Program Rationale
Background
In September 2020, the National Council for Behavioral Health called upon Congress to take action to prevent “a second public health epidemic”—a reference to the diminished systemic capacity for mental health services accompanied by ballooning demand (Majlessi, 2020). As COVID-19 upended our economy and society, the demand for mental health services has reached a crisis point. This crisis of care is exacerbated in underserved communities. This program was created to support students who want to pursue clinical work that will help address that gap.
Outcome Data
Since its founding in 2021, the Psychology Professionals of Tomorrow program has continued to make strides. Our students have been accepted to an array of Masters (LPC or School Psychology) and Clinical PsyD programs. To date, 93% of our mentees who have engaged in application cycles have been placed in clinical graduate programs. Please see our members page for more on where our mentees are currently receiving training.
Funding
The Psychology Professionals of Tomorrow was a 2021 recipient of the RU-N IDEA Innovation Grant Award. This grant supported our mentees in their graduate school preparation and professional development goals.
Psychology Professionals to Tomorrow was a 2021 recipient of the “The Way Forward” grant. This grant supported our mentees in their professional development, graduate school preparation, graduation school application fees, GRE testing fees, helped us to build a mentee library, and provided stipends for mentees in their first semester in graduate school. We were honored to have this support as we piloted this mentorship initiative that year.