Utah Tech adds clinical psychology, counseling master's in effort to expand mental health access
by Logan Stefanich ksl · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- Utah Tech University will offer a master's in clinical psychology and counseling starting fall 2027.
- The program aims to address Utah's mental health professional shortage, especially in rural areas.
- Students will gain hands-on experience at Utah Tech's Mental Health Community Clinic, among a host of other educational pathways.
ST. GEORGE — Utah consistently ranks in the top 15 states for highest annual suicide rates among adults and youth, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, underscoring the need for mental health networks throughout the state.
The issue is amplified in the state's less populated reaches, as suicides in rural areas have remained substantially higher than in urban areas across the past two decades.
"Rural Utah definitely has a need for more mental health care," Lisa Scott, an assistant psychology professor at Utah Tech University, told KSL. "Utah, in general, has a shortage of mental health care professionals."
To help address this need, Utah Tech University on Tuesday announced it received approval to offer a counseling and clinical psychology master's program, starting in fall 2027.
The program will prepare graduates to pursue professional licensure and careers, providing psychotherapy and other mental health services to help address the need for highly trained professionals in Utah.
"A lot of folks want to become therapists down in our area and don't have a ton of options, and a lot of people get training online, and we're just really excited to offer an in-person program as another option for people," Scott, who will also direct the program, said.
Scott added that Utah Tech's psychology program is one of the university's most popular majors and when surveyed, around 90% of the university's psychology students indicated they'd have interest in a master's program, paving the way for its addition.
Natalie Noel, another assistant psychology professor at Utah Tech, said the state has put a strong emphasis on training mental health professionals, and the master's program was a way for the university to answer that call.
"I think every one of us knows someone who has been impacted by a mental health crisis or a mental health issue. A lot of people, when that happens to them, they don't know where to go to get treatment or who to reach out to, and I hear all the time from people that they're looking for someone that they feel comfortable with, or they feel like they're a good fit with," Noel said. "I think it's important to have access to a variety of different professionals."
The school's new graduate program also comes at a significant time for the profession, with the American Psychological Association recently expanding accreditation to master's-level programs in clinical, counseling and school psychology, creating a new national pathway for professional psychology training.
Utah Tech intends to pursue American Psychological Association accreditation as the program becomes eligible, said a release from the university. Currently, only six master's programs nationwide hold American Psychological Association accreditation.
While the program will look to improve mental health services across Utah and beyond in the long term, it will also serve as an immediate resource for the Utah Tech and St. George community through the Utah Tech Mental Health Community Clinic.
The clinic will allow students to provide "closely supervised" care to community members.
"That clinic will be open to the broader community. It will be extremely affordable care and quality care because of that close supervision element," Scott said.
Beyond the hands-on experience gained through the community clinic, students will receive broad training in counseling, diagnosis, ethics, supervision, and cultural responsiveness, according to the university. Additionally, students will examine the responsible use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies in mental health care and complete focused coursework in a specialty area of their choice: aging and grief, spirituality and religion, or trauma.
"It just really excites me to be able to train the next generation of therapists to be able to be one of those human contacts in people's lives, one of those face-to-face interactions when people are suffering," Scott said.
Scott and Noel said that the inaugural cohort will have 18 spots for 2027 and hope to have more information for prospective applicants in a few weeks.
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