Guidance counselors to use scholarships for masters degree programs, online courses

Guidance counselors to use scholarships for masters degree programs, online courses

The Northern Arizona Regional Behavior Health Authority (NARBHA) has announced the beneficiaries of its Community Reinvestment program, which awards scholarships to behavior health professionals seeking to further their education through classroom-based or online degree programs, the Daily Courier Reports.

Awards ranging from $2,000 to $6,000 were given to professionals preparing to take a national licensing test in April, which will certify them as associate counselors.

Winners will use the funds to take online courses or complete masters degree programs in counseling.

Through such programs and associations with clinics across northern Arizona, NARBHA seeks to plan, implement, fund, monitor and administer publicly funded behavioral health services, according to the authority's website.

To apply, more than 300 eligible professionals wrote essays, submitted college transcripts and provided letters of recommendation.

Among the awardees were five workers at the Prescott-based West Yavapi Guidance Clinic, which employed the most recipients of NARBHA funding of any institution in the organization's jurisdiction this year.

Laura Norman, the clinic's director of development and communication, said the organization's aid is an "invest[ment]…in staff development" in the behavioral health industry.