Rooted Together for Ohio
Scaling a Collaborative Counseling and Couple and Family Therapy (CFT) Pipeline to Serve Ohio’s Vulnerable Populations
Apply for autumn 2027 and get one free year of tuition.
The clinical mental health and addictions programs and the Couple and Family Therapy (CFT) programs have united to obtain a scholarship from Ohio Behavioral Health to support their students. This initiative will create a pipeline of mental health specialists to serve Ohio’s most vulnerable populations.
Become a Behavioral Health Leader in Ohio
Prepare for a career that makes a difference while reducing the cost of your graduate education.
Applicants can pursue admission to the following mental health programs who are offering the scholarships:
- Clinical Mental Health Counseling
- Clinical Mental Health/Addictions Counseling
- Couples and Family Therapy
The Ohio Behavioral Health Scholarship (OBHS) supports future behavioral health professionals committed to serving Ohio communities.
- Eligible Ohio State graduate students who began their degrees in autumn 2026 may receive up to $15,000 annually for up to two years.
- Eligible Ohio State graduate students who begin their degrees in autumn 2027 may receive up to $15,000 annually for their first year.
By participating in the program, students commit to working in an eligible underserved Ohio community after graduation, helping expand access to critical mental health and substance use treatment services throughout the state.
Explore how the mental health programs listed above at The Ohio State University can help you advance your education, support Ohio communities and build a meaningful behavioral health career.
Eligibility Requirements
Students must opt-in to the program and meet all inclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria include:
- Be a current resident of Ohio
- Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Be enrolled at least half-time in the counselor education program in the clinical mental health concentration or the couple and family therapy program.
- Maintain satisfactory academic progress.
- Agree to work in an underserved community in Ohio post-graduation.
- Work in that area for a time equal to the number of funded years (e.g. if there was one year of tuition reimbursement, that student will need to work for a year in that area post-graduation)
- Must work at least 20 hours per week.
An additional perk is the Ohio Behavioral Health Internship Stipend Initiative.
The Ohio Behavioral Health is working through Health Impact Ohio to provide eligible students from the three mental health programs listed above a one-time internship stipend of up to $4000.
More information will be provided upon admission to the respective program.
Eligible Programs
MA Counselor Education
Clinical Mental Health Counseling-Addictions Concentration
Student voices
As mental health professionals, we emphasize self-care and wellness, but it is really hard to maintain that as counselors if we have to pull ourselves in a million directions as grad students. This scholarship will allow students to do the work they want to do in the program.
I am specifically interested in working with families who have been impacted by violence or substance use to determine ways to utilize strengths and be as trauma informed as possible. With this scholarship, I can focus on giving my all to my clients.
I am interested in serving incarcerated people. I am passionate about being involved in the prison system and finding justice by any means. This scholarship provides me the support to reach the demographic I want to serve.
My main interest is in working with families and couples that are experiencing the past and current effects of incarceration. This scholarship made me feel seen. I can go to school and continue to do what I love.
My big goal is to work with foster children and develop their fundamental assets. I am from Marietta, which is an underserved area, and it would mean a lot to me to give back to my hometown. This scholarship allows me to focus on being a student.
Having the financial weight lifted off my shoulders allows me to focus on my education and becoming the best therapist that I can be.
Faculty spotlights
During your master’s program, you will work with many of the following experts.
Couple and Family Therapy core faculty
Expert in: Systemic couple, marriage and family interventions
Course example: Trauma-informed Therapy
Provides: Foundational pre-practicum supervision for small groups; supervises 8:1 tracks of students
Expert in: Systemic family therapies, specializing in minority youth and underserved family ecosystems
Course example: Master’s theses research
Provides: Advanced autumn practicum supervision for second-year scholars and advanced systemic clinical case oversight
Expert in: Attachment and emotion processes in families, fatherhood and masculinity
Provides: program administration, course instruction, practicum supervision
Clinical Mental Health Counseling core faculty
Expert in: Hope and Belonging, intervention and evaluation, school counseling
Provides: grant operations management; admissions oversight and synchronization of counseling curriculum delivery
Expert in: Substance use disorder rehabilitation, trauma, mood disorders, mental health advocacy and mental health issues for Black men. Licensed clinical mental health counselor
Provides: Coordination of field placements for students in the addictions concentration.
Expert in: Interdisciplinary collaboration within P-K-12 education systems, youth mental health, chronic illness treatment, integrated care models, school counselor preparation
Provides: Coordination of field placements for students in the School Counseling concentration
Expert in: Suicide prevention and intervention. Mental health stigma reduction, Mental health advocacy, cognitive complexity, campus wide mental health
Provides: Doctoral preparation and department doctoral pro seminar
Expert in: Wellness counseling, Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) Lab creation and implementation, stress management, public health and stress management
Provides: Coordination of Ohio State's SMART lab
Expert in: Counselor preparation, especially related to ethical, culturally responsive and trauma-informed counseling services. Brings a global perspective to community mental health.
Provides: Primary instructor for four courses per semester
Expert in: National expert in trauma, substance use and providing mental health services to vulnerable populations. Recently received the Distinguished Service Award, Association for Adult Development and Aging.
Course example: Diagnosis of Mental and Emotional Disorders
Provides: Student field placements
Related news
Scholarship funded by Ohio government aims to build a strong workforce to improve Ohioans’ mental health