A little over two months ago, WLU held a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the addition of two new clinical spaces in the Campbell Hall of Health and Sciences. Both the Speech and Hearing Clinic and the Behavioral Health Clinic were put in place to increase the availability of affordable healthcare for the public.

Due to the pandemic, many people have been suffering psychologically. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a summary in August of 2020 outlining how communities throughout the nation have been faced with mental health challenges directly related to COVID-19. “During June 24-30, 2020, U.S. adults reported considerably elevated adverse mental health conditions associated with COVID-19. Younger adults, racial/ethnic minorities, essential workers, and unpaid adult caregivers reported having experienced discretionary worse mental health outcomes, increased substance use, and elevated suicidal ideation,” CDC reported.

With this in mind, “psychological well-being” is one of the aspects the university kept in mind while in the process of making the behavioral health clinic a reality. Collins mentioned one of the biggest hardships in getting the clinic ready was “running into delays” due to the pandemic. Plans to start seeing clients was set to begin in October 2020 originally, but delays prevented the original timeline from happening in the order it was supposed to.

The facility serves as a training site for graduate students enrolled in the WLU’s Master’s of Arts in Clinical Psychology program. Behavioral Health clinic director, Dr. Jessica Collins said, “My understanding is that Dr. Karen Kettler and Dr. Tammy McClain recognized our MACP students would need to have hands-on experience with clients while being closely supervised before moving on to a full-time internship, which they complete in their third year. They also recognized that the surrounding communities would benefit from access to affordable therapy and psychological assessment.”

According to the WLU webmaster website regarding the clinic, “The Behavioral Health Clinic is dedicated to helping all individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, physical ability, size, sexual orientation, gender orientation, relationship orientation, or socioeconomic status. We believe that all people deserve emotional and psychological support, and our aim is to provide a safe space for any individual who comes seeking our help.”

Among the services offered are intervention, psychological assessment and outreach. The clinic is not able to provide inpatient treatment, psychiatric services or forensic/court ordered services.

An uncommon piece of knowledge important for individuals to know about the behavioral health clinic is the teletherapy option for patients not able to come to campus to access therapy services. Collins explained, “Clients can visit with their Psychology Trainee using a smartphone, tablet or computer. This is a great option for those who may not be able to travel to campus or not comfortable in person sessions at this time.”

This particular clinic is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is not open at all on Friday’s. The clinic is open all year around excluding the days WLU is closed and for brief breaks at the end of each semester. Pricing for services can be found on the West Liberty University Behavioral Health Clinics website. Note, the clinic does not “accept direct assignment of Medicare, Medicaid, or other insurance benefits, nor does the Clinic bill insurance companies directly,” according to the clinic’s website.

For more information regarding the behavioral health clinic and the services offered, please email Collins at [email protected].