The Gevirtz Graduate School Hosford Counseling & Psychological Services Clinic and Proyecto/Project HEROES participated in Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital’s annual Mental Health Fair on Saturday, May 7. Cottage Hospital is the leading healthcare provider for the Central Coast region and treats over 76,000 patients annually. The fair featured various non-profit organizations, mental health professionals, and lecturers providing information on mental health such as postpartum depression, addiction, recovery, and more.
Hosford Counseling clinicians Andy Choi, Gina Vanegas, Agustina Bertone, Ben Ross, and Hosford Clinic Supervisor Diana Capous provided information about the Hosford Clinic’s services at the event, including individual, couples, and family psychotherapy. The Hosford Clinic aims to provide culturally sensitive and low cost therapy to members of the Central Coast Community, as well as UCSB students, staff, and faculty. Students in the Clinical, Counseling, and School Pyschology (CCSP) program at the Gevritz School also train and perform research through the clinic.
The second group participating in the Mental Health Fair was Proyecto/Project HEROES (Honor, Educación, Respeto, Oportunidad, Esperanza, Soluciones/ Honor, Education, Respect, Opportunity, Hope, and Solutions). Project HEROES is community-based participatory research program led by Drs. Maryam Kia-Keating (UC Santa Barbara) and Jessica Adams (CALM – Child Abuse Listening and Mediation). The group’s focus is to spread information on the effects of mental health on Latino/a teenagers’ lives, as well as the importance of addressing mental health needs and violence prevention in the community. In addition to tabling at the Mental Health Fair, Project HEROES and CALM will be promoting an Instagram campaign (@projectheroessb) where mental health professionals can speak out against violence.