If Nevada received a report card based on its history of providing accessible mental health care to residents — you’d see a long list of F’s. In 2022, it ranked dead last in youth and overall categories, meaning Nevada has a high prevalence for both youths and adults with mental health disorders but falls short of providing these populations with adequate services.

A report by the U.S. Department of Civil Rights Justice Division highlighted several connected factors that have added to the situation:

• A lack of providers resulting in the inability to keep community-based facilities staffed
• A lack of facilities resulting in patients, particularly youths, having to seek treatment at out-of-state facilities (a cost that Nevada still foots the bill for, according to the report)

The report also warns that if Nevada doesn’t work harder at prioritizing mental health services, it can be sued by the U.S. government under the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

In August 2022, the state allocated some of the federal funding it received from the American Rescue Plan Act toward youth mental health programs. However, there’s still a lot to sort out on the state level as to how it can sustain new programs once funding runs out, as well as provide staff for any new initiatives.

Such complex problems can't be resolved overnight, but there are glimmers of hope.

Cue UNLV PRACTICE. It both offers affordable services to the community while also serving as a training clinic for new mental health care providers.

Located on UNLV’s main campus (and a new satellite location at 801 S. Rancho Dr., Suite D2, in Las Vegas), provides reduced-fee services to the community, as well as UNLV faculty, staff, and students. Services are provided by graduate students enrolled in the programs of clinical psychology, school psychology, and clinical mental health counseling. The master's and doctoral-level students gain important professional experience while working under licensed faculty supervision.

“We offer mental and behavioral health services like individual and group psychotherapy and psychological assessment to the community at large, preschool to older adults,” explains Michelle Paul, the founding Workday Endowed executive director of UNLV PRACTICE. “People who seek our services understand that we use training methods such as video recording of sessions for review by supervisors.”

The clinic, says Paul, works closely with Student Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) as needed to expedite referrals to each other or to coordinate care. CAPS, located in the Student Wellness Center, is UNLV’s primary mental health resource for students.

“Now more than ever before, people are recognizing the importance of mental health alongside physical health,” says Paul. “However, it’s easier said than done to bring these two worlds together on behalf of the communities we serve. I encourage us all to advocate for changes that will lead to substantial investment in this concept.”

Two such advocates who have already experienced the rewards and challenges of working in the mental health care field are Katherine Feather, a licensed clinical professional counselor and an assistant professor in UNLV’s counselor education, school psychology, and human services department, and Valeria Martinez, a graduate student in UNLV's clinical mental health counseling program who’s currently interning with UNLV PRACTICE.

“I was really interested in interning at UNLV PRACTICE because it serves everyone in the community, especially those in the lower economic level,” says Martinez, a Las Vegas-native who earned her bachelor's in psychology from UNLV in 2020. “Mental health is already difficult in terms of accessibility, so I really liked that we were community-focused and community-based.”

Feather previously had Martinez in two of her classes and encouraged her to apply for the Communities in Schools (CIS) graduate assistantship, a special program provided by UNLV PRACTICE. CIS students, says Martinez, meet with their counselors through virtual appointments at times when they won't miss any important classes. The program primarily services schools in areas like Elko and Humboldt.

“Since there is a dire need for services up in the northern part of Nevada, this is how UNLV students serve the students in the K-12 school system," says Feather.

Feather supervises the clinical mental health counseling students who, like Martinez, are working to gain clinical experience by leading group and one-on-one counseling sessions. 

“When I see Valeria and the other counselors-in-training work their magic and be present with their clients,” she says, “I’m inspired by the work they do. It’s been really fulfilling.”

Both Feather and Martinez say some of the biggest challenges of working in a mental health-related field include emotional burnout, more advocacy on the behalf of mental health professionals, and a continued stigma around seeking help. 

“The stigma of mental health is still pretty prevalent not just in Nevada but everywhere, depending on the culture,” says Martinez. “Changing that stigma is a long process. As much as we’ve made progress, there’s still a lot of people who come into the PRACTICE and never thought about therapy as an option. They expected to deal with their problems on their own. So there’s a lot of advocacy and education that still needs to be done to change that stigma.”

Feather also works to recruit graduate students who reflect the demographics of the Las Vegas population.

“Las Vegas is a very diverse city,” she says. “At a program level, we need to continue to recruit diverse students who share identities of the clients they will be serving. I think that’s huge. We know how important it is for clients to have the option of a counselor who matches their own identity.” 

Even though the two are at different stages of their career, both Feather and Martinez say they are committed to turning around the state's low ranking for mental health services. 

Feather, who earned a Ph.D. in counselor and supervision, says she loved doing clinical work but has found a purpose in being able to focus on training future counselors.

After graduating with her master’s, Martinez says she wants to continue building her career.

“I’d love to have my own practice at some point,” she says, “But I really want to solidify my professional and personal identities before I do that.”

Encouragingly, she says she’d like to stay in Las Vegas after becoming a licensed provider.

“That I can help people work through all of their difficult moments is the best feeling,” says Martinez. “You feel it in your chest. It’s very warm and comforting. You can be there for that person when they can’t go anywhere else. That helped me recognize this is what I want to do.”