BridgeUp Case Study: The BridgeUp Model Implementation

This chapter features the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the David and Helen Gurley Brown BridgeUp: Mental Health Center, which is the basis for the BridgeUp Center (BridgeUp) at The Menninger Clinic (Menninger) case study. Menninger, located in Houston, Texas, is a nationally ranked leader in psychiatry. The mission of BridgeUp was to create bold improvements for mental health, well-being, and academic achievement for vulnerable adolescents. The charge was to create and implement a demonstration project that included a “disruptive” and “transformative” mental health model and program for underserved adolescents living in the Greater Houston area. The model, comprised of three evidence-based frameworks, included a public health approach. Implementation occurred mostly in secondary schools and achieved favorable research-based outcomes. The BridgeUp model forms the basis for the proposed, new adolescent public mental health model.