Chelsea Hospital, Mood Lifters to offer mental health program for young adults

The Surgeon General has made the mental health of teens and young adults a national priority.

submitted by Marie Knoerl, Mood Lifters 

Starting on June 9, young adults living in communities in Chelsea Hospital’s service area have the opportunity to participate in a mental wellness program, entirely online, at a minimal cost to themselves through Chelsea Hospital as part of its response to increasing mental health needs in Michigan communities and concerns related to access to effective, accessible, timely care.

The isolation and upheaval caused by the pandemic has hit young people especially hard. From a recent study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, nearly half of young adults in the US had mental health symptoms and more than a third reported having unmet care needs. Mood Lifters is a novel mental wellness program for people who are ready to make positive changes in their lives. This includes those dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, difficult relationships, and more. Mood Lifters offers proven, research-based strategies for group members to apply to their own situations and to reach their individual goals. University of Michigan Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology and founder and creator of Mood Lifters Patricia Deldin, PhD, said, “Chelsea Hospital is demonstrating their forward-looking vision by providing evidence-based mental-wellness care to address the health care crisis affecting young people.”

The Mood Lifters program works differently than a therapy or support group. Each week, a trained peer leader presents the latest science related to a specific topic involving behavior, thoughts, emotions, physical health, and social connection. After learning about and discussing the topic, group members will incorporate the strategies into their day-to-day life. Mood Lifters members often refer to the program as a class and say that working with peer leaders in their group is a favorite aspect, finding their group to be “a supportive place to learn new skills to help cope with the stress that life brings.”

In the words of a college student who completed the Mood Lifters program, “I learned good, preventative measures and I’m more equipped to handle what comes.”

Working with larger hospital programs like Chelsea Hospital and other community-based organizations is something that Dr. Deldin envisioned when she led her first pre-pilot group in 2016. Since then, Mood Lifters has helped more than a thousand people online and in person. The results show, on average, significant reductions in anxiety, depression, and stress, as well as better sleep, relationships, and positive emotions. In the words of another former young adult member: “Not only did the strategies work, but the leadership and group setting help to normalize the struggles that everyone goes through and reminds you that you are never alone.”

Dr. Deldin created Mood Lifters to help people who aren’t receiving sufficient mental-health care—a worldwide problem that has only increased in recent years. Her intention is to provide people in pain, wherever they are and whatever their means, with immediate, broad access to effective, evidence-based mental-health treatment. Her dream is to tap into the work of the world’s best mental-health researchers and make an expanding set of resources available to improve lives everywhere.

The full 15-week program of Mood Lifters for young adults is being offered online for only $25 to residents of Chelsea, Dexter, Grass Lake, Manchester, and Stockbridge. Interested young adults can sign up at https://moodlifters.corsizio.com/c/626eef3d135b3197d3ac696a or reach out via email at info@mood-lifters.com for more information.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.