The East Texas Medical Center Foundation recently awarded East Texas Baptist University a $ 100,000 grant to help meet the growing mental health care needs in Smith County and the greater East Texas area. .
The ETBU opened the Community Counseling Center in 2020 at the ETBU-Tyler site located at 1301 S. Broadway in Tyler and launched a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program in January 2021. The Counseling Center and The courses in the masters program are both designed with flexibility and working professionals in mind, and offers evening and online classes.
This is the second year in a row that the ETMC Foundation has supported the Community Counseling Center and the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at ETBU.
“The support from the ETMC Foundation over the past year has been essential in helping us launch the ETBU-Tyler site, and we are grateful for the additional support that demonstrates their faith in our work to help meet the mental health needs of residents of Smith County, ”ETBU said President J. Blair Blackburn. “The Community Counseling Center and Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program have got off to a good start at our ETBU-Tyler facility. Our counselors help clients and students progress to become licensed professional counselors. We are extremely grateful to the East Texas Medical Center Foundation and its partnership over the past two years. “
The University’s two-pronged approach enables ETBU to meet current mental health care needs while meeting the growing demand for additional qualified and trained licensed professional counselors in the field of mental health.
Enrollment in the University’s clinical mental health counseling program has grown by 191% since its inception in 2012, with a growth rate of 60% over the past three years.
“Our program is unique in that we offer the combination of professional counseling training and helping our trainee counselors understand how to integrate their faith into the counseling process in order to meet the client’s needs in a more inclusive approach. holistic ”, director of the ETBU advisory and counseling center. said Terrie Howe. “So far we have had the opportunity to meet with clients for one-on-one counseling sessions and attend events organized by other organizations to provide mental health resources to the Tyler area. These counseling sessions have already helped people who otherwise would not have been able to afford counseling.
Any clinical hours required by the program can be completed through the onsite clinic in Tyler. These skilled mental health professionals are trained to comprehensively understand the management of counseling practices and emerging trends in treatment and counseling methodology. The program, designed with academic rigor and holistic attention to the intellectual, mental, emotional, spiritual and physical development of the person, produces graduates who are educated, equipped and empowered to provide professional counseling services in a variety of contexts.
“Mental wellness is important to all East Texans,” said ETMC Foundation Executive Director Dawn Franks. “By training additional counselors, ETBU’s clinical counseling program increases access to needed services across our region. The ETMC Foundation is pleased to support this expansion as East Texas continues to grow.
The ETMC Foundation is a private foundation created by the sale of the East Texas Medical Regional Health System to Ardent Health Services in 2018.
