The Brookline Center School-Based Telebehavioral Health (TBH) Program

Massachusetts School-Based Telebehavioral Health (TBH) Project.

About the Project:

The Brookline Center has assembled a diverse team and partnerships dedicated to:

• Increasing access to quality youth-centric behavioral health with a focus on mental health and substance use services in partnership with MA school districts and telebehavioral health service providers.

• A collaborative and culturally responsive approach across all statewide pilot planning, designing, implementation, and evaluation aspects.

• Integrating existing and innovative technology.

• Working closely with an Interagency Work Group with representatives from the MA Department of Public Health, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of Mental Health, and Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

Learn more about our project today:

• It is estimated that over 20% of all Massachusetts children aged 0-17 have a mental health disorder, and approximately half of all children with a mental health disorder are not receiving formal care (Whitney & Peterson, 2019). 
• Over 1 in 3 Massachusetts youth reported depressive symptoms in the past year and almost 1 in 5 seriously considered suicide (CDC, 2019). 
• Hispanic/Latino students in Massachusetts reported elevated feelings of being sad or hopeless as compared to all youth and Asian and Hispanic/Latino students were almost twice as likely to report having a serious suicide attempt than White students (10.9% and 10.8%, respectively, compared to 5.7%). LGBTQ+ youth reported the highest rates of suicidal ideation and attempts (CDC, 2019). 
• The rate of suicide attempts rose significantly for Black youth from 1991-2017 while their White peers experienced significant decreases in attempts during the same period (Lindsey et al., 2019). 
• Behavioral health problems among racial and ethnic minority youth often lead to school punishment or even incarceration, but rarely lead to mental health care intervention (Marrast et al., 2016). 
• According to a 2021 survey by Mental Health America, Massachusetts ranked 39th out of 50 states in terms of youth with major depressive episodes who did not receive mental health services (61.2% of youth, compared to 59.6% national average). Although the survey found that the majority of Massachusetts youth have insurance coverage for their mental health needs, there are significant barriers to accessing services for school-aged youth (Mental Health America, 2021). 

Development and Implementation 

Directly support the planning, development, and implementation of pilot sites through a facilitation process with each site to meet the needs of the community and school district.  

• This process involves coordinating all aspects of the pilot development and capacity building in partnership with the community service provider(s), school district, and other key stakeholders. 
• Establishing contractual memorandums of understanding and action plans. 
• Ensuring spaces for services in schools are adequate and confidential. 
• Facilitating the process in collaboration with service providers, school district leads, and other identified key stakeholders. 
• Developing an onsite TBH Coordinator role to ensure efficiency and support for students through their TBH journey with an eye toward sustainability. 
• Training and technical assistance 

Training and Technical Assistance

Creation and facilitation of a virtual and interactive Learning Collaborative website allowing for process improvement and peer-to-peer information exchange, highlighting lessons learned and identifying and demonstrating best practices. 

Directly or indirectly via content expertise, providing training, personnel, and technical assistance to the pilot sites to best meet the identified TBH competencies, using the identified Interprofessional Framework for TBH Competencies. Including the following domains: 

• Clinical Service Delivery and Evaluation (Includes Cultural Responsiveness) 
• Virtual Environment and Telepresence 
• Technical Expertise 
• Legal and Regulatory Compliance 
• Evidence-Based Practices 
• TBH Standards and Guidelines 
• Mobile Health Technology (Including Apps, Digital Access Portals, and Service Delivery Platforms) 
• Telepractice Development 
• Infrastructure and Sustainability 

Carla Gonçalves

Carla (she/her) is a behavioral health leader and public health strategist with over 25 years of experience advancing equity-driven innovation across healthcare, education, and community systems. She holds dual master’s degrees in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Expressive Therapy (art, music, and dance), and her career began in community psychiatric rehabilitation, where she worked directly with individuals and families navigating complex behavioral and social health challenges.

Carla currently serves as Director of the Massachusetts School-Based Telebehavioral Health (SBTBH) Pilot Program at The Brookline Center, where she oversees statewide implementation, evaluation partnerships, and workforce development focused on equity and sustainability. Her experience spans managed care, integrated care management, clinical quality systems, and policy innovation, with a consistent focus on addressing social determinants of health and expanding culturally and linguistically responsive services.

In addition to her nonprofit leadership, Carla is a Human Design Career & Business Consultant, meditation teacher, and founder of the Resilience Rise community, where she guides individuals and organizations to alignment with their natural rhythms to achieve resilience, growth, and lasting impact.

Anna DeFilippis

Anna (she/her) is the Operations Specialist for the MA School-based Telebehavioral Health Program at the Brookline Center for Community Mental Health. She started with the SBTBH team in June 2025 and is responsible for coordinating day-to-day operations, tracking, and contract/grant management across our statewide network of school districts, providers, and content experts. Anna brings experience in managing grant-funded programs, stakeholder coordination, and content development. Before joining the Brookline Center, she worked as a Program Coordinator for the University of Pittsburgh, where she managed several programs for medical students, post-docs, and faculty members.

Anna holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from Mount Holyoke College. She is passionate about implementing longitudinal change and improving students’ mental health due to her personal experiences, and is excited to be a contributor in the Center’s mission to provide accessible mental health services to students.