Beyond our campus, we work with a number of experts to ensure our offerings and supports are informed by research and modernized to address today’s unique challenges. In recent years, we have forged new partnerships with leading mental health organizations and institutions like The Jed Foundation, Southwestern College, the Child Mind Institute, the Sky Center of the New Mexico Suicide Intervention Project, and the New Mexico Department of Health’s Office of Student and Adolescent Health. The UWC-USA Board has created a standing committee centered on health and wellbeing, and our mental health policies and practices are updated each year to ensure that we are providing the highest possible standard of care for our students.

We have launched a new partnership with The Jed Foundation, a nationally recognized non-profit that works to protect emotional health and prevent suicide for teens and young adults. Our work with The Jed Foundation will help us create a sustainable, systematic approach to risk detection, crisis management, and mental health support.

The Jed Foundation is conducting a full-scale review of our mental health policies and procedures and helping us to ensure our offerings are aligned with the latest, most up-to-date research in the field. A third-party look at our procedures and policies helps us improve as a UWC-USA community – and improves outcomes for students.

We have also partnered with Dr. David Goldston from Duke University. Dr. Goldston is a professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences with expertise in adolescent psychiatry and suicide prevention. He has reviewed and provided feedback, all of which we have incorporated, on our Suicide Prevention Policy, the structure of our student health supervision, our suicide prevention/intervention training program, and our mental screening protocols.

Our leadership team is also engaged with the New Mexico Department of Health Office of Student and Adolescent Health to identify new healthcare partners and providers for our school as well as any new training and staffing needs.

We have partnered with the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute and Southwestern College Tierra Nueva Counseling Center to provide annual full behavioral health screenings for students, additional screenings for some students, and a culturally diverse group of counselors for all students.

We have also partnered with the Child Mind Institute to train our staff so that we can provide an annual evidence-based six-session course for all incoming students on wellbeing, mental health, and self-regulation skills.