A new initiative from the University of Vermont hopes to address the lack of mental health professionals to support youth in the state.

The program, known as the Catamount Counseling Collaborative for Rural Schools, plans to train and place 52 school counselors, social workers and mental health clinicians in rural schools in Vermont over the next five years.

Latest polls Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found increased levels of depression and anxiety among Vermont middle and high school students.

However, there are sufficient numbers in Vermont mental health professionals. The state’s Workforce Development Board has estimated that 230 more providers will be needed to meet growing demand in 2023.

The new Catamount Consulting Collaborative for Rural Schools aims to fill this gap.

Through the program, funded by a $3.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, University of Vermont graduate students are expected to contribute at least 25,000 clinical hours annually to support rural communities.

“Vermont’s mental health needs are widespread and complex and currently underserved, and this is one way to reach them,” said Anna Elliott, associate professor of counseling.

Elliott, the grant’s principal investigator, has experience running a similar initiative in Montana; where he spent five years developing a program to support rural communities with mental health professionals.

Elliot said a key part of the program is encouraging graduates to continue working in rural schools or mental health facilities after completing their education. He said he tailored the program to Vermont’s unique needs. This involved analyzing a variety of statistics from community needs assessments on topics such as suicide rates, substance use disorder and stigma associated with seeking mental health services, and ensuring the program was closely aligned with Vermont’s landscape of mental health needs.

“One of our primary goals when creating the training program was to review student reports that often indicated they were not ready to go and work in a rural environment,” he said. “Having an intensive and intentional training program that really allowed them to understand what they were facing, how they could prepare, and how they could ask for support encouraged students to stay, so we hope to replicate that here.”

The program offers scholarships to those who stay at their assigned schools for at least one year, helping to alleviate potential barriers such as finding a full-time job or affordable housing.

In Montana, Elliott said he noticed that some graduate students were unable to stay at rural schools because of limited funding for permanent positions. Other challenges, such as housing and job security, also made it difficult for them to stay in these high-need areas.

“I’m taking the model that I implemented at Montana and integrating it with the community college model to not just say, ‘here’s a couple of graduate students who are going to be here for a year,’ but let’s look at what’s happening in a systematic way. Elliott asks “what are the needs, resources, barriers, and strengths at school?” he said.

To overcome these challenges, the program currently focuses on recruiting graduate students from rural areas. The program offers low-residency options, allowing these students to complete the majority of their courses remotely. This means they can stay at home rather than moving to campus, making it easier for them to balance their studies with their current commitments.

“This grant provides an important opportunity to bring students into the helping professions who would otherwise not have access to this type of specialized training,” said co-investigator and social worker Danielle Jatlow, who coordinates UVM’s social work undergraduate program. Press release from the university.

UVM faculty members, including program co-leaders Robin Hausheer and Lance Smith, both associate professors of counseling, are starting to help rural schools. According to the statement, they hope to place graduate students in schools as early as this semester.

“This year, people and children are receiving services that would not have been possible otherwise,” Elliott said in the press release. “So it feels like that’s the way it is.”