National Health Services Corp (NHSC) is the loan repayment program offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that provides $50,000 to counselors, psychologists, and other health professionals to work in Health Professional Shortage Areas.  In exchange for a two-year commitment to work in an underserved area, participants receive up to $50,000 toward the repayment of their educational loans and expenses.  This loan repayment benefit is in addition to the salary and benefits participants receive from their employment at the underserved community sites.
 
Congratulations to all the Adler School Alumni who were selected to be in the Loan Repayment Program.  Below are stories from four of our heroes of the NHSC Loan Repayment Program: 

Cara Bainum

Cara Bainum (Doctorate in Clinical Psychology 2004) was working as a medical social worker when she entered the Psy.D. program at Adler School.  Cara had a passion for neuropsychology and found that there is a great shortage of professionals in psychology.  She decided to pursue her education in psychology and simultaneously started the Living Hope Counseling Center.  After obtaining her doctorate degree, she applied for the Loan Repayment Program with the NHSC to get her site Living Hope Counseling Center approved.  She said, "I wanted to receive credit for working in an underserved area."  Cara provides psychological services for the deaf.  Some of her clients drive an hour plus to see her because there are very few professionals in the field who are proficient in sign language.  Cara said, "It is humorous to me that basically I applied so that I could hire myself into my agency in order to be approved.  It worked and when I went to the mandatory training in October 2008 I met several other professionals who had done the very same thing!" 

Angela Flintoft                                                                                          

Angela Flintoft (Masters of Arts in Counseling Psychology 2005) is currently an Aftercare Therapist and Crisis Therapist at Pillars in Oak Park, IL.  She is enjoying her position and says, "my work continues to challenge me professionally and to strengthen my clinical abilities."   Angela decided to apply for the NHSC program at the same site she was employed so she can continue the work she is doing and get her loans paid off.   Angela said, "when a client is in a true crisis situation, there is no greater fulfillment than to be able to help someone who is in need of support when everything around them is crashing down." 

Angela's future goals include working with the federal government as part of a crisis response team that assists people and cities with major catastrophes.  She also plans to open a wellness center to offer holistic support and treatment for those suffering from loss and grief.  Angela says that "Adler School was able to provide me with extensive tools and material to do a thorough assessment of ones life in order to help clients with their current needs and problem areas." 

Paulette Eason

Paulette Eason founded Heuristic Quest Foundation after getting her Masters in Counseling and Organizational Psychology from Adler School of Professional Psychology in 2001.  The sole proprietor of the Foundation, Paulette provides mental health care for outpatient clients.  NHSC community site eligibility criteria include sites that are located in underserved areas, that are providing services to marginalized and underserved populations, and that offer services on a sliding scale basis.  Paulette was able to get her site approved and hire herself for the loan repayment program.      

Paulette also works at the Centers for New Horizons Organization as an in-home counselor for DCFS clients.  Her career objectives have always been to "…help others to do whatever is necessary to move toward positive self-development.  It is so important for a person to have a happy, positive, self-directed life that my goal is to assist in anyway I can to make this happen, especially by helping my own community."

Paulette wants to conduct "groups of interest" to assist teenagers, parents, families and individuals with prominent mental health issues.   What she liked most about Adler School was "its focus on cooperation, social interest and individuality.  The program I participated in was tailor made to my studies, needs, and time constraints as though it had been designed specifically for me."

Mat McFadden
 
Mat McFadden (Doctoral in Clinical Psychology 2004) was working at Outreach Therapist at Little Friends in Naperville, IL when he learned about the loan repayment program.  He worked with the families of children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral and developmental disorders who attended Krejci Academy and the Mansion High School.   He realized that he loved working in underserved communities and decided to apply for the loan repayment program. 

Mat was accepted into the program and relocated his family to the New Mexico are to work at Presbyterian Medical Services in Gallup/Thoreau.  He says, "while I moved 1500 miles from Chicago to help pay back my student loans, I don't think that I've ever enjoyed my work more.  There are a wide variety of medical and psychological problems to contend with.  Cultural differences both challenged and excited me at the same time.  I am learning tons and tons, both clinically and culturally daily."