Bishop Dena A. Harrison Fellows Program
The goal of the Bishop Dena A. Harrison Fellows Program is for Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (MHC) graduates from Seminary of the Southwest to enter disadvantaged populations within the Diocese of Texas designated as underserved in regards to mental health services to offer counseling services as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) Associate. In partnership with the Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF) of Texas, the Loise Henderson Wessendorff Center for Counseling and Spirituality aspires to place faithful, imaginative, and highly educated mental health care workers in underserved counties throughout the state of Texas to expand our commitment of service to all people regardless of demographics and with an emphasis on providing for those with the greatest need. With the financial commitment from EHF we plan to build an innovative national model program that will produce exceptionally trained counselors who can begin to serve as soon as they graduate.
Graduates from the MHC program who pass the National Counselor Exam (NCE) and the Texas Jurisprudence Exam, and receive Texas Licensed Professional Counselor Intern (LPC-Associate) status will be eligible for the program. Harrison Fellows will have the opportunity to complete their LPC-Associate hours at the Center’s partner site, Burke, in East Texas, or at the Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network, in Waco, Texas. Both sites are integrated health and mental health centers serving the underserved populations in multiple counties in their geographic area. The LPC-Associate requirement of 3,000 hours (1,500 hour of direct client contact and 1,500 hours of counseling-related duties) must be completed within two years.
Episcopal Health Foundation news release:”Update: Closing the mental health care gap in East Texas”
