Counseling psychology facilitates personal and interpersonal wellness across the lifespan. The discipline differs from other specialties in professional psychology in that it applies a greater contextual, developmental and preventative lens to mental health, said Francesca Pernice, the program director of the Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology program at Wayne State University. To do that, counseling psychologists must "understand the intersectionality between and among gender, socioeconomic status, sociopolitical climate, multicultural issues, ethnicity and race," she said, because "mental health conditions don't exist in isolation."

To illustrate this, Pernice offered up the example of the college campus experience.

Going off to college is a major transitory period in a person's life. It marks a leap from adolescence to adulthood when many are trying to figure out who they are outside their parents' homes, where they face an onslaught of new responsibilities, start developing their first serious romantic relationships, and meet people with cultures and goals different than their own.

It may come as little surprise, then, that college "is usually the time in one's life when many of our major mental health disorders manifest," she said.

"Mental health conditions don't exist in isolation."

No matter the environment, counseling psychologists aim for long-term goals and holistic treatment. They help patients tackle the root causes of everything from anxieties and substance abuse to suicidal ideation and severe mental health disorders (SMI) and are working to change how the medical community approaches and supports mental health by promoting recovery and human rights.

That's the goal of the doctoral program at WSU: "To produce leaders in the mental health field that will change the way psychiatric and mental health care is provided in the country and globally," Pernice said. "We hope to internalize in our students a sense of advocacy to promote human rights and social justice."

Inspired by the university's successful M.A. in Counseling Psychology program, the doctoral program launched in fall 2018.

"For the past several years, our master's students have experienced very high job placements and are often recruited before they graduate," she said.

While the doctoral program is still new, Pernice is confident the Ph.D. students will experience the same success.

The first doctoral cohort consisted of six students, all of whom were accepted to present at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association (APA) in August of last year. All students who began last fall have been accepted to present at this year's APA meeting and other national conferences.

Pernice attributes the program's early success to the determination of the students and their dedicated faculty mentors.

"WSU has some of the world's most talented and humblest faculty and I feel that they are committed to understanding and addressing the challenges that any large urban center has."

The students agree, many citing the faculty as the reason they enrolled in the program.

During Kim Stokes' interview for the program, faculty shared why they're committed to the field.

"I remember hearing things such as, 'a commitment to respect the humanity in all humans,' 'be a social justice advocate for underrepresented populations,' 'promote wellness over illness.' Immediately I knew this was the program for me," she said.

Stokes quit her career as an elementary school teacher to earn her Ph.D. because she realized that while she enjoyed teaching, what interested her most was her students' social-emotional development that started before they ever stepped foot inside her classroom.

Her current research focuses on how African American mothers and their children cope with racial discrimination. After completing her degree, she aspires "to normalize seeking mental health services in the Black community."

"I was getting frustrated with how we, as a society, view [the severely mentally ill] and how little research we have toward recovery."

Other students enrolled because they at one time witnessed firsthand how the system can fail patients and want to help change the status quo.

Amber Michon was inspired to pursue a Ph.D. after her time spent working at an inpatient hospital with SMI patients.

"I was getting frustrated with how we, as a society, view this population and how little research we have toward recovery."

When someone's diagnosed with a disorder, it's often all we can see, Michon said. With her degree, she hopes to disseminate recovery modalities and help implement practices that focus not on patienthood but personhood.

Carla Kevern's research on trauma, female empowerment and eating patterns is inspired by her own personal experiences.

A student of the first cohort, Kevern presented her research on social-emotional learning and support at an all-female residential treatment center at the 2019 APA conference and enjoyed it so much that she's presenting at three more conferences this year.

Liza Hinchey knew she was going to pursue a Ph.D. when she completed the M.A. in Counseling Psychology at WSU and felt her work wasn't done.

"I adore clinical work, but wanted the ability to impact the field from a research standpoint as well."

Her research focuses on recovery-oriented practices for people with SMI, which involves partnerships with psychiatrists to improve care and research metacognition.

Her career post-graduation? "No matter what else I try out, I keep coming back to academia." She wants to continue conducting research and teaching and hopes her work takes her internationally.

Pernice acknowledges that pursuing a degree in a program that's under review for APA accreditation comes with added risks, but insists the work being done here in Detroit is important.

A holistic admissions process that goes beyond traditional metrics like GRE scores "has allowed us to work with a growing community of diverse students that reflect our community and larger metro Detroit area," she said, adding that the urban environment is "collaborative, inviting, and rich with opportunities to make an impact."

The Ph.D. requires 110 hours of coursework are required for the Ph.D. and much of that involves field placements and internal clinical experiences at an on-campus clinic that recently underwent an expansion to include more training programs and services. Formerly known as The Detroit Underground, the clinic has been rebranded the Counseling and School Psychology Clinic in the College of Education and offers services to the community, students and their families.

Brandi Pritchett-Johnson, the director of clinical training for the Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology program, spearheads the training agenda for the new clinic. Pritchett-Johnson said she hopes to "change the game of mental health by leading the way for culturally adaptive teaching, supervision, community engagement and activism" and that the new programming will help put WSU's program on the map as leader in mental health best practices.