faster. During our first year we learned that this new concept works and now we are prepared to grow by adding additional referral clinics to serve more Virginians.”
Since its inception, VTMHI has scheduled nearly 2,000 telemental health sessions with an average of 11 days between referral and a patient’s first appointment, a dramatic improvement compared to the average wait time of three months or more, according to Practitioner Pulse 2023 from the American Psychological Association. Survey.
During the inaugural year, 43 pre-licensed volunteer mental health professionals, supported by six clinical supervisors, provided free services to patients at 10 participating free and charitable clinics.
This year, VTMHI has welcomed 12 new referral clinics.
In 2024, VTMHI will invite 30 new Virginia clinics to join the program and will collaborate with 75 additional volunteer mental health professionals.
“Since the launch of VTMHI, we have been able to offer an initial counseling visit to patients within 24 hours in most cases. This has been extremely helpful for patients who have recently been discharged from inpatient psychiatric care or have a more urgent need,” Shannon Raybuck, mental health care coordinator at Fauquier Free Clinic, said in a statement. “This partnership allows these patients to quickly engage in services to address concerns such as substance use and anger management.”
Under the leadership of the Virginia Telehealth Network, the program is made possible through the collaboration of the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, the Virginia Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, the Karen S. Rheuban Telehealth Center at the University of Virginia, the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center, and VTMHI free clinic volunteers and participants.
