For young people noticing changes in their mental health

Everybody has days where they feel up or down. When you feel like your mental health is making it hard to live life or understand what is real and what isn’t, it’s time to get help.

Changes in your mental health can be scary. But if you get help early, these conditions are much easier to manage.

Early signs of serious mental health problems include:

• Feeling confused, uneasy or suspicious of others
• Feeling confused about what is real and what isn’t
• Withdrawing from family and friends
• Noticing changes in the way things look or sound

Like with physical health, a medical professional can help you cope and manage your symptoms.

To make an appointment, call Andrea Cole at (212) 633-0800 x 1472, or email at acole@institute.org.

Worried about someone in your family?

Family members are often some of the first to notice upsetting symptoms in a loved one. If you are concerned about a family member, here are some signs to look out for:

• A worrisome drop in grades or job performance
• Noticeable difficulty concentrating
• Suspiciousness or uneasiness with others
• Less attention to personal hygiene, cleanliness or appearance
• Spending a lot more time alone than usual
• Showing strong, inappropriate emotions or showing no feelings at all

To make an appointment, call Andrea Cole at (212) 633-0800 x 1472, or email at acole@institute.org.

What’s next?

If you are between 14-25 years old, our ProSPECT program can help. We can help you with:

• Figuring out what’s going on
• Learning about mental health and mental health treatment
• Individual, group and family therapy
• Accessing help with school or employment

Getting help early is key in learning to manage symptoms. Because mental health conditions can vary greatly between different people, the ProSPECT team will work with you and your family to develop a treatment plan that works for you.

You can make an appointment by contacting our program coordinator Andrea Cole.

You can call her at (212) 633-0800 x 1472, or email at acole@institute.org.

What to expect from your ProSPECT visit:

Your first meeting with the ProSPECT team will be an interview with a mental health professional who can determine what the next steps should be. These steps may involve:

• Individual therapy, including cognitive behavioral therapy
• Group therapy or family therapy
• Working with a psychiatrist to determine whether medication is appropriate

Mental health can vary greatly between different people, so your team will work to design your treatment plan to suit your individual needs.

As with all programs through the Institute for Family Health, nobody is turned away based on their ability to pay.

You can now do your appointment through telehealth.
Learn more about how to connect with a provider by video or phone.

Meet our Team

Andrea Cole

Andrea Cole, PhD, LCSW is the coordinator of the ProSPECT program at the Institute for Family Health. Andrea graduated with her MSW in 2008 from Boston College and her PhD in Social Work in 2017 from New York University. Andrea has a long-standing interest in youth and young adults with mental health challenges, and engages in clinical practice, research, and administration to support youth mental health. Currently, Andrea is the Behavioral Health Research Coordinator at the Institute for Family Health as well as an Implementation Specialist at the Center for Practice Innovations, New York State Psychiatric Institute, where she provides trainings in evidence-based behavioral health practice to providers across the state.

Caity Thompson

Caity Thompson is originally from the west coast and has been living in New York City for 8 years. She uses an integrated therapy approach to assist her clients through the therapeutic process. Caity has training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for individuals, groups, families and for psychosis. She also has additional training in EMDR therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Dialectical behavior therapy. Caity provides each client with individualized services tailored to their needs. She believes the most important part of the therapeutic process is a strong trusting relationship between the client and therapist and she strives to provide an open accepting environment for each person she works with.

Amanda Spadaccini

Amanda Spadaccini is a Licensed Mental Health Clinician with extensive training in personality disorders, LGBTQ and gender affirming care, and a full time mental health provider at the Institute for Family Health. Amanda graduated in 2015 from Brooklyn College with a Masters in Mental Health Counseling and has experience working with both adolescents and adults utilizing cognitive behavioral and psychodymanic methods of individual and group treatment.

Cassidy Macca

Cassidy Macca, MHC-LP, is a ProSPECT clinician at the Institute for Family Health at 17^th Street. Cassidy graduated from Pace University in 2016 with a degree in Psychology and minors in Sociology/Anthropology and Women’s and Gender Studies. Cassidy graduated from Fordham University with her Master in Mental Health Counseling in 2018. During her second year internship for her master’s program, she was placed at the Institute for Family Health and has been working there since. Cassidy has published research articles related to young adult romantic relationships, and she is passionate about working with children and families. In addition to her ProSPECT work at the Institute, Cassidy sees individual children, adolescents and adults for therapy and runs a group focused on anger management.

For Clinicians

If you have a patient who you think would be a good fit for ProSPECT, you can make a referral by calling Andrea Cole (212) 633-0800 x 1472 at acole@institute.org.