FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009
Contact:
Dave Wellman, Director
of Communications,
304-696-7153
Starlight Behavioral Health
owners donate space
for MU Department of
Psychology’s clinical
services
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall University’s Department of Psychology is expanding its clinical services off campus, thanks to the generosity of MU graduates Amy and Jack Ingles, owners of Starlight Behavioral Health in Huntington.
The Ingles have given the Marshall Department of Psychology about 3,000 square feet of office space at Starlight, rent free. In addition, they supplied office furniture and telephones.
“The generosity of the Ingles is extremely important to us because our psychology graduate programs have grown quickly and are now larger than our on-campus facilities can accommodate,” said Dr. David J. Pittenger, dean of Marshall’s College of Liberal Arts. “The new space will mean that we can give our students a better work environment in which to develop their clinical skills.”
Dr. Pamela Mulder, a professor of psychology at Marshall, said the new clinic in Huntington will allow the department to have greater contact with the community and give students a larger setting in which to practice clinical psychology.
“This clinic will help us to provide services for underserved clients, to provide services for some clients more quickly than they are currently able to access given the existing options, and also to meet the needs of clients who want an alternative to services that are currently available,” Mulder said.
The primary mission of Marshall University’s Psy.D. (Doctor of Psychology) program is to train students to become clinical psychologists, who will then be able to serve people living in rural areas where mental health services are not readily available.
At the new clinic, the department will offer many psychological services on a sliding fee scale that should be within reach of anyone in need. When necessary, some individuals will receive services at no cost.
The Marshall Department of Psychology maintains and will continue to maintain the clinic in Harris Hall on the Huntington campus. The department plans to have at least three students at the new clinic at all times and six overall.
Amy (Searls) Ingles received her bachelor’s degree in communication disorders in 1998. Jack Ingles received a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1987, a master’s in journalism in 1990, and a master’s in clinical psychology in 2000.
Jack Ingles spent several years in the Army in Iraq before opening Starlight. During that time, he maintained close ties with Mulder.
Starlight Behavioral Health is a private corporation of around 250 employees that provides a broad range of behavioral and mental health services to individuals who have mental retardation, developmental disabilities and/or mental illness issues in the Huntington region.
The Department of Psychology’s Psy.D. program is accredited by the American Psychological Association. Students who complete the degree are eligible to practice psychology in all 50 states.
For more information, contact Mulder at (304) 696-2770.
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Cutline info for attached photo:
Photo by Rick Haye/Marshall University
