INTERFACE Referral Service Celebrates More than Two Decades of Service to Communities

For 50 years, William James College has been educating behavioral health professionals, and for 20 of those years, the INTERFACE Referral Service has been collaborating directly with communities to bridge the gap between clinicians and those seeking mental health support. It is a free, confidential referral helpline that matches residents of participating communities—as well as students of William James College—with licensed mental health providers.

What started as a two-person operation, working only two afternoons per week, has grown to a full-time service with 17 staff members, most of whom are master’s prepared and licensed clinical professionals. INTERFACE also employs a group of William James work study students and trains interns at both the master’s and doctoral level.

“We have a highly skilled staff and we’re small enough which allows the students who work with us to get a really rich experience and understanding of the whole mental health landscape, at least in Massachusetts,” said Tanya Snyder M.Ed., LMHC, co-director for INTERFACE.

Now in its 21st year, INTERFACE recently celebrated its 50,000th  case—that’s 50,000 times individuals have been helped and supported by the INTERFACE staff in their search for mental health services.

“It really speaks to the staying power of the service,” said Heather Byrns, MA, LMHC, co-director for INTERFACE. “We have people that have used us over the years, multiple times, as things change in their lives [or when] their family members need services.”

Today, INTERFACE works with 48 different communities—including with towns, school districts, and specialty contracts for organizations—and has a database of 10,000 licensed and vetted providers. This provider database is free to join, and has welcomed many William James College alumni into it, as they enter and continue their career in the field. INTERFACE Referral Service has grown alongside the changing mental health landscape, expanding and adapting its services to best fit the needs of the communities.

“We started out serving zero to 18 and then we expanded it to 24 due to discussion around suicide prevention and vulnerabilities within ages 18-24. Young adults in this gap age lose a lot of structured support when they graduate high school,” explained Byrns.

In the early 2010s, the INTERFACE Referral Service expanded again to include the entire lifespan. “We talk about older adults, more concerned about their healthcare or accessibility, but we often don’t talk about their mental health needs,” said Byrns. “We serve an increased number of older adults now and we’ve received feedback from communities that they’re often a group that does not get the same kind of attention around behavioral healthcare that other populations do.”

Some topics, such as concerns about anxiety or depression, are common across the lifespan and have been the focus of many INTERFACE calls over the past two decades. However, as our communities, society, and conversations around mental health shift, other challenges have risen to the surface, especially in the wake of the pandemic.

Byrns noted that INTERFACE has recently seen a rise in referrals for family-related issues and for young children around three or four years old.

“It was hard for families to wrap their heads around [the pandemic],” she said. “You had kids missing essential milestones in a way where you cannot go back in time. This was not part of what is a typical developmental trajectory for a four-year-old, so now you have families calling about behavioral issues.”

When someone calls the INTERFACE Referral Helpline, they will go through a straightforward process with trained clinicians who serve as Resource and Referral Counselors. First, callers will complete a brief, confidential intake where they will describe their concerns, preferences for therapist characteristics or treatments, availability, insurance, and more.

A Resource and Referral Counselor will be in touch with the caller while they begin the search for matching providers. Typically, callers can expect to receive contact information for potential provider(s) within two to three weeks from the initial call, often sooner.

Finally, the Resource and Referral Counselor will connect with the caller within 1-2 weeks from providing the matches to check in. They will ask if the caller has connected with a provider and, if yes, how the experience is going so far. The Resource and Referral Counselor will continue to collaborate with callers until they are satisfied that they have what they need.

This simple, hands-on approach to referrals is what makes INTERFACE stand out to communities.

“You don’t get the same high quality of care and touch all the way through the process at other places,” said Snyder. “You don’t get highly trained clinical staff all the way through the process.”

“Our goal isn’t to be the first over the finish line or to have the most matches,” added Byrns. “Our goal is to give people a positive experience and a great match. We do not want someone’s experience of therapy to be something that was forced and unpleasant. We want to model what therapy should be like.” 

The William James INTERFACE Referral Service is a mental health and wellness referral Helpline available from 9am to 5pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and 8am to 6pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays (excluding holidays), at 888-244-6843 (toll-free). This is a free, confidential referral service for residents of participating communities and William James College students. 
 

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