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Interface - Free service connects residents, public school students with outpatient mental health providers

William James College INTERFACE Referral Service

Sharon residents and public school students now have access to an outpatient mental health resource and referral Helpline thanks to the Town of Sharon’s new partnership with the William James College INTERFACE Referral Service.

The partnership is being entirely funded with Opioid Abatement Funds.

“The pandemic and general tenor of the world right now have significantly increased the need for timely and appropriate mental health services,” said Leandra McLean, Sharon Health Department Administrator/Public Health Nurse. “Our community residents have told us this and we have been working to secure assistance for these needs.

“After years of planning and implementing, we are happy to report that INTERFACE Referral Service launched on Aug. 1, 2023.”

INTERFACE is a mental health resource and referral Helpline available in more than 50 subscribing communities in Massachusetts to access outpatient mental health services. The free service is now available to Sharon residents and public school students. It helps those seeking outpatient mental health services connect with providers within about three weeks or sometimes sooner.

INTERFACE provides matched referrals to outpatient mental health professionals and practices from a database of more than 10,000 licensed and vetted providers who best meet the caller’s concerns, insurance or fee requirement, preferences around therapist characteristics and treatment and available times for appointments. Most providers currently offer virtual appointments, according to Tanya Snyder, INTERFACE’s co-director.

Callers from subscribing communities work with a resource and referral counselor who helps them navigate the challenges of finding mental health services.

How to reach INTERFACE

What to expect when you call the INTERFACE Helpline

  1. Intake: You will speak with a resource and referral counselor for about 15-20 minutes and provide essential information to ensure a successful match with an outpatient mental health provider.
  2. Making a match: The 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 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 an appointment.
  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 have been able to connect and ask how it is going.
  5. Closing a referral: Once there is a successful match, the 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.

The INTERFACE Referral Service is not designed to respond to urgent or crisis situations where someone’s well-being might be at immediate and serious risk.

For those in crisis or in need of a higher level of care: 

  • Call 911.
  • 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (Text or call).
  • Riverside Community Crisis Care, Mobile Crisis Intervention, 800-529-5077
  • National Suicide Hotline, 800-784-2433.