The University Counseling Center has hired five specialized clinicians since December to keep up with increasing demand, mirroring a more than year-long heightened focus on campus mental health.
A new clinician will work with medical and nursing students as well as students on the Virginia Science and Technology campus, according to a University release. Other clinicians will work with law students, students managing addiction and LGBT students.
The fifth clinician, Sarah Harte, will serve as an assistant director for outreach and prevention. A sixth hire, Linda Walton, is a clinical services case manager.
UCC Director Silvio Weisner said additional full-time clinicians would be added in the next academic year.
“We’ve been experiencing increased demand for clinical services and increasing staff has always been a part of our expansion plan,” Weisner said.
The center is one of three departments that saw a funding increase this year amid a campus-wide budget crunch. UCC hired three other clinicians in September, including its first permanent counselor on the Mount Vernon Campus.
The University is allocating a portion of next fall’s 3.4 percent tuition increase to fund mental health services on campus, which will cover the costs of hiring a little more than eight positions in the UCC. A University spokeswoman said in February that leftover funds could go toward additional programming for the center.
