COMPASSion Counseling

Mental Health in Rural Areas

At COMPASSion Counseling (CC), we pride ourselves on providing counseling, fostering resilience, and promoting mental health. This is a legacy that we wish to continue while shifting our focus to individuals with depression who are without appropriate support or resources to thrive. As statistics show, depression, addictions, and suicide have been significant problems within our nation, particularly with those who don’t have access to resources and live in rural areas. At CC, we believe that by providing resources through evidence-based online psychotherapy, with the exception of first and last sessions, we will be able to help alleviate this dilemma and provide quality services to individuals without them having to experience the stigma associated with receiving mental health services, traveling long distances, and by giving them much needed support.

CC will begin research on providing evidence-based psychotherapy services to persons with depression who live in rural areas within Blount County, TN. If granted this amount, after the appropriate research of successful programs (Telepsychology-Service Delivery for Depressed Elderly Veterans (DEV) and Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center) and continuous consulting with our partners, Porter Elementary and Compass Ambassadors, CC is hoping to serve 75 to 100 individuals during the first year of the implementation of the project and 200 to 250 people annually. Beck Depression Inventory will be utilized strategically throughout the client’s treatment, along with the Likert depression scale and Subjective reporting, to measure the impact and success that these services are having on this population.