DEMING – Western New Mexico University is expanding its telemental health training and services in an effort to improve access to counseling in rural and underserved areas of New Mexico.
The university said the effort is designed to reduce long travel times and other barriers that have historically made it difficult for residents in rural communities to access professional mental health care.
The expansion is centered in WNMU’s Department of Counseling, led by Assistant Professor William Lane. The department offers four tracks through its 60-credit, fully online Master of Counseling degree. Those tracks include clinical mental health counseling, clinical rehabilitation counseling, school counseling and addiction counseling.
University officials said the clinical mental health counseling track prepares students to manage complex cases, including trauma and depression, through encrypted online platforms. The clinical rehabilitation counseling track prepares graduates to work with individuals with disabilities.
The school counseling track focuses on virtual crisis intervention and social-emotional learning, especially for rural K-12 school communities. The addiction counseling track trains specialists to provide consistent, long-term support for people in recovery who may not have local access to care.
Lane said integrating telemental health into the core curriculum helps remove geographic boundaries that have limited mental health access across New Mexico.
He said the goal is to make sure a person’s zip code no longer determines the quality of counseling they receive.
The university said the remote-first approach is intended to train professionals within the communities they serve. Graduates are trained in telemental health skills, remote client care technology and the ethical and practical demands of digital counseling.
WNMU has also partnered with TimelyCare to provide telehealth benefits directly to students. The service gives students access to 24/7 support, including on-demand counseling through Talk Now sessions. The university said the platform is especially important for remote students who cannot physically visit the Silver City campus counseling center.
Lane said the program is not just teaching students how to use a webcam, but how to build meaningful therapeutic relationships through a digital setting.
University officials said the long-term goal is to help address the shortage of counseling professionals in rural and frontier areas by preparing a workforce comfortable with the tools needed to serve isolated populations.
WNMU said the initiative also represents an investment in New Mexico’s healthcare infrastructure by developing a homegrown workforce familiar with the cultural and regional needs of the state.
By John Krehbiel – Bravo Mic Communications – john@bravomic.com
Learn more about telemental health and other WNMU offerings.
