Morgan Hill native Harleen Judge has been spending her summer researching and practicing trauma-informed mental health care at the California University of Science and Medicine.
Judge, a 19-year-old third-year student at UC Riverside, hopes the internship will not just help her land a job in the mental health field. She also hopes her work and education will expand and improve mental health services for people of color—the primary goal of the statewide Health Career Connection (HCC) internship program to diversify the mental health profession by encouraging underrepresented youth to enter the field.
“I hope programs like these can highlight and teach students the significance of mental health and then students can further spread the message so that it is like a domino effect of knowledge on mental health,” Judge said in an email to the Times. “This domino effect will help students educate their school community or religious community or other communities that will help grow the knowledge. I believe by having conversations within communities of color there is more destigmatization of mental health, which will help many people of color to openly discuss the topic.”
The internship program is part of Blue Shield of California’s BlueSky youth mental health initiative, in partnership with HCC, to increase the diversity of professionals in the mental health field. Earlier this month, Blue Shield committed $500,000 to the HCC program to fund the placement of interns—all from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds—to start their careers in mental health and behavioral health services.
Thirty-six other students throughout the state were selected to take part in similar internships this summer.
“Through BlueSky’s on-campus and virtual counseling of California teens, we’ve seen the positive impact of connecting BIPOC youth with mental health professionals who look like them,” said Jennifer Christian-Herman, executive director of Mind Body Medicine—Behavioral Health at Blue Shield of California. “However, we understand that there is not a level playing field for diverse individuals when pursuing a career in mental health care. We look forward to working with HCC to provide this year’s interns with a pathway to further their careers and ultimately increase the quality of mental health care for communities of color.”
Health Career Connection is a 30-year-old national nonprofit that has successfully placed more than 3,800 students from underrepresented and/or low income, first generation backgrounds into mental health internships, according to a press release.
The mental health profession does not reflect the diversity of the nation, with 86% of psychologists and 88% of health service psychology workers being white, according to a study from the American Psychological Association. Additionally, there is a national shortage of mental health professionals to meet patient needs. According to Health Resources & Services Administration data, nearly 90% of California counties are experiencing a shortage of mental health professionals.
Judge, a Notre Dame High School graduate who is studying neuroscience at UC Riverside, said she became interested in a mental health career after she joined the university’s Mini Medical School program. “I learned more about seizure first aid and was able to teach the Inland community about it,” she said.
Judge plans to pursue a career in neuroscience and “apply practices such as trauma-informed care to my interactions with patients.”
She added, “I believe incorporating mental health practices into any field of work is essential to help create a safe space for individuals.”
During her summer internship, Judge’s work on a trauma-informed project has taught her the importance of being open-minded when treating or addressing a patient. Through this research, she created a curriculum that promotes the application of trauma-informed care in any field.
Christian-Herman explained that trauma-informed care is based on “a body of research and an understanding of adverse childhood experiences” that can impact a person’s mental health into adulthood. Such experiences include abuse, neglect or unstable home situations.
“We need to know more and think more about how we can have a trauma-informed approach to clinical care,” Christian-Herman said.
May we, similar to David, purify the expressions of our mouth, the reflection of our souls, the considerations of our brains, and the thought processes of our internal creatures so all that we say and all that bible verses for strength we truly do will be satisfying and OK in seeing our most valuable Ruler and Rescuer. May we do this in modesty of heart.