Source: The American Council on Education -
ACE, CDP to Train College Mental Health Counselors to Aid Student Veterans
The American Council on Education (ACE) is launching an initiative to train hundreds of college and university mental health counselors on how to better address issues such as post-traumatic stress and suicide prevention in their work treating student veterans.
ACE and the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences are collaborating on the project, which is being supported by a grant from the Bob Woodruff Foundation. This project will expand the reach of CDP's University Counseling Center Core Competency Program.
Higher education institutions will host eight training workshops this year, with the goal of reaching as many as 750 counselors from colleges and universities nationwide. Registration for these workshops will be free of charge.
Six of the sessions will be one-day workshops that will provide core competency training to counselors and non-clinicians. Each of these sessions is designed to serve up to 100 attendees. Two sessions will be two-day workshops during which CDP instructors will provide more advanced training in evidence-based practices for treating post-traumatic stress. Each of these sessions is expected to serve 75 trainees.
Institutions interested in hosting a workshop or participating in an upcoming training session should contact ACE at stws@acenet.edu. Institutions also can visit ACE's Toolkit for Veteran Friendly Institutions to register for a free account and sign up for the Toolkit's newsletter to receive updates on the initiative.
"This collaboration between ACE and CDP will give more college and university counselors access to state-of-the-art training in the area of military culture and serving student veterans," said Meg Mitcham, ACE's director of veterans' programs. "This generous grant from the Bob Woodruff Foundation will enable us to increase the number of mental health providers at higher education institutions prepared to offer the highest quality care for the student veterans on our campuses and help ensure they gain access to needed support systems."
"The availability of mental health resources on college campuses can play a vital role in helping veterans achieve their education goals that in turn lead to successful futures. The Bob Woodruff Foundation is thrilled to partner with ACE to ensure student veterans have the resources they deserve to thrive on campuses and beyond," said Anne Marie Dougherty, Bob Woodruff Foundation's executive director.
"The Center for Deployment Psychology is truly excited to collaborate with ACE as a direct result of this substantial contribution from the Bob Woodruff Foundation. Because of this grant, the CDP will be able to make a tangible difference in the lives of service members and veterans attending college," said David Riggs, Ph.D., executive director of the CDP. "We have been committed to providing extensive training to the university community and mental health providers for several years, and this project will allow us to extend these efforts in breadth and depth to ensure that student veterans receive the comprehensive care they deserve on campuses across the country."
About the American Council on Education: Founded in 1918, ACE is the major coordinating body for all the nation's higher education institutions, representing more than 1,600 college and university presidents, and more than 200 related associations, nationwide. It provides leadership on key higher education issues and influences public policy through advocacy. For more information, please visit www.acenet.edu or follow ACE on Twitter @ACEducation.
About the Bob Woodruff Foundation: The Bob Woodruff Foundation is the nonprofit dedicated to ensuring injured service members and their families are thriving long after they return home. A national organization with grassroots reach, the Bob Woodruff Foundation complements the work of the federal government — diligently navigating the maze of more than 40,000 nonprofits providing services to veterans — finds, funds and shapes innovative programs, and holds them accountable for results. To date, we have invested more than $13 million in 80 organizations, reaching more than a million service members, support personnel, veterans and their families. The Bob Woodruff Foundation was co-founded in 2006 by award winning anchor, Bob Woodruff, and his family, whose own experiences inspired them to help make sure our nation's heroes have access to the high level of support and resources they deserve, for as long as they need it.
For more information about the Bob Woodruff Foundation, please visit www.remind.org or follow BWF on Twitter @ReMIND.
About the Center for Deployment Psychology: CDP is a tri-service consortium funded through a Department of Defense grant from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) to the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine. As the nation's only federal health sciences university, USU is committed to excellence in military medicine and public health during peace and war.
