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SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 28, 2024—Santa Clara University’s Greg Hajcak, the Sheri Sobrato Professor of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, has been awarded a prestigious three-year, $3 million grant from the State of California to tackle an escalating youth mental health crisis, with a particular focus on depression among LGBTQ+ youth. 

Administered by the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine (CIAPM) and housed within the California Health & Human Services Agency (CalHHS), Hajcak’s project responds to alarming statistics in the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. In reporting these survey results, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shared that one in five adolescents responded they had experienced a major depressive episode in the past year. Moreover, LGBTQ+ youth were disproportionately affected by depression, in large part because of the social stigma and victimization they often experience. According to a 2022 survey conducted by The Trevor Project:

• 44% of LGBTQ youth in California seriously considered suicide that year, including 54% of transgender and nonbinary youth.
• 14% of LGBTQ youth in California attempted suicide that year, including 19% of transgender and nonbinary youth.
• 62% of LGBTQ youth in California who wanted mental health care that year were not able to get it, including 58% of transgender and nonbinary youth.

Despite their heightened need for support, LGBTQ+ youth remain among the least likely to receive mental health services. This grant will enable Hajcak and researchers from Stanford, UCLA, Rosalind Franklin, and Yale to work closely with industry partners Flourish Labs (Peers.net) and Muse, and community partners including Alum Rock Counseling Center and a Youth Advisory Board to address this critical gap.

“Addressing the mental health needs of LGBTQ+ youth is not just important—it's imperative,” said Hajcak. “These young people face unique and significant challenges that contribute to higher rates of depression and other mental health issues. Our work aims to give them the tools and support they need to build resilience, reduce negative emotions, and increase positive experiences. By creating accessible resources and interventions, we hope to make a lasting impact on their well-being and help close the gap in mental health care.”

The project will evaluate two promising online approaches—a novel digital application and telehealth-based peer counseling—tailored for LGBTQ+ youth to reduce their experiences of depression. The intervention strategies will focus on:

1. Increasing resilience to LGBTQ+ stress by helping youth externalize and reduce internalized forms of stigma and related stress.
2. Decreasing negative emotions through emotional regulation.
3. Increasing positive emotions through rewarding activities.

By the study’s conclusion, Hajcak’s team will create a comprehensive website offering resources, including training and intervention materials, accessible at no cost. This initiative aims to enhance mental health outcomes for LGBTQ+ youth across the state, particularly those at risk for depression, and to reduce entrenched health inequities.

“We are incredibly proud of Greg Hajcak’s dedication and leadership in addressing the urgent mental health needs of our youth,” said Sabrina Zirkel, dean of Santa Clara’s School of Education and Counseling Psychology. "His team’s innovative approach and commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ youth will have a profound impact on young people struggling with depression. This research perfectly embodies the aims of our work in child and adolescent mental health—providing high-quality research and intervention tools to transform the lives of young people and then putting these tools directly to use.”

About the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine (CIAPM) 

Launched in 2015, CIAPM supports patient-focused research demonstration projects and connects health and medicine stakeholders across California. CIAPM, formally part of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and now housed within CalHHS, facilitates cross-sector collaborations among the state’s scientists, clinicians, entrepreneurs, and patient participants, enabling them to translate available large data sets and technical innovation into better and equitable health outcomes. To learn more about the initiative, please visit the Precision Medicine webpage. 

About Santa Clara University

Founded in 1851, Santa Clara University sits in the heart of Silicon Valley—the world’s most innovative and entrepreneurial region. The University’s stunningly landscaped 106-acre campus is home to the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asís. Ranked among the top 15 percent of national universities by U.S. News & World Report, SCU has among the best four-year graduation rates in the nation and is rated by PayScale in the top 1 percent of universities with the highest-paid graduates. SCU has produced elite levels of Fulbright Scholars as well as four Rhodes Scholars. With undergraduate programs in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, and graduate programs in six disciplines, the curriculum blends high-tech innovation with social consciousness grounded in the tradition of Jesuit, Catholic education. scu.edu

Media Contact
Lisa Robinson | Media and Communications | lrobinson2@scu.edu | 408-551-3601

 

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