Mental health grad assistant program starts

Two University of North Georgia (UNG) students in the Master of Science in counseling program are serving as mental health graduate assistants for the Athletic Department, and one is serving in the same capacity for the Corps of Cadets.

The program piloted in 2024-25 with Athletics before expanding to the Corps this fall. Student-athletes and cadets can set up 30-minute mental health check-ins with these graduate assistants, which offers a lower-pressure opportunity for help than a traditional counseling setting. If the student-athletes or cadets are facing a more serious situation, the counseling students can refer them to the people who can assist them in that moment.

Holly Adams, clinical director of the UNG Community Counseling Clinic, worked to create connections across campus to get the effort moving.

"Not only are we supporting the development of our counseling students. We are supporting students at the university as a whole," Adams said.

Dr. Christopher Pisarik, Counseling Department head, has been impressed with how student-athletes have embraced the program in the past 15 months.

"It's culture-changing," Pisarik said. "It's not a weakness. It is strengthening them and will make them better performers as athletes. It's a paradigm shift."

Brooke Parker, a third-year student on the clinical mental health counseling track, is a former student-athlete herself and was president of the Mississippi State University Swim Club in her undergraduate days. The Canton, Georgia, native draws on that experience as she offers support to Nighthawk student-athletes for a second academic year in a row.

"We're trying to create this community where they know where they can get help and no one is going to judge them for that," Parker said.

Jaimie Tarleton, a second-year student on the college counseling and student affairs track, is a former Georgia Gwinnett College volleyball player. The Calhoun, Georgia, native is in her first year as a mental health graduate assistant.

"This experience is so monumental in my development. There's no way to get better at practicing your skills than jumping in and doing it," Tarleton said. "I see the student-athletes grow because of the work we are doing, and that's the most rewarding experience. It really validates that this is where I want to be."

Samantha Shiver is in her second year in the master's program after earning a bachelor's degree in psychology from UNG. The Lawrenceville, Georgia, native is grateful to provide an outlet for cadets.

"They're dealing with life, and they're having to deal with it in a more structured and intense environment," Shiver said. "It's good to have a space where they can talk about it."

Pisarik and Adams said the support of the leadership of the College of Health & Wellness, Institute for Peak Performance, Student Counseling, Corps of Cadets, and Athletic Department have been instrumental in getting the mental health graduate assistant program off the ground.