Posted on March 14, 2025 by Katelyn Juarez
UTSA counseling students gain vital experience at the VA.
Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans' Hospital
UTSA graduate students in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program are gaining hands-on experience across San Antonio through the South Texas Veterans Affairs’ Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) internship program. In this unique partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), aspiring mental health professionals are honing their skills by providing care and support directly to the men and women who have served our country.
Dr. Emma Mata-Galan, Chief of Psychology at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, presented Training Director Tanya Workman with the opportunity to submit a proposal to join an existing national VA program through the VA Office of Academic Affiliation (OAA). The proposal made UTSA the first affiliate university partner, creating a win-win opportunity to train aspiring counselors while building a pipeline of talented counselors to serve the veteran community. The internship program began its first training cohort in 2020.
“Our biggest goal for the program is to see our student counselors practice their counseling skills in different spaces and learn in different settings,” Workman explains. “We want to train our student counselors to provide exceptional and ethical evidence-based care to our veteran population, while training them to serve a very unique group.”
Under the supervision of licensed professional counselors like Workman, students gradually take on more responsibility with the veterans’ well-being. They begin by working more independently within the treatment setting, then progress to co-facilitation, and eventually leading their own counseling sessions.
“Our students get an abundance of training that they often don’t get at other locations,” explains Gerald Juhnke, Professor and Interim Chair of the UTSA Department of Counseling. “They learn how to effectively counsel veterans, which is a specialized skill set.”
The program’s team-based approach is crucial, not only for the student’s development, but also for maintaining the highest standard of care for veteran patients. Workman emphasizes the importance of fostering collaboration and a supportive environment where students feel safe to learn and grow. “We have to maintain trust amongst each other as a team, because we are working with people’s lives,” she says.
The stipend-based internships also give trainees a head start on their careers, with some of the program’s first cohort of students securing full-time positions at the VA after graduation.
Pivot to Passion
One of those trainees who now works at the South Texas VA is Abigail Steele ‘23. After transitioning from a career as a pastry chef, Steele pursued a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at UTSA.
The internship program provided her with invaluable training on the communication styles, computer systems, and protocols of the VA. Working collaboratively with three other interns, Steele gained hands-on experience providing individual and group therapy to veterans, to include leading a unique baking and mindfulness group. “The training program prepared me for the realities of working within the VA,” Steele says.
Steele is now a licensed professional mental health counselor associate at the South Texas VA’s Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center under the supervision of Melissa McBee, LPC-S. Steele carries a caseload of 14 veterans and facilitates nine therapy groups per week. “The VA has provided me with so many opportunities to grow and specialize in areas I’m passionate about,” Steele shared. “I count myself as very blessed that I work in this area, and I am amazed every day at the veterans that I get to work with.”
Legacy of Service
Payton Bostick ’22, who graduated with a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, also trained at the VA then was hired on full-time. As someone who grew up in a military family, she was immediately drawn to the opportunity and immediately applied to the program after attending an information session.
The internship program provided Bostick with a highly supportive experience as she created close bonds with her cohort. The program equipped her with a deep understanding of the inner workings of mental health services in the military and VA. “Ms. Workman does a really great job of laying down the foundation for different military branches, providing us with different resources within the VA and different didactics,” Bostick says. “So, I’ve honestly had a leg up on everyone else who’s coming to the VA that hasn’t had an internship.”
Transitioning to the VA following graduation was a smooth experience for Bostick. “It was really nice to know what to expect,” she says. “And it was like coming back home, because I already knew everyone and how everything was handled at the VA.”
The trainees not only gain valuable experience but also contribute to improving mental health services, whether they remain at the VA or move into the broader community. As the need for quality mental health support continues to grow among the veteran community, programs like this at UTSA are stepping up to meet the challenge head-on.
— Katelyn Juarez
