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mental health professional degrees were struggling to earn their clinical hours. This sparked Guilbeau’s idea to virtually connect adolescents in need of mental health support with supervised clinician interns. “I knew there were so many other kids out there like my student who needed accessible one-on one mental health care,” Guilbeau said. “So I thought, let’s make these two come together. I applied for and received the 2019 Stanford Social Innovation Fellowship and with that funding, launched Hopebound.” Hopebound’s clinicians are graduate students – studying counseling, social work, clinical psychology, or marriage and family therapy – required to complete supervised hours for licensure. Through the nonprofit, they provide talk therapy services and meet with a licensed mental health clinician weekly to review and support their cases. “I tell them, ‘This is as authentic as it’s going to be’,” Winn said. “These are real clients; these are real kids. It’s preparing them for what they are going to do after school.” Current Atlanta clinicians include Brenau University graduate students and a post-graduate clinician from Clark Atlanta University. For the 2021-2022 school year, the nonprofit is serving 42 adolescents in Atlanta, coming from SLAM! Atlanta
charter school (grades 4 - 6), Paideia (financial scholarship students) and caregiver referrals. “We will be launching a virtual group in January with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, with an estimated 8-10 participants,” Guilbeau shared. Research indicates that clients can show improvement within a few months of starting therapy. This is consistent with Hopebound’s initial results; all clients reporting a 21% average improvement in their mental health functioning. “I have learned how to identify and cope with sudden feelings of anxiety, and that I am not as alone as I would think,” a client shared. “My children adore their therapists (as do we) and seem to have a much greater understanding of their emotions” a caregiver shared. “I think having a neutral, relatable third party in their corner helps them feel heard and understood in a way that they hadn’t felt before.” The nonprofit is seeking more Atlanta partners to reach more adolescents and prelicensed clinicians. “We try to be responsible with our growth because we know how fragile this is, “Guilbeau said. “We were unable to serve all interested families and community partners due to limited capacity. We are excited to be able to expand next school year.” Caregivers, schools, and community partners learn more at Hopebound.com.
A different approach
makes all the difference
52 JANUARY 2022 |
Harlem Globetrotters visit Cumberland Academy By Amy Wenk
The students of Sandy Springsbased Cumberland Academy of Georgia were treated to some impressive basketball skills. Torch George and Moose Weekes of the Harlem Globetrotters took part in the school’s annual Faculty vs. Students basketball game. The Globetrotters joined the student team, and former NFL player Lee Woodall played with the faculty members. Other celebrities From left, Torch George of the Harlem Globetrotters; Debbi Scarborincluded Gina ough, founder and head of school for Cumberland Academy of Georgia; Eddie Lee Wilkins, a former Atlanta Hawks player; and Moose Weekes Kavali, a radio of the Harlem Globetrotters. (Photos courtesy of Cumberland Academy personality for of Georgia) Cumulus Media, who acted as the sports commentator. Former NBA player Eddie Lee Wilkins refereed the game. “The game was full of dunks, three For 70+ years, pointers, intensity and fun,” said a The Howard School Cumberland Academy spokesperson. has been providing “Torch demonstrated her Guinness World EXCEPTIONAL Record move for the most basketball LEARNING EXPERIENCES under the leg tumbles in one minute, and Moose landed an impressive long shot for students with basket in a single attempt. Ultimately, the language-based learning disabilities students brought home the win with a and learning differences score of 52-15.” Cumberland Academy serves students in grades 4 through 12 who have highfunctioning autism, Asperger’s syndrome, n K-12 attention deficit disorder (ADD), n Personalized Instruction attention deficit hyperactivity disorder n Interdisciplinary Team of Experts n State-of-the-Art Assistive Technology (ADHD) and learning disabilities. n Spacious 17-acre campus in the heart “We are blessed to have such of Atlanta’s vibrant Westside district influential people take time out of their busy schedules to be a part of these memorable events and serve our students,” said Debbi For more information about Scarborough, founder and head of The Howard School, please visit school for Cumberland Academy. “The howardschool.org. Globetrotters’ natural talent to combine entertainment and skill provided the 1192 Foster Street, N.W. encouragement even our most introverted Atlanta, GA 30318 404.377.7436 students needed to keep trying until they succeeded.” At l a n t a I n t o w n Pa p e r. c o m
