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Patricia Becerril comes to Bethesda Health Center in Charlotte, N.C., every other week. Becerril initially came to this free clinic for diabetes treatment. Director Wendy Pascual says primary care is often the starting point for patients here, most of whom are immigrants.
"One thing we have been seeing year after year is that many patients came here with physical problems that really are mental health problems," Pascual says.
Meanwhile, UNC Charlotte counseling professor Daniel Gutierrez had been looking for a way to get more involved in the community. A mutual friend put him in touch with Pascual, and Gutierrez suggested his master's and Ph.D. students could offer counseling services.
He and Pascual set up a partnership last year, and now about eight students provide treatment. They're unpaid - it's part of their training. Some speak Spanish, some use an interpreter.
"The big three we keep finding are depression, high levels of anxiety, and then high levels of trauma," he says. "At one point, about 85 percent of the folks were experiencing some level of some of that."
The clinic's focus on the immigrant community means treating many people who are uninsured and often here illegally. "Latinos, although they're experiencing a lot of these mental health concerns, they are among the least likely to be able to get services," Gutierrez says.
To read Michael Tomsic's entire article, and learn of additional university/community partnerships nationally, please click here.
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