UH Hilo receives $1.6M to train mental health, substance abuse counselors
The funding will create a new certified substance abuse counselor track to accommodate up to 30 students each year within UH Hilo’s master of arts in counseling psychology program.
To help curb Hawai‘i’s ballooning demand for mental health services and substance abuse treatment, the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo will receive a total of $1.68 million over the next five years. The funding will create a new certified substance abuse counselor (CSAC) track to accommodate up to 30 students each year within UH Hilo’s master of arts in counseling psychology program.
“The COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in mental health problems,” says Charmaine Higa-McMillan, director of UH Hilo’s counseling psychology program. “According to the National Institutes of Health, 50 percent of Americans in 2021 reported having anxiety or depressive symptoms and 10 percent stated that their mental health needs were not being met. The need for mental health services in the County of Hawai‘i and across the state has increased significantly due to the opioid abuse epidemic.”
Weight of addiction
UH Hilo received the funding award from the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division (ADAD) of the Hawai‘i Department of Health and in partnership with the County of Hawai‘i Office of the Mayor.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 50 percent of people suffering from substance addiction have a co-occurring mental health condition.
“An important benefit of adding the CSAC concentration is that students will be trained to treat both substance use disorders and mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and suicidality,” explains Bryan Kim, a UH Hilo psychology professor in the program. “In Hawai‘i, these mental health and substance use problems have posed challenges to our already strained mental health system.”
Premiere program
Established in 2005, UH Hilo’s graduate program in counseling psychology provides multicultural, student-centered training with a specialization in clinical mental health counseling. The program’s curriculum meets the requirements for licensure as a mental health counselor in Hawai‘i and is the only one of its kind in the UH System. The program is nationally accredited and is offered to students throughout the state via distance education technology. The program has graduated more than 200 mental health counselors and has a 90 percent graduation rate.
“The mental health counseling program at UH Hilo is in an ideal position to help address the rising mental health and substance abuse problems in our state,” Higa-McMillan says. “We are excited about our partnership with ADAD and the mayor’s office that will enable us to bring real and tangible benefits to our communities.”
Alumni from the UH Hilo program work in various mental health settings across the state such as the state education and health departments, and non-profit agencies including Big Island Substance Abuse Council, Care Hawaii, Child and Family Service, Hale Kipa, and in group and private practice.
The counseling psychology program is housed in the UH Hilo psychology department.
