Training Comprehensive School Mental Health Providers: Reducing Shortages in Rural and High Needs Schools

This study addresses national shortages in school-based mental health (SBMH) providers, particularly in rural and high-needs areas, by examining two innovative training models designed to expand the school psychology workforce. The Grow Your Own (GYO) program respecializes practicing educators in rural communities to become school psychologists, while the Dual-Credentialing Clinical Training (DCT) model integrates school psychology training with supervised clinical experiences, leading toward educational certification and state mental health licensure. Program evaluation data were used to assess early implementation, feasibility, and success of both programs. In the GYO program, nine educators completed training, with eight employed in rural schools one to two years post-graduation, and average supervisor ratings meeting or exceeding the program’s competency expectations across all ten domains. In the DCT program, five trainees completed internship, four earned provisional mental health licenses, two progressed to independent licensure, and four became certified school psychologists. Together, findings indicate that place-based respecialization can strengthen rural retention, while dual-credentialing can expand clinical capacity and funding flexibility, creating complementary training models to help grow the SBMH workforce. Continued scaling and evaluation may enhance access to comprehensive SBMH services for students in under-resourced settings.