About Us
Our vision: equitable access to mental health services for all children and teens.
TRAILS (Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students) was launched in 2013 for school staff who wanted better tools to help their students cope with depression and anxiety.
We got our start as a research project within the University of Michigan Medical School, training counselors in a handful of Michigan schools to apply the evidence-based principles of cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness in their work with students, and then evaluating the results.
In the years that followed, demand for TRAILS kept growing. Meanwhile, we kept testing and refining our model—taking on more partnerships, piloting new initiatives, and expanding our offerings from one program to three.
Today, we’re an independent 501(c)3 with a demonstrated impact and an ever-expanding footprint. We serve more than a thousand schools nationally through formal partnerships, and our open-access materials are downloaded more than 200,000 times annually worldwide.
But there is still much more to do. The TRAILS team is working every day to put effective mental health tools into the hands of dedicated school staff. We focus specifically on students who face the greatest barriers to care by prioritizing partnerships with Title I–designated schools—schools in which at least 40% of students are low-income.
The Current State
Today’s youth are facing a mental health crisis unlike anything we’ve seen before.
In the past five years, rates of child and adolescent depression and anxiety have skyrocketed.
40%
of students report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
The Challenge
Most children and teens have no way to access mental health care.
Mental health systems are often over-burdened. Youth and their families face long waitlists, high costs, limited provider options, transportation challenges, and more.
The Solution
TRAILS is transforming the landscape of youth mental health care delivery.
We exponentially increase the impact of existing school staff by equipping them to provide high-quality social, emotional, and mental health programming right where kids are, in the school setting.
Our Values
We put well-being first.
Every life should be rich in opportunities for connection, self-expression, and self-care. We live by this truth not only in our public-facing mission, but in our internal workplace policies and culture, extending kindness and compassion to each other and ourselves.
We build authentic partnerships.
True collaboration requires humility, mindful listening, and responsiveness to the needs of others. We embrace diverse ideas and perspectives, and we engage sincerely with feedback, working together across differences to find common ground.
We create positive change.
It’s our responsibility to ensure our work truly makes a difference. We commit to offering programs that demonstrate meaningful and equitable outcomes for students, and that schools can sustain for years to come.
We are transparent and accountable.
We’re proud to be an organization that schools and communities trust. We honor this trust by upholding our commitments to our partners and each other, and by openly sharing our progress—both when we’re doing well and when we can do better.
Our Commitments
Accessibility
Learn moreWe’re committed to providing an accessible experience for users across all TRAILS platforms, including our website, program materials, and trainings.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts are about recognizing and striving to change historical patterns of exclusion and injustice. TRAILS believes these efforts are necessary in every field, and that they must be at the center of our approach to mental health and education.
We commit to advancing DEI across all facets of our organization, including the programs we develop, the partnerships we build, and the team we recruit and retain. At the same time, we look inward for opportunities to grow – to recognize the limits of our own perspectives, educate ourselves, and acknowledge and repair the harm we cause.
Our team of experts and innovators create systems-level change, fueled by both public and private support.
Join a mission worth believing in.
We're seeking talented, driven team members who care deeply about student mental health.
