Pictured in spring 2018, Dr. Dominique Hammonds, assistant professor in Appalachian State University’s Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling (HPC), center, instructs two graduate students in Appalachian’s clinical mental health counseling (CMHC) program. Thanks to HRSA grant funding, student interns in the HPC department’s marriage and family therapy and CMHC graduate programs are helping provide culturally sensitive behavioral health services for residents of Northwestern North Carolina. Photo by Marie Freeman
BOONE, N.C. — Federal funding awarded to Appalachian State University — in excess of $1.75 million over a four-year period — is helping provide culturally sensitive behavioral health services, including marriage and family therapy and mental health counseling, for residents of Northwestern North Carolina.
This Behavioral Health Workforce Educational Training Program (BHWET) grant, available through the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), has been awarded to Dr. Karen Caldwell, professor in the Reich College of Education’s Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling (HPC) at Appalachian.
Caldwell said the funding, now approaching its fourth year, is used to recruit and train counseling interns — students in Appalachian’s marriage and family therapy (MFT) and clinical mental health counseling (CMHC) master’s degree programs, who are then placed in established mental health or primary care settings in Northwestern North Carolina.
Graduate students in the Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling (HPC) at Appalachian State University engage in an expressive arts therapy exercise in February 2020. Thanks to HRSA grant funding, student interns in the HPC department’s marriage and family therapy and clinical mental health counseling graduate programs are helping provide culturally sensitive behavioral health services for residents of Northwestern North Carolina. Photo by Marie Freeman
During the third year of the BHWET Program grant, 37 MFT and CMHC students engaged in internships funded by HRSA stipends. The funding also supported two additional training opportunities for students, including a workshop on the intersectionality of race, gender and sexuality, and the use of telehealth to provide mental health services.
According to Caldwell, the HPC department supports students and alumni in their search for post-graduation employment. She said MFT and CMHC graduates have high placement rates in practice settings with a principle focus of serving residents of underserved communities.
“Additional mental health services are needed in the northwestern portion of North Carolina,” Caldwell said. “Although mild to moderate mental health needs can be addressed in primary care settings, this rural area has been slow to incorporate models of integrated care.”
Caldwell received $445,764 in third-year HRSA grant funding (September 2019–August) and $458,189 in fourth-year funding (September–August 2021). Overall, the four-year grant project has received $1,754,806 in HRSA funding.
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About the Reich College of Education
Appalachian State University offers one of the largest undergraduate teacher preparation programs in North Carolina, graduating about 500 teachers a year. The Reich College of Education enrolls more than 2,000 students in its bachelor’s, master’s, education specialist and doctoral degree programs, with offerings that span multiple fields — from teacher preparation, counseling, and therapy, to higher education, school and student affairs administration, library science, educational leadership and more. With over 10,000 alumni employed in North Carolina public schools, there is at least one Reich College graduate in every county in the state. Learn more at https://rcoe.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.
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