A Bloomington mental health provider is exploring an innovative, customer-focused approach to reduce staff stress during the behavioral health staffing shortage and get patients treated more quickly.

THE Youth and Family Solutions Center (CYFS) began offering stand-alone therapy sessions in May and uses interns to help with the program. These sessions are a one-time service to address the client’s immediate and most pressing concerns.

“It’s a way to intervene at the very moment they’re asking for help,” said Jessica Wolf, clinical director of the CYFS counseling program. It is also a method of avoiding the long waiting lists for ongoing advice that have been the norm in times of persistent labor shortages.

In this way, clinical supervisor Jennifer Woodrum said “it can help (a client) progress before formal services even begin.”

This approach is known as single session intervention, and it is a evidence-based practice.

CYFS received a John M. Scott grant from the City of Bloomington in the amount of approximately $8,000 to host these sessions through the end of April. The goal between May — when the grant began — and April, is to serve 80 clients, Woodrum said.

Some of these clients will take the single-session intervention at face value and not pursue other services, but Woodrum said many will likely use it as a holdover and remain on the waiting list to continue therapy.

She added that she noticed that CYFS was going through its waiting list more quickly and that the therapist would know more about the client when they were taken off the waiting list for therapy.

“It seems like it makes the transition easier,” she said.

So far, CYFS has held about 36 sessions, and the trainees who have largely led them say they have already seen clients start to benefit. Some of Lilla Kisvari’s clients have told her they prefer the single-session methodology to routine therapy.

“They would like to be able to do this as part of regular therapy every six months, because they have found it very beneficial to address their very current issues, rather than just talking about their history and background – which obviously has an impact about their current situation – but they needed more immediate support,” Kisvari said.

Intern Gabby Kimm gave an example of how a single session could target a client’s anxiety. She said their solution might be to talk on the phone with a family member daily. Then it’s Kimm’s job to make sure they follow through.

“We actually like to talk about, OK, ‘Where are you going to be when you do this?’ When are you going to do this?’ ”, she said. “And then we follow up with them a week later and say, ‘Hey, did you do it?’ How is it going?

But there’s no one-size-fits-all answer for clients in a single session, Kimm added. Each person’s targeted concern is different, so services are tailored accordingly.

“So for a few of them, the one session was just great because they could see the office and feel what it feels like to talk to someone,” she said. “Another client, when I called to welcome him, he was mainly looking for resources. So I came to the single session prepared with a list of resources that I thought might interest them and might be helpful to them.

In the case of court clients who need to complete an intervention in a single session, Wolf said some feel comfortable continuing therapy long-term.

“Someone who was originally just contracted to perform a service, then says, ‘Actually, I’m interested in doing therapy.’ I really enjoyed meeting the person who came to talk to me and I feel like it could be helpful,” she said.

Wolf said having interns conduct one-time sessions and other client services has proven helpful in reducing wait times without hiring additional clinicians.

“When we have interns that come to us and we implement these types of projects, they can be part of something and do really engaging, meaningful work where we’re trying to meet the needs of our community, even though sometimes the demand exceeds it,” she explained.

Giving interns hands-on roles can also hopefully lead them to continue their work as a full-time career after graduation, Wolf said — and even better if it’s in the community.

Since CYFS funds its single-session intervention through a grant, Wolf said whether or not the organization will be able to continue the program beyond April remains to be seen. However, she hopes to continue offering this service, even if the level is reduced.