TDMHSAS Expands Mental Health Interventions for Youth and Young Adults

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) is expanding OnTrack TN, Tennessee’s First Episode Psychosis Initiative to three new counties.  Funding for this expansion is coming from federal COVID-19 pandemic response grants.

OnTrack TN works with youth and young adults ages 15 to 30 who have experienced a first episode of psychosis.  This comprehensive intervention model uses a team of mental health professionals and support services, focusing on helping people work toward recovery and meeting their personal goals. 

The new locations for OnTrack TN are Montgomery County, served by Mental Health Cooperative, Anderson County, served by Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services, and Rutherford County, served by Volunteer Behavioral Health Care Services.  These counties were selected for expansion based on a review of TDMHSAS mobile crisis data which demonstrated a significant number of face-to-face crisis assessments for ages 10-24 in these counties.

“We know that young people have been hit hardest by the mental health impacts of the pandemic.  Data collected over the last year show higher rates of symptoms of anxiety or depression, higher prevalence of suicidal thoughts, and increased symptoms of psychosis among young people,” said TDMHSAS Commissioner Marie Williams, LCSW.  “We are so grateful to our community partners who are stepping up to do this work, and we are so appreciative of our federal partners, Governor Bill Lee, and the Tennessee General Assembly who support this program and so many others to meet the behavioral health needs of Tennesseans.”

Started in 2015 with federal funding through the Mental Health Block Grant, the OnTrack TN began in northwest Tennessee with Carey Counseling Center which established one of the initial rural First Episode Psychosis Initiative sites in the nation.  The program is also currently offered in Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, and Shelby Counties.

Learn more about the OnTrack TN program at this link on TN.gov.