The Mental Health Scholars Academy is a $30 million project to train new mental health professionals in California. The academy offers tuition support, mentoring, and networking to KP employees who want to become therapists, counselors, or social workers.
Each year, the R.J. Erickson Award recognizes people and groups who have made big contributions to equity, inclusion, and diversity at Kaiser Permanente.
The Mental Health Scholars Academy team was honored for expanding the mental health care workforce. The team’s efforts mean more people can get mental health services.
The Mental Health Scholars Academy team, pictured above left to right, honored with the award includes Zainab Haque, Lauren Sevey, Jim D’Alfonso, Dan Gizzo, Aagam Shah, Lisa Arieta Hayes, Betty Lim.
The academy also aims to increase the diversity among Kaiser Permanente mental health therapists with master’s and doctorate degrees. One way the team did this was by creating a fairer application process. The new process uses an objective scoring system and reviewers were also trained to avoid bias.
The team also encourages people who are bilingual and have diverse backgrounds to apply. Currently, 76% of students in the Mental Health Scholars Academy are people of color, and 40% are bilingual.
In addition to tuition support, mentoring, and networking, the MHSA program includes training and continuing education. The program can also be used in other fields with worker shortages.