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INTERFACE Free Outpatient Mental Health Referral Service

Posted on: February 5, 2021 - 12:22am

Swampscott Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald and Superintendent Pamela Angelakis are pleased to announce that beginning Monday, February 1, residents and/or public school students will have access to a free outpatient mental health referral service through the William James College INTERFACE Referral Service.

INTERFACE is an outpatient mental health resource and referral helpline that Swampscott has contracted with to help residents and/or public-school students become connected with outpatient mental health providers.

“This is an incredibly challenging time for our community and residents’ mental health and self care,” said Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald. “Even in non-pandemic times, having access to quality mental health care is crucial, and we are hopeful that this service will take down some of the barriers that make it challenging to receive the care people need. One simple call could help save a life.”

“Long before this pandemic, the social-emotional well-being of our students has been the district’s top priority,” said School Superintendent Pamela Angelakis. “Now, with the complications and challenges remote learning has presented, we worry about students’ mental health every single day.  We have seen an increase in hospitalizations of our own students as well as watched the numbers increase across the Commonwealth. INTERFACE is an opportunity and an additional resource for our students and families during these challenging times.”

The service is clear, confidential, and reliable. The process consists of:

  1. Intake: Speak with a resource and referral counselor for 15-20 minutes and provide essential information to ensure a successful match with outpatient mental health provider options.
  2. Making a match: A resource and referral counselor assigned to you will be in touch to alert you that they are on your case and starting to review their database of over 9,000 licensed and vetted providers to find a match within a few business days of your call.
  3. Providing matches: Once a provider match has been identified (generally within 3 weeks of your initial call), your resource and referral counselor will give you the provider’s information so you can schedule with this provider.
  4. Following up: Your resource and referral counselor will follow up with you within 1-2 weeks of you having received your match to ensure you’ve been able to connect.
  5. Closing a referral: Once there is a successful match, the INTERFACE resource and referral counselor will close the referral process with you. If you need additional support in the future, you can always call the helpline again.

This service is available to Swampscott residents and/or public school students only, though non-residents may be able to take advantage of the service if their community is one of the over 70 towns contracted to offer the service. Please look here to see if your community is eligible: https://interface.williamjames.edu/communities

The service is available Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. To access the service starting February 1st, call 888-244-6843. Visit https://interface.williamjames.edu/community/swampscott to view a helpful flyer about the process, access resources related to specific mental health disorders, or view other resources available in our region.

Please note that the referral service is not a mental health hotline. Anyone in need of immediate assistance should call 911.