ORONO — A new University of Maine program aims to address what experts have called a statewide “mental health crisis” among youth.

In the 2023 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey, 32.7% of adolescents reported symptoms of depression.

Additionally, National Alliance on Mental Illness data states that there is only one school psychologist in every 1,706 kids in public K-12 schools in Maine. According to NAMI, the recommended ratio is one school psychologist for every 500 kids.

“There are significant gaps in availability of mental health care in the state for children and youth, particularly in rural parts of the state,” said Elizabeth Armstrong, associate professor and director of the UMaine School of Social Work. “So, many of the youth who have mental health needs are unable to receive treatment and when they do receive treatment, may not have access to evidence-based interventions like MATCH.”

The University of Maine said it is looking to help address this gap by training graduate students in the modular approach to therapy for children, or MATCH.

The project is titled “Expanding the Maine Youth Behavioral Health Workforce: Integrating Evidence-Based Practice into Graduate Training.”

According to UMaine, the project is a collaborative effort between Jennifer Blossom, assistant professor of psychology in clinical psychology; Elizabeth Armstrong, associate professor and director of the School of Social Work; and Liam Shaw, manager of Outpatient Pediatric Behavioral Health at MaineGeneral Medical Center.

“This particular project builds on work that MaineGeneral has done for several years to try to increase behavioral health provider capacity to use MATCH in Maine communities,” said Armstrong. “So, it’s kind of a logical outgrowth of that work.”

The program will train social work students in mental health intervention for kids between the ages of 6 and 17.

According to UMaine, MATCH is proven effective in treating anxiety, depression, PTSD, and behavioral issues.

“It’s been used successfully in outpatient mental health settings [and] in school-based mental health clinics,” said Armstrong. “And so, we’re really excited to see what our graduates can do with this training once they go out into the communities that they serve.”

The program comes with the help of grant funding from the John T. Gorman Foundation, a Portland-based group.

According to UMaine, up to 30 students will complete the training and see between four and six clients during their field placements. According to UMaine, nearly 100 kids will receive specialized treatment during the grant period.

“In Maine, like a lot of other communities, we’ve seen mental health needs increase among children and youth in the period since the COVID-19 pandemic.” said Armstrong. “We know that Maine youth experience mental health concerns at higher than the national rate.”

This project will “embed evidence-based training into graduate social work curricula at UMaine.”

“Using a flexible and scientifically-supported program like MATCH is key to addressing our state’s youth mental health crisis,” said Blossom. “By using MATCH, youth and families can get connected to care that actually works — meaning they will see improvements much faster and as a result spend less time in treatment and more time doing the things they want to do. Consequently, mental health providers will be able to provide care to more youth and families.”

Armstrong said the first group of students is expected to begin MATCH training in August.