Grant to Address Barriers Faced by Students Pursuing Behavioral Health Provider Careers
- published: 2023/07/17
- contact: College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences
- email: unocehhs@unomaha.edu
This story appeared in the most recent issue of the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences Annual Report.
The Department of Counseling was recently awarded two grants totaling $1M from UNMC’s Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska (BHECN) through the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) Award Program.
The grant funding will provide improved support to graduate students pursuing careers as behavioral health providers in UNO’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. The goal is to address Nebraska’s shortage of behavioral and mental health providers, especially in diverse and underserved communities, by focusing on program recruitment and retention as well as training and supervision.
According to Department Chair Tina Chasek, Ph.D., LIMHP, LADC, students face various barriers during their advanced education, which can hinder their ability to complete their program successfully. These barriers include long unpaid clinical internships, difficulties finding quality supervision, and obtaining advanced training in specialized areas.
Providing extra support during clinical experiences will allow students to finish the program and go on to apply for provisional licensure as a mental health practitioner in the State of Nebraska,"
"Providing extra support during clinical experiences will allow students to finish the program and go on to apply for provisional licensure as a mental health practitioner in the State of Nebraska," explained Dr. Chasek.
The grants will support program recruitment and clinical training experiences, as well as fund a clinical training instructor to manage UNO’s Community Counseling Clinic. The department also hopes to double the number of students completing practicum, expand internships and quality supervision, offer advanced clinical training in areas such as telebehavioral health and evidence-based suicide and crisis interventions, and provide living stipends and financial support for licensure.
"We are excited to have the resources to engage diverse groups of students to help them learn about career possibilities in the behavioral health field," said Dr. Chasek. "Many students don’t think about counseling as an option when they think about careers in the healthcare field. They think of traditional health care professions like doctor, nurse, physician assistant. We want to change that by showing the pathway to a licensed counseling profession."
GRANT DETAILS
Advanced Clinical Training for Counselors in Training
PI: Charmayne R. Adams, PhD, LIMHP, NCC
Counselor Training Recruitment and Clinical Practicum Experience
PI: Abby Bjornsen-Ramig, PhD, LP
