An estimated one in four adults in central Ohio experiences a mental health condition. Because The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is an integral part of that community, our commitment to mental health extends well beyond the walls of our practices.
Our mental and behavioral health experts actively engage in community outreach in the Columbus, Ohio, area and around the state, providing specialized services to underserved populations and collaborating with community organizations to bring evidence-based mental health care to people where they are. We partner with schools to equip students with valuable coping mechanisms and foster resilience. We offer dedicated programs for people with unique challenges, such as first responders or pregnant people.
Mental health care is part of a healthy community, so whether you’re looking for individual support, community education or specialized care, we’ll walk alongside you to create a healthier, happier future.
Community mental health programs
The community outreach provided by the mental health specialists from the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center serves a wide range of people and mental health concerns, ranging from children in schools struggling with anxiety to pregnant people with a substance use disorder to older adults at risk for suicide.
Some of our key programs include:
School-based mental health
Established in 2019, our Behavioral Health School-Based Program is designed to help students in middle and high schools overcome social, emotional and behavioral issues impacting their education, relationships or daily living.
We embed our independently licensed psychotherapists in each of the schools we partner with to identify students who might benefit from mental health treatment and offer confidential, evidence-based care at the school, free of charge.
College-based mental health
We provide mental health services at area colleges, too, including Denison and Capital universities. We understand that college students have unique challenges and mental health concerns, and we want to be there to serve those special needs.
State of Ohio Adversity and Resilience study (SOAR)
The $20 million SOAR research initiative is led by Ohio State clinicians and researchers and has paired them with several Ohio public universities, academic medical centers and community organizations to identify the root causes of the ongoing epidemic of persistent emotional distress, suicide and drug overdose.
The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services is providing the initial funding to launch this first-in-the-nation research project to develop a new playbook on how to translate discovery of risk and resilience factors into prevention strategies and better treatments.
Suicide prevention
Preventing suicide is an institution-wide effort at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center that extends well into the community. From hosting an annual suicide prevention conference and other key events to researching the latest ways to treat someone with suicidal thoughts, our dedicated clinicians are doing everything they can to stop this epidemic.
Our public education campaigns, such as TALK (Talk, Act, Listen, Know), teach people how to handle someone in crisis, and we promote further crisis care through support of county programs, such as Netcare Access and the Crisis Center, 988 efforts and Behavioral Health Immediate Care.
Substance use clinic for expectant moms
People who are pregnant and struggling with a substance use disorder (drugs or alcohol) have unique challenges. That’s why we created the Substance Abuse, Treatment, Education and Prevention Program (STEPP) to serve this vulnerable population as they expect a child.
Open to anyone in the community, this program will help stabilize participants’ drug use with medications or help them abstain from drugs while also emphasizing compassionate, nonjudgmental care to safely guide them through pregnancy, delivery and the postpartum period.
Mental health care for first responders
Our Stress, Trauma And Resiliency (STAR) program provides mental health services specifically for first responders in our community. We understand the unique pressures and challenges people in these high-stress jobs face, and we want to ensure they have access to the treatment they need, both clinically and through the research we do.
Free naloxone distribution program
To reduce opioid overdoses and drug-related deaths, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center has partnered with Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided with Naloxone) to provide training and free naloxone kits at our hospital pharmacy locations. The medication naloxone can reverse an overdose and is a critical tool for saving lives.
A prescription is not necessary to receive training or to pick up the medication, making naloxone safe and easy for anyone to administer to someone in crisis.
Addiction Studies Institute conference
Every year, Ohio State hosts this important conference that convenes leading experts from across the country to provide people with the tools and knowledge they need to serve those struggling with substance use disorder. Over three days, attendees will hear from knowledgeable and dynamic speakers about the latest trends and topics in substance use disorder prevention and treatment.
Mental Health Fair
For the past decade and a half, we’ve hosted a large mental health fair, during Mental Health Awareness Month each May, to help anyone in the community learn about the importance of mental health care and how to access different services not only at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center but at agencies throughout central Ohio.
There are myriad resources available in Columbus to get the help you need to improve your quality of life when it comes to mental health, and we want you to know about it.
Community partnerships for mental health care
Beyond our area schools and public health entities, such as Columbus Public Health and the Ohio Department of Health, the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center partners with many city and state organizations to ensure broader access to lifesaving mental health treatments and create better prevention efforts.
A few of the organizations with whom we collaborate include:
- Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County (and other surrounding counties)
- Columbus Divisions of Fire and Police
- National Alliance on Mental Illness Ohio
- Franklin County Suicide Prevention Coalition
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Ohio Suicide Prevention Coalition
- Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Netcare Access
- The Ohio State University
- The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
There are many others that could be listed here as we work with anyone who shares our mission in educating people about the importance of mental health care and making it accessible to all who need it.