JOB CORPS The Los Angeles Job Corps Mental Health and Wellness Team works to promote the mental wellness and reduce the stigma of seeking support with our student population. A team of licensed clinicians and trainees work in collaboration to provide education, individual counseling, group therapy, crisis intervention and student and staff training through a trauma informed lens.
Often working in quiet and private settings, the Mental Health and Wellness Team are essential to students’ ability to cope with challenges they may be facing for a variety of reasons. Students can become homesick, have difficulty adjusting to Job Corps’ structure, or could be dealing with grief. In any case, individuals like Dr. Timmons, Dr. Spears, and Dr. Grillo do their best to help students overcome emotional obstacles.
Dr. Timmons has an infectious smile and genuinely cares about students.
Dr. Kandice Timmons is a licensed Psychologist and the primary supervisor of the training program. She is cognizant of the importance of working within and understanding the intersectionality that influences our individual experiences and challenges. She utilizes her skills to address different obstacles to success and facilitate change with the Job Corps students.
Our newest addition to the team with a cool and calm persona.
Dr. Kenn Spears is a licensed Psychologist and the newest edition to the mental health team. As a former middle and high school teacher and counselor, he continues to dedicate a significant amount of his education and training to improving the lives of adolescents and adults struggling with depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and many other life challenges.
A long time practitioner, Dr. Grillo has helped hundreds of students over the years.
Dr. Joe Grillo is a licensed Psychologist who is a 23-year veteran of Job Corps, having served as Mental Health Consultant at both the Los Angeles and Long Beach Centers. In L.A., he developed a psychology training program from which current primary CMHCs Dr. Kandice Timmons and Dr. Kenn Spears graduated! Among his interests these days is using social media to break down the stigma surrounding mental health in order to get more students to reach out for help in successfully completing the program.
Our Mental Health and Wellness Team is also helping celebrate MTC’s 40th year anniversary by focusing on Mental Health Awareness this quarter, with the theme “Your Story Matters.”
Over the next few months, the Mental Health & Wellness Team will afford the Center numerous opportunities to engage in mental wellness and encourage the emotional well-being of others.
In doing so, they will also highlight resources in the Los Angeles community, working to ensure mental health services are accessible to all, especially underserved communities.
To begin, they are initiating a fundraiser to support APLA Health. While many are familiar with APLA Health’s mission to achieve healthcare equity and promote well-being for the LGBTQ+ and underserved communities, as well as people living with and affected by HIV, many are not aware that APLA Health is a federally qualified health center, providing mental health services at multiple locations across Los Angeles.