The ASU Counselor Training Center prepares future counselors, provides affordable and confidential counseling services to the community and supports research.
As mental health needs among college students grow, the CTC is addressing the high demand for counseling through its new assessment clinic and bilingual counseling services at the Polytechnic campus.
The CTC, run through the School of Counseling and Counseling Psychology at the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, pairs graduate students in supervised clinical training with community members and students seeking counseling.
Jamie Bludworth, director of the CTC and master's training, said the center's mission is to give graduate students hands-on clinical experience before entering the workforce and to help make mental health care more accessible to people who need it and can't afford it.
"We want to provide the services, and we want to be available to folks before they reach the levels of crisis or emergency," Bludworth said. "It's never too early to ask for help."
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The first CTC clinic started in 1956 on the Tempe campus, and earlier this year it opened a new clinic on the Polytechnic campus, where it offers in-person psychological assessments, including ADHD and learning disorder evaluations for ASU students and the broader community over the age of 8.
This semester, the center added autism spectrum assessments and bilingual general counseling services in Spanish. The bilingual counseling services are available both in person and via telehealth.
While neurological testing can cost $750 to $3,500 according to Mental Health Center of America, the CTC charges between $400 and $600.
The center isn't making a profit, Blundworth said, adding that the fees students pay largely cover the cost of the assessment materials themselves.
"We are fortunate to be able to provide these services for the cost of the measures themselves," Bludworth said.
The funds to start the program came from the school and college, and the program pursues grants and other sources of funding to continue to offer such robust services, Blundworth said.
CTC provides an opportunity for graduate students working toward licensure to practice under the supervision of a licensed faculty member.
Sessions are recorded, and the footage is stored on a secure, offline server housed at the clinic and deleted at the end of each semester. These recordings are used to help supervisors and students review sessions for training purposes.
Sophie Heywood, a graduate student in her second year of clinical training at the CTC, said the supervisors' oversight helps address any concerns clients might have about being treated by a student close in age.
"We're not put into practicum until we've reached a standard that our supervisor really thinks is appropriate to be working in the community," Heywood said.
She said being closer in age to clients can actually be a strength, offering a "level of solidarity around the experience."
The CTC pairs clients with a single counselor for a full 12- to 15-week semester.
At the CTC, when a counselor's practicum ends, clients are either referred elsewhere or placed on a waitlist to be matched with a new counselor for the following semester.
"We do our best to keep people in the fold and make sure that they're always connected with services, even if it can't be with the same counselor for an indefinite period of time," Heywood said.
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For graduate students beginning the clinical program, the transition isn't always easy. Paige Hartman, a second-year graduate student, said she battled imposter syndrome early on, despite having studied counseling and applied psychological science as an undergraduate at the Poly campus.
"I did have a moment of, 'Am I gonna be good at this?'" Hartman said, "But once I was face-to-face with my clients, I just focused on them, and that really helped."
Looking ahead, Bludworth said the CTC hopes to open another clinic location at the Downtown Phoenix campus within the next six to eight months.
"Our students are fantastic, and they provide really amazing service," Bludworth said. "They are so committed to doing the best job they possibly can, and our supervisors are there to assist them and to give them the best training possible."
Edited by Andi Ruiz, Emilio Alvarado, Kate Gore and Sophia Keeling.
Reach the reporter at swang496@asu.edu.
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Quinn is currently a first-year Barrett student studying Business Data Analytics & Supply Chain Management with a minor in fashion. She is the Professional Development Intern for ASU's DECA Chapter and a part of Phi Alpha Delta in addition to being a politics reporter at the State Press.
