The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF)* is JTSN’s referral partner. IWMF caseworkers verify the identity of each prospective JTSN journalist training case, screen them via phone call, and confirm their eligibility to participate in the program before referring them.

Please note: IWMF screening staff are not licensed clinicians, and minimize inquiry into clinical information. They are provided with baseline training in trauma-informed interviewing and self-care, while in trauma-facing work, as well as weekly support meetings by JTSN clinical staff. JTSN therapists conduct the initial clinical intake and full psychological assessment.

After screening, the JTSN Program Director then collects basic background information and matches prospective journalists with therapists in training based on geography, therapist specialization, and requested attributes as appropriate (e.g., female gender, clinician of color, etc.).

Journalist client eligibility criteria:

• Journalist experiencing psychological distress or impairment related to stress or
  trauma associated with journalistic work

• Located in a U.S. state that JTSN currently serves, and will be available for therapy in
  that state at least 2x per month

• Has access to technology compatible with telehealth

• Absence of certain crisis/severity indicators (e.g., evidence of active suicidality, imminent safety risk, acute psychosis, aggression/hostility, intoxication or severe substance abuse

• Journalist agreeable to trying a time-limited treatment model

The JTSN Program Director will collect basic journalist background information and match prospective clients with therapists in training based on geography, therapist specialization, and requested attributes requested as appropriate (e.g., female gender, clinician of color, etc.).

Our pilot therapist group will also receive support in thinking through marketing for journalist clients and identifying good referrals. Group members will be invited to bring in additional referrals through relationships you build in your local journalism community.

*IWMF serves and refers journalists of all genders.

You will receive one referral at a time. We ask that you schedule that referral within 2 weeks of receiving notification of the referral, or communicate with the JTSN Program Director if you are unable to do so. Once you have an active client, you are welcome to schedule one additional client. We will not ask you to carry more than two journalist clients at a time.

You will receive a secure email from the JTSN Program Director, followed by a phone call and voicemail to ensure you received the email.

We ask that you leave 2 messages for the client to inform them that they have one week from the second message to contact you before you will accept the next referrals. After that time, they are welcome to contact the JTSN Program Director to discuss restarting with you or another therapist.

Yes. Therapists are compensated for referral therapy hours MONTHLY after they submit a monthly invoice. There’s no claims process, and no payment from clients.

Here’s a more detailed look:

The JTSN program will pay you a fair rate for therapy services provided to the clients we refer for up to 12 months. The clients will not be charged any money for participation.

In addition to providing referrals, we welcome you to accept journalist clients through your own community and will compensate you for working with them within the pilot parameters; we just need confirmation that they meet our inclusion criteria before you begin billing the program.

To receive payment, U.S. therapists will email a monthly invoice with your JTSN therapy hours to our partner organization, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF). IWMF will remit payment checks or direct deposit within 7 business days. You will not need to include protected health information (PHI) on your invoices.

We hope to be able to continue to pay for or subsidize therapy after the pilot phase, but this depends on fundraising.

We recognize that client motivation in therapy can be increased by having to pay something for sessions. We will give participating journalists the option to donate a modest amount to the JTSN program, according to their budget. In our experience, journalists feel good when they can support their colleagues, and this may feel meaningful to them. However, we will not rely on journalist donations as a significant area of fundraising for future programming.

Journalists participating in the pilot are offered 20 therapy sessions within 6 months — whichever comes first. Likewise, participating therapists will be compensated for up to 20 sessions per patient (as long as it is within the 6-month window).

Therapists should use clinical judgment during the intake: if symptom severity or complexity indicates that time-limited treatment is not appropriate, you should refer the client to a higher level of care. On a case-by-case basis, JTSN staff may be able to assist you with referrals.

No. We understand that you are bringing these patients into your private practice and that you must exercise your own best clinical judgment. Our goal is to set clear, mutual expectations at the outset. As clinicians, you will exercise your own judgment from that point forward. 

Examples of situations that might result in not providing the allotted number of sessions include:

• You feel a patient needs to be referred out to a higher level of care,

• A patient only wants a few of the offered sessions

• You feel strongly that you cannot assist your client to meet therapeutic goals on the schedule they are available for.

What if the client needs more therapy after 20 sessions? What if we would like to continue treatment together?

The JTSN pilot program will compensate therapists for up to 20 sessions per client (within a 6-month window) during the first 12 months of the therapist’s participation. In most cases we encourage you to hold a time-limited treatment frame, so you can accept additional journalist clients and help JTSN learn from this pilot. Time-limited care is part of the client consent process, and if the client needs or wants additional treatment, they will be informed at the outset that you may need to refer them out after 6 months.

That said, clinical judgment is paramount, and there is no hard and fast rule that you can’t continue to see a client past their allotted sessions (although you will no longer be compensated through JTSN). Many journalists may be eligible for additional time-limited therapy grants through our partner organizations. We will give you this information to share with them, so if needed, they can receive support to continue with you or another provider.