William James INTERFACE Referral Service in the News

Each year, the press takes an interest in the William James INTERFACE Referral Service (formerly Project INTERFACE) and seeks out members of the community to comment on mental health and wellness and this valuable service. Here are a few examples:

Medfield Public Schools Seeing Improved Mental Health Wellness with Use of INTERFACE Referral Services, Press Release, 6/18/19.

“INTERFACE has helped ease the burden of families during what can be incredibly  stressful times,” said Medfield School Committee Chair Anna Mae O’Shea Brooke, who also serves on the Medfield Coalition for Suicide Prevention. “It can sometimes take countless phone calls and hours on hold trying to find the right therapist that is covered by your insurance and works within your schedule. INTERFACE helps immensely to ease those burdens and streamline the process. We are so very fortunate in Medfield to have this service available to those who need it.”

How to find a therapist when you need one, Boston Globe, 4/17/2019.

"Relief came when she contacted William James College’s Interface Referral Service, at the recommendation of a provider. She received a call back within 24 hours, was interviewed for 20 minutes about her child and hopes for a therapist, and received four referrals within 48 hours. She and her child went to two intake interviews, then selected one. 'I never would have found her myself,' Stephen said."

Lexington aims to expand mental health resources, Concord Journal, 1/22/2019. 

"The growing demand for mental health services in Lexington has driven officials to assess how the town and the schools can better support residents. [...] The town also funded the William James INTERFACE Referral Service, a helpline connecting residents with mental health providers, last month. The school district plans on funding that program in its FY2020 budget, according to Hackett."

Middleboro has free resource for those seeking mental health services, SouthCoast Today, 1/2/2019.

" Mental Health is something to take seriously. Unfortunately, due to societal stigma, there’s still much reluctance from people to face these issues and seek out help when needed.  The William James College Interface Referral Service not only works to break down this perception, but also help people concerned with stigma."

Walpole opens access to mental health care phone line, WickedLocal Walpole, 11/9/2018.

"The town has launched a referral helpline this month as a way to better connect Walpole residents to needed mental health services.  Walpole - and neighboring Norwood - became among the latest towns to offer access to the Interface Mental Health Referral Helpline, administered by William James College. Those who call the helpline (1-888-244-6843) will be connected with mental health-care providers who meet their needs - as well as their insurance and location situations."

Referral service available for Braintree residents, The Patriot Ledger, 9/17/2018.

"Mayor Joseph Sullivan is introducing the William James INTERFACE Referral Service Helpline in conjunction with town departments and community groups. Information on anxiety, depression, suicide, addiction, divorce and substance abuse is available on the service’s website. In addition, residents seeking assistance in finding a trained mental health professional can call the helpline at 1-888-244-6843 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Individuals of all ages can be matched with a licensed mental health provider. The service strives to meet the location, insurance and needs of each individual."

Referral service works to connect Acton, Boxborough residents with mental health providers,  WickedLocal Acton, 7/20/2018.

"The town of Boxborough wants to remind people who may be struggling with mental health issues, that there are plenty of resources available. One of those resources is the William James College INTERFACE Referral Service, a free mental health and referral helpline that works to match residents to mental health providers who will accept a resident’s insurance. The town of Boxborough provided The Beacon with information about the service."

As suicides surge, so do efforts to prevent them, The Patriot Ledger, 3/19/2018.

"To better help people get the aid they need, 10 South Shore towns now offer a program that matches residents with mental health providers that best fit their individual needs, location and insurance coverage. Called INTERFACE, the program is run through William James College and is currently available to residents in Cohasset, Duxbury, Hanover, Hingham, Kingston, Marshfield, Norwell, Pembroke, Plymouth and Scituate. INTERFACE, which also serves communities in other parts of the state, fielded about 3,200 calls last year."

Concord students react to spike in school shootings, WickedLocal Concord, 2/20/2018.

"[Dr.] Robert Kinscherff, [PhD, JD,] believes the school shooting problem must be treated like a public health issue. Kinscherff is a licensed psychologist who holds administrative and doctoral faculty positions at William James College. The College’s Interface Referral Service connects students in the Concord and Concord-Carlisle Regional School Districts with mental-health services. Kinscherff said the political climate has 'discouraged' the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from gathering data on gun violence, which could be used to help understand the problem and develop solutions."

The Urgency of Early Engagement: Five Persistent Barriers to Mental Health Treatment, Care and Recover in Massachusetts and the Search for Solutions, Health Care for All, 10/12/17.

"Substance use, homelessness, and incarceration are three devastating consequences of failures at the early stages of the mental health system. The opportunity for individuals to get early and possibly lasting support for their mental health care needs can be lost when important information about treatment options is not readily available, when early symptoms of mental illness foster isolation and stigma, when insurance coverage proves hard to navigate, when costs of treatment discourage or limit access, and when effective providers are seemingly impossible to find. It is also true that by harnessing the potential of existing programs and promising opportunities to advance public policy, these barriers can be surmounted and that recovery from serious mental illness is achievable. [...]  Massachusetts should help promising programs grow to scale. Two immediate candidates are the INTERFACE referral service (INTERFACE) and Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition (BRYT)."

Suicide prevention text lines open new doors to help, WickedLocal Concord, 9/12/17. 

"Heather Byrns sees many advantages to texting when mental health counseling is needed. Byrns is a licensed mental health counselor and clinical supervisor at Williams James College Interface Referral Service in Newton; Interface Referral has a dual contract with Concord and Carlisle to provide free mental health referrals for residents in both towns."

Vaping is on the rise in Scituate, WickedLocal Scituate, 7/6/2017.

"What if he/she won’t stop?  Consider connecting your child with a counselor, so he or she may safely explore their reasons for using in the first place, as well as their own motivation to slow down or stop.  Scituate residents have access to a free match service through Interface Referral to find a community-based mental health professional that meets your needs. Be sure to request a professional who specializes in adolescents and substance use. Start by calling the William James Interface Referral Service at: 888 244-6843 x 1411."

Grief and loss in Concord, WickedLocal Concord, 9/1/2017.

"Concord has the resources in place to help parents and children struggling with trauma, according to [Jim] McCauley, who mentioned the William James College Interface Referral Service in Newton. The organization has a contract with the Concord schools to provide free mental health referral services to Concord residents."

Organizations Step Up to Support Mental Health Services in Concord, WickedLocal Concord, 4/9/2017.

"Concord residents receive referrals for mental health services through the Williams James College Interface Referral Service in Newton."

Anxiety Top Mental-Health Issue for Students, Sentinal & Enterprise News, 2/9/2017.

"This is the first time Leominster Public Schools has reported data using the William James College Interface Referral Service, which directs people to resources to help them with their health-care needs...The referral service also tracks health and demographic information from callers in order to improve the integration of mental health and wellness services within a given school district."

Framingham: Guiding the way to Mental Health Care, The Metrowest Daily News, 12/1/2016.

"The town recently signed a two-year contract with William James College to gain access to the school’s INTERFACE Referral Service, a telephone helpline that points callers to mental health and wellness services in their area."

Mental Health Referral Service Expands to Plymouth, The Boston Globe, 11/8/2016.

"A regional service that helps residents locate mental health care is expanding to Plymouth. The William James College’s INTERFACE Referral Service, which has served nine communities south of Boston the past two years, added Plymouth to its area network in a recent kickoff event. Its other communities are Cohasset, Duxbury, Hanover, Hingham, Kingston, Marshfield, Norwell, Pembroke, and Scituate."

County suicide prevention service expands to Plymouth, WickedLocal Kingston, 10/20/2016.

"Thanks to $100,000 in state funding, a suicide-prevention help line run by a Newton college will expand its service to the town of Plymouth as well as continue a third year in nine other towns. The program offers mental health services through an affiliated local family practice, and connects mental health providers to patients."

INTERFACE service addresses need for mental health services, WickedLocal Dedham, 9/26/2016.

"A new phone service is now available to help Dedham residents connect with mental health resources. The INTERFACE helpline is a free telephone service that helps connect people with mental health services. All residents living in participating towns, now including Dedham, can call the hotline, which is run through William James College in Newton."

Interface Referral Service comes to Dedham, Dedham Transcript, 9/20/2016.

"As part of a collaborative effort involving the Dedham Public Schools and various town departments including police, fire, veterans affairs, youth commission, Council on Aging, Board of Health and the Dedham Housing Authority, the town of Dedham has subscribed to the Interface Referral Service offered by William James College."

Mental health referral service available for Natick residents, WickedLocal Natick, 9/19/2016.

"Residents of all ages now have access to mental health referral services thanks to a Newton college and MetroWest Health Foundation. William James College's INTERFACE Referral Service has a telephone service through which it will refer Natick residents to appropriate outpatient mental health services. 'The goal is to get people connected not just with a therapist, but a therapist who will be a good match for them,' said Leah Perniciaro, clinical supervisor at INTERFACE."

Helpline Receives Funds from Baker’s Budget, WickedLocal Marshfield, 8/26/2016.

"A free helpline offering referrals for a variety of mental health and wellness concerns to hundreds of South Shore residents received $100,000 in the fiscal year 2017 state budget. To use the referral service, parties seeking mental health services call the free, confidential helpline, where representatives do a thorough intake on the callers and work to match them with mental health providers."

Mayor affirms commitment to mental health helpline, Daily Times Chronicle, 7/12/2016.

"...During a recent meeting in the Joyce Middle School, Superintendent Mark Donovan notified the School Committee about correspondence from the mayor in which he renews his promise to split the $12,000 bill for the first year of the contract. According to School Committee Chairman Chris Kisiel, with the mayor’s pledge fulfilled, it is expected all citizens and students in Woburn will by next fall have access to the helpline being managed by William James College’s Interface program."

INTERFACE helpline serves 680 South Shore residents, WickedLocal Norwell, 1/15/2016.

"A free helpline offering referrals for a variety of mental health and wellness concerns served about 680 people in nine South Shore towns over 15 months, Rep. Jim Cantwell, D-Marshfield said.  Seeing the value of the William James INTERFACE Referral Service, Cantwell hopes to secure state funding this spring to expand its reach to include all of Plymouth County.  'Because of the great need, we're trying to expand the area,' he said."

Project Interface could save lives, proponents say, Nashoba Valley Voice, 10/26/2015.

"At a recent selectmen's meeting, Betsy Dolan, of Ayer and Steve Boczinowsky, of Groton, presented facts and figures they hoped would convince the board to consider buying into Project Interface, which offers participating communities streamlined access to mental health referrals and services. But the most convincing argument wasn't in the numbers. 'Six years ago, I lost my son to suicide,' Boczinowsky said. 'He might be alive today if the town (Groton) had this service.'"

Needham secures funding for free mental health referral, The Needham Times, 8/10/2015.

"...Funded through a commitment of $60,000 for five years by the Kyle W. Shapiro Foundation and Beth Israel Deaconess-Needham Hospital, William James College’s INTERFACE Referral Service works to increase awareness of mental health issues impacting children, adolescents and adults and facilitate access to experienced mental health clinicians for treatment. Connecting with mental health support services that correspond to insurance coverage and availability can be challenging, the INTERFACE Referral Service offers a free consultation by phone with a trained intake consultant that will help residents navigate the mental health system to secure provider services."

Mental health referral service gaining traction in town, The Enterprise, 4/28/2015.

"The Interface mental health referral service now being offered in town has continued to gain traction, according to Catherine Dhingra, Wakefield’s drug-free communities grant coordinator. Dhingra told the Board of Selectmen this week that Interface operates as a referral service to help residents find mental health or substance abuse professionals that will meet their needs."

MSPP INTERFACE helps find mental health services, The Beacon, 1/8/2015.

"...A new service to parents, students and educators known as the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (MSPP) INTERFACE Referral Service, is now being implemented locally due to the combined efforts of the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, Town of Acton, Teenage Anxiety and Depression Solutions (TADS), Acton-Boxborough United Way (ABUW), Danny's Place Youth Services and the Acton-Boxborough Regional Parent Teacher Student Organization."

Mental-health referral service offered on South Shore, Patriot Ledger, 10/14/14.

"In working with the Marshfield and Scituate Suicide Prevention Coalition, state Rep. James Cantwell has heard families in crisis often say they can’t find a professional accepting new patients or who has the right expertise to help their loved one.  A new mental health referral service now available in nine communities on the South Shore offers families and individuals a red-tape-free pathway to the help they need."

School counselor pitches counseling referral service; Selectmen may approve if money is found, Nashoba Publishing Community News, 6/30/2014.

“…Page Hilltop Elementary School Counselor Betsy Dolan came to selectmen Monday night with commitments in hand from the Ayer Shirley Regional School District and Ayer selectmen to provide partial funding for a child and young adult mental health counseling referral conduit. She said the program -- Ayer Shirley William James INTERFACE Counseling Referral Service -- would benefit both communities and the schools and made a pitch for the town to share the cost. Shirley’s buy-in would be $6,000 over two years.”

More help on the way for Mass. women with depression during and after pregnancy, UMassMedNow, 6/23/2014.

“…UMass Medical School is leading the launch of a statewide program to better identify and treat depression in mothers during and after pregnancy, by providing rapid access to psychiatric expertise and mental health resources to pregnant and postpartum women’s front line health care providers.... ‘MCPAP has become a national model,’ said Byatt. ‘Along with our partners and allies, including the Massachusetts Postpartum Depression Commission William James INTERFACE and MotherWoman, we’re excited to build on the success of MCPAP by expanding it to address depression and other mental health concerns among pregnant and postpartum women.’”

Children’s access to mental care in Mass. is growing, The Boston Globe, 3/18/2013.

“…Given the important role that pediatricians play in a child’s life, they are at the center of many initiatives designed to boost mental health services for the young. The Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project provides a hotline for pediatricians to call for consultations with psychiatrists, especially for help with the complexities of prescribing psychotropic drugs. Started about a decade ago, this program has been replicated in other states. In addition, the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology offers pediatricians a referral service for mental health clinicians, which has made roughly 1,000 referrals a year.”

Town shares in counseling service, Harvard News, 3/8/2013.

“…With support from the Harvard Schools Trust and the Lions Club, Harvard is one of more than a dozen member communities benefiting from the William James INTERFACE. Neighboring towns of Groton, Littleton, Westford, Ayer, Lincoln and Concord are also members.”

Schools to offer new mental health resource. The Harvard Press, 6/15/12.

“When a student or young adult needs mental health services, a family can face a bewildering array of questions, choices, and concerns. Is there a mental health professional in this area who specializes in the young person’s problem? What kinds of insurance does that professional accept? How long will it take to get an appointment? As of July 1, Harvard residents will have a new source of help in dealing with these questions. Harvard is joining with more than a dozen other Massachusetts communities to take part in Project Interface, which offers a helpline and a referral service for mental health issues. ...”

Project INTERFACE meeting June 6. Harvard News, 6/1/12.

“Residents are invited to a meeting at Volunteer Hall at the Harvard Public Library to learn about a new service that is available beginning July 1. … Information related to mental-health questions and services for children, families and adults, including a calendar of community trainings and events will be available at www.projectinterface.org. Read more…

Groton man helps others find the right help. The Lowell Sun, 12/25/11.

“Steve Boczenowski knows referrals to doctors’ offices often start in conversations among parents at school-bus stops or on soccer fields. From orthopedist to dentist, parents ask around to get the names of physicians that may fit their children’s needs. But the search for the right help is a lot more private and lonely process than that for those looking for mental-health professionals, said Boczenowski, who lost his 21-year-old son, Jeffrey, to a drug-overdose suicide in December 2009.” Read more…

Project INTERFACE coming to Groton-Dunstable schools. The Groton Landmark,12/23/11.

“The Project INTERFACE Community Resource & Referral HELPLINE is available to parents and community members in Groton-Dunstable beginning Jan. 2, to assist in finding appropriate mental health services for children, families and adults. Callers are provided professional, personalized counseling referrals matched for location, specialty and insurance or fee requirements.… Funding for this service is generously provided by TADS -- Teenage Anxiety & Depression Solutions.” Read more…

Selectmen minutes, July 11, 2011. The Chelmsford Independent, 7/11/11.

“A mental health referral helpline is now available for all Chelmsford residents, according to Chelmsford Manager of Healthcare Services Sue Rosa. Called Project INTERFACE, the helpline is active Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Professionals through the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology match callers with services to meet their particular needs. Problems addressed include depression, ADHD, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. Residents are not charged a fee to call the line, which went active July 1 thanks to donations from groups such as the Disability Commission, which gave $1,000. Westford, which set up the line in January only for school-age students, received 35 calls in its first month. ‘It’s a service that, based on the Youth Risk behavior survey and everything that has gone on in town, we definitely need,’ Rosa said. ‘I’m pretty proud of the fact that we were able to get it here in Chelmsford.’” Read more…

Helpline will get state aid: Project INTERFACE helps young people find needed mental health services. The Berkshire Eagle, 5/9/11.

“With state youth suicide rates at their highest in the Berkshires, Massachusetts has set aside funds for a mental health helpline available to young people in South County. The referral service, Project INTERFACE, helps teens and young adults figure out what kind of mental health services they might need and locates psychologists, psychiatrists or other professionals in the area who are available for an appointment. Distinguished from a hotline, the helpline is primarily about establishing face to- face meetings. ‘Individuals need services, and without someone to help them navigate services, it’s very frustrating - and that’s what we do,’ said Margaret Hannah of the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, which operates the helpline.” (Article not available online.)

Sudbury schools form partnership with mental health referral service. The Sudbury Town Crier, 2/7/11.

“The Sudbury Public Schools is pleased to announce a new partnership with Project INTERFACE, an initiative through the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology. Project INTERFACE works to improve the integration of mental health services within schools and community agencies and to improve access to these services for individuals. Project INTERFACE is available free of charge to families to assist in finding appropriate counseling and mental health services for children and families. P… Project INTERFACE staff assists parents in finding appropriate counseling referrals based on insurance accepted, location, therapist specialty, and availability.” Read more…

Mental health referrals provided by new service in Westford. The Westford Eagle, 12/27/10.

“The [Project] INTERFACE Community Resource and Referral helpline will become available to parents and community members in Westford on Jan. 3, to assist in finding appropriate mental health services for children and families. Callers are provided professional, personalized counseling referrals matched for location, specialty and insurance or fee requirements. … Project INTERFACE, an initiative out of The Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, works to improve the integration of mental health services within schools and community agencies and to improve access to these services for individuals.… The service is being funded by See a New Sun Foundation, Westford Parent Connection, and the Westford Schools.” Read more…

Needham announces mental health services referral helpline. The Needham Times, 1/23/10.

The [Project] INTERFACE Community Resource & Referral HELPLINE is now available to parents and community members in Needham to assist in finding appropriate mental health services for children, families and adults. Callers are provided professional, personalized counseling referrals matched for location, specialty and insurance or fee requirements. …Funding for this service is generously provided by Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham and the Kyle W. Shapiro Foundation.” Read more…