CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- UTC is expanding their mental and behavioral schools in order to serve rural communities.
The UTC School of Professional Studies has received a two point four million dollar grant that will be used over the next four years.
This program is designed to give psychology, social work, and counseling students a stipend while taking on internships related to rural health care.
This is part of an increasing focus on expanding rural health care access, as some residents in remote areas can be more than an hour away from mental health services.
“What we have seen in probably the past five years is an increased interest in mental health professions in general, and what we know we have a deficit in mental health care providers. So this is not only an opportunity to pay students, but to show this pipeline needs to be increased,” said Elizabeth O’Brien, the Director of the School of Professional Studies.
The first cohort of students will hit the ground running in these internships this fall.
