UND receives $190,000 grant from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
UND has received a federal grant to prepare new psychologists, substance abuse counselors, and nurses to address rural mental and behavioral health needs. UND received the second largest grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Graduate Psychology Education Program (GPEP).
Nearly $190,000 will be used to train UND students to serve as part of Integrated Health Care teams. The Rural Psychology in Integrated Care (RPIC) program, led by Cindy Juntunen, Professor of Counseling Psychology and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education, in the College of Education and Human Development, will train mental health practitioners to meet the unique needs of rural citizens.
“We have seen an immediate need for licensed psychologists, substance abuse counselors, and nurses in our rural communities,” said Juntunen. “RPIC will allow students in these professions to work in tandem, creating a collaborative approach to critical health needs. This approach has been shown to be particularly important for rural health care, and it has been previously lacking in our region.”
The grants are funded under the Graduate Psychology Education Program (GPEP): Workforce Training to Improve Access to Mental Health Services, a program of HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The GPEP awarded grants to 19 accredited health professions schools and other public and private entities for Fiscal Year 2010-2012. The award amount of $2.6 million for FY 2010 represents a 60 percent increase in GPEP funding over FY 2009.
As of June 30, more than 3,480 U.S. communities had mental health shortages, impacting access to services for approximately 84 million people. In North Dakota, approximately 90 percent of the counties, home to almost 40 percent of the citizens of the state, have been identified as having shortages in mental health providers.
“The training we provide through RPIC will provide high-quality mental health services to many communities within the next year,” said Juntunen.
“Even more important, we will be training a work force that is well-prepared to provide excellent rural mental health services for the future. I grew up in the kind of small town in North Dakota where it could take most of a work day to get to a psychologist’s office and back home again. I think programs like ours can change that situation, and make mental health care available to everyone.”
The UND College of Education and Human Development has more than 1,200 undergraduate and graduate students in six departments including Counseling Psychology and Community Services; Educational Foundations and Research; Educational Leadership; Physical Education, Exercise Science and Wellness; Social Work; and Teaching and Learning. The mission is fostering healthy human development and learning across the lifespan.
— David L. Dodds, writer/editor, University Relations, 777-5529, daviddodds@mail.und.edu.
