Board of Regents Approves Online Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 24, 2017

CONTACT:       Hope LaFreniere, hope.lafreniere@ttuhsc.edu

                          (806) 743-1466

 

Board of Regents Approves Online Clinical Mental Health Counseling Degree

 

Texas Tech University System Board of Regents approved the establishment of the Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Master of Science in Addiction Counseling on February 24.

 

“Distance learning creates opportunities everywhere,” TTUHSC President Tedd L. Mitchell, M.D., said. “More than 72 percent of counties in the state of Texas are missing a psychiatrist. Removing the stigma of mental illness begins with supplying competent, caring providers in areas where mental illness is discussed in hushed tones. We empower these underserved areas by providing educational opportunities that will improve the understanding of mental illness and the health of the community.”

 

The online programs will be offered through the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Health Professions and the F. Marie Hall Institute of Rural and Community Health to fill critical mental health and addiction counselor shortages in rural West Texas.

 

Forty-three million adults in the United States experience mental illness, 10 million of whom suffer from an addiction disorder. Twenty-five percent of mental illnesses develop before the age of 14, with three-quarters of Americans developing chronic mental illness by 24 years of age. The shortfall of mental health counselors is projected to worsen by 19 percent over the next seven years, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the need for addiction counselors to increase 30 percent by 2024.

 

Graduate students from both programs will be eligible for a certificate in telemedicine through the F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural Health, creating the first counseling programs in the United States to train practitioners in clinical counseling skills and distance service provision techniques.

Both master’s degrees will seek accreditation by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Only seven institutions offer CACREP accredited masters-level addiction counseling programs, with only one institution using a distance education model.

 

The TTUHSC model will allow the School of Health Professions to recruit students from areas with limited access to traditional educational methods and offer students the academic and clinical foundation needed to pursue employment in clinical services in rural areas. 

Related Stories

Molecular Pathology Preceptorship: Unmatched Value and Experience

Ericka Hendrix, PhD, MB(ASCP)CM, Program Director and Associate Professor in the Master of Science in Molecular Pathology program in the School of Health Professions spoke about the program’s preceptorship.

Moseley Named Permian Basin Regional Dean of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing

Kelly Moseley, DHSc, R.N., has been named the TTUHSC School of Nursing regional dean in the Permian Basin.

TTUHSC School of Nursing to Celebrate New YWCA Location

Community members in central Lubbock now have access to health care services and prenatal programs at one location inside the YWCA.

Recent Stories

Health

Measles Outbreak: What to Know From The Future of Health

Kelissa Huse, an assistant professor and laboratory manager in the Molecular Pathology Program at TTUHSC, spoke about measles, the outbreak and what West Texans needs to know about the disease.

Education

Santos Named Department of Surgery Chair for TTUHSC School of Medicine in Lubbock

As the new Department of Surgery chair for the School of Medicine in Lubbock, Ariel Santos, M.D., M.P.H., seeks to elevate TTUHSC’s role as the Hub of Surgery for West Texas.

Health

Covenant Health Brings Kidney Transplant Surgery Back to West Texas

The Kidney Transplant Program at Covenant Medical Center will provide life-changing opportunities for patients suffering from end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and chronic kidney conditions.