Center for Youth Mental Health
The Center for Youth Mental Health is a program of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences established through a grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. It envisions a mental health system that truly meets the developmental needs and goals of adolescents and young adults.
Mission & Vision
The mission of the Center for Youth Mental Health is to champion the change needed to close the gap in the mental health care system that neglects adolescents and young adults. The center does this by developing age-specific research and resources, collaborating with community providers to strengthen practices and transforming the system to ensure that adolescents and young adults have access to the targeted support and treatment they deserve.
The center envisions a reality where the mental health of adolescents and young adults is a priority in every community and includes relevant, accessible and age-appropriate services that consider every aspect of a young person’s life. To create a model of change, the center facilitates its work through four critical components of care: awareness, innovation, collaboration and advocacy.
Components of Care
About Transition-Age Research
Mental Health Support for Young Adults
Amplify Center
The Center for Youth Mental Health hosts the Amplify Center — a young adult-specific clinic designed to effectively intervene in mental health challenges that develop during adolescence and young adulthood. The center strives to improve the quality of life among young people experiencing mental health distress by helping them obtain support grounded in their personal interests and lives — including work, school and relationships.
Amplify Center, a first-of-its-kind clinic in Texas, is modeled after headspace, Australia’s established model of an interdisciplinary care clinic designed to screen and intervene for mental health needs. The center was launched after five-plus years of community-oriented planning with nonprofit, medical and governmental leaders throughout Central Texas. Read more about how the center was created »
Team Details & More
The Center for Youth Mental Health is co-directed by Deborah Cohen, Ph.D., MSW, and Vanessa Klodnick, Ph.D., LCSW.
Emerging Voices Advocacy Council & Youth Consultancy
The Center for Youth Mental Health, in its prioritized commitment to uplifting young people’s voices and lived experiences, supports the Emerging Voices Advocacy Council, the center’s youth and young adult advisory effort.
Youth and young adults also participate in consultancy opportunities to help shape the center’s research and Amplify Center programming to support informed and competent mental health support.
Contact Information
To reach the Center for Youth Mental Health directly, email the team or call 512-495-5312.
Make a Gift
Your gift helps close the gaps in transition-age youth. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of young adults and their families.