With demand for mental health care skyrocketing on college campuses and across the country, a pilot program in Virginia is looking to help those in need.
With the surge in demand for mental health care on college campuses and across the nation, a pilot program in Virginia is now providing assistance to help ensure there are enough professionals to meet that growing need.
“Every year, the demand for mental health services increases,” says psychologist Rachel Wernicke. Associate Dean and Chief Mental Health Officer, George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. “Stress, depression and anxiety were the top concerns of students visiting our counseling center.”
The need for effective mental health care continues to grow.
“Over the past decade, the severity of mental illness has tended to worsen, with more students having a history of self-harm, suicidal ideation and attempted suicide,” Wernicke said.
To address current needs and plan for the future, Mason University is one of six colleges in Virginia to subsidize a two-year pilot program that pays graduate salaries for counseling and social work. They received the money and they are still working towards their qualification. professional license.
“They have degrees and this experience will help them buy the supervised time they need to get their licenses,” Wernicke said.
a May 30 report from the Virginia Higher Education Council Five months after awarding Higher Education Mental Health Workforce Pilot Grants to George Mason, James Madison, Christopher Newport, Longwood, Radford, and Virginia Tech, “participating institutions are already visible “I’m feeling the effects,” he said.
Five certified clinical social work and certified professional counselor candidates “together served 220 student patients and completed more than 740 hours of clinical time,” according to a state legislative report.
Wernicke said there is a growing need to enable young Virginia students interested in mental health careers to enter the workforce.
“The mental health workforce is aging and needs to be replenished, but joining the workforce is not an easy process,” Wernicke said.
To become licensed, social work and counseling graduates must undergo thousands of hours of clinical practice experience and hundreds of hours under the supervision of licensed professionals.
“If it’s not part of the job, you have to pay for it personally,” says Wernicke. “This is a significant expense and a barrier for many.”
Salaries for precertified social work and counseling candidates are typically low, Wernicke said.
Having to personally pay for supervision “restricts potential health professionals to those with the financial privilege to pay for it. It means that we are not really diversifying our workforce.”
The pilot program has clearly helped reduce burnout among current mental health workers. “The preliminary licensee position was beneficial in reducing caseloads for other clinicians by spreading out clinical caseloads and reducing overall work burden,” said an anonymous participant. Says. May report of the State Council.
Additionally, the program stimulated candidates’ interest in working in college mental health facilities after obtaining a license, the report said.
“Once they get the time to get their license, maybe we want to hire them to work for Mason, but they can go anywhere,” Wernicke said.
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