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Agreement with Mississippi College boosts Jackson VA Center’s counseling capacity

A new agreement between the Department of Counseling at Mississippi College and the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center in Jackson will allow qualified students at the É«ÖÐÉ« University to gain clinical experience by providing counseling services to veteran patients at the facility.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions developed a mutually beneficial arrangement by establishing the Jackson VA as a “placement site” for MC counseling students.

“This initiative provides a great opportunity for our students to serve veterans in a meaningful way right here in Mississippi,” said Keith Randazzo, MC assistant provost for academic innovation.

According to the agreement, MC will send students in the clinical training portion of the University’s counseling program to the VA to help provide counseling services directly to veterans.

“These students have been in the program for a little over a year, and they’ve already taken the core courses,” said Kayla Acklin, MC assistant professor and chair of counseling. “Once they move into the clinical sequence of the program, they begin to see clients and provide counseling services.

“That’s what they’ll be doing at the VA Center.”

MC counseling students are required to accrue a certain number of hours for their clinical training. Acklin said this agreement with the VA Center will help them meet their requirement.

“When they go to the VA, our students will be providing mental health counseling services to VA clients under a VA supervisor,” she said. “A faculty supervisor will also be overseeing their work. They’ll be operating as if they are counselors – they’ll help write treatment plans and case notes and assist with case management.

“Everything they do will be under very close supervision.”

She said the Department of Counseling at MC has similar affiliation agreements with other institutions, including Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield and Brentwood Behavioral Healthcare in Flowood. This is the department’s first affiliation with the VA Medical Center.

Acklin said the agreement will help the VA expand its counseling service capacity for its patients.

“By having our students there, the VA will have more counselors available for veterans,” she said. “The veterans won’t have to wait as long for an appointment and will be able to see a mental health practitioner much more quickly.”

Supervisors at the VA Center will assign caseloads to students, who will be expected to carry them for a full year. The students will participate in the treatment of clients from a variety of demographics and diagnoses. MC plans to begin sending fully trained counseling students to the VA Center this fall.

“We’re excited about this arrangement,” Acklin said. “It’s a good mission fit for our University.”