Fellows Programs
The Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Seminary of the Southwest offers distinctive Fellows programs that can support students interested in wanting to support the mission-based outcomes of each program. Please see below for information.
Harrison Fellows Program
The goal of the fellowship program is for Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (MHC) graduates from Seminary of the Southwest to enter disadvantaged populations within Texas designated as underserved in regard to mental health services to offer counseling services as a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate.
The Harrison Fellows Program, launched in 2015, operates in partnership with the Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF) of Texas, and 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. Over the years the fellows have been placed in East Texas, the Waco area, and in Austin.
A limited number of graduates from the MHC program who pass the National Counselor Exam (NCE), or National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Exam (NCMHCE), the Texas Jurisprudence Exam, and receive Licensed Professional Counselor Associate status from the State of Texas will be eligible for consideration for the fellowship program. Fellows will intern at Center partner sites around the state working for integrated health and community mental health centers, or nonprofit organizations, in regions of the state where access to mental health care is limited. Fellows begin the fellowship the summer after graduation from the MHC program and are employed for one to two years at the site as they work towards completing their LPC-Associate requirement.
Fellows receive a salary, benefits, a Licensed Professional Counselor supervisor, liability insurance, and administrative support for up to two years, and must complete their LPC licensure requirements of 3,000 hours (1,500 hours of direct client contact and 1,500 hours of counseling-related duties) within the two-year time frame.
Previous fellows have gained a wide range of experience through work with adults, adolescents, and child populations treating a wide variety of clinical issues including major depressive disorder, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia and psychotic disorders, anxiety disorders, substance abuse disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorders. Other common clinical services offered at sites include crisis intervention, justice involved services, substance use, trauma interventions, parent education, school-based mental health resources, psychiatric care, wraparound intensive care, skills training, among others. Fellows are trained to utilize a variety of evidence-based approaches including trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy, parent-child interaction therapy, cognitive-processing therapy, and cognitive-behavior therapy for depression.
Before being accepted into the program, prospects must meet established Center requirements and apply for the fellowship program as well as LPC-Associate licensure. The program is highly competitive and application to the program does not guarantee program acceptance. Students are encouraged to begin considering this opportunity as soon as possible once enrolled in the MHC program. The deadline for submitting the application materials will be posted by Center administrators. For more information on this unique opportunity, please contact program liaison Dr. Gustavo Bárcenas at [email protected].