St. John Fisher College is receiving a boost to help students in its mental health training programs

Pittsford, New York — St. John Fisher College previously received two grants between 2017 and 2018.

According to the college announcement, on Monday it has received another grant that it says will help provide training to underrepresented students enrolled in the School of Nursing’s Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and Mental Health Counseling master’s programs.

These programs will help students train to work with people of all ages in their own communities in handling issues including substance abuse and mental illness, the college says.

“It will also place mental health practitioners in their doctors’ offices, especially for children in and people from underrepresented communities,” said Dr. Robert Rice of St. John Fisher’s Mental Health Counseling program. “So, it’s going to make mental health services much more accessible, it’s going to reduce stigma and we hope it can increase adherence to mental health services.”

The college’s previous grants were both awarded prior to COVID-19. According to Rice, the impact of the pandemic makes these programs all the more important now.

“We feel like right now is the time to make a change in terms of the landscape of how people receive mental health services, and getting mental health services in the doctor’s office in an integrated format is really where the field is going,” he said. “We believe it’s going to cause the biggest change.”

The grant was just one announcement from St. John Fisher Monday. The college also announced it earned a spot on U.S. News and World Report’s annual list of “America’s Best Colleges” for the eleventh straight year.