WASHINGTON — For his commitment to providing behavioral health care in underserved rural areas of western Virginia, James L. Werth Jr., PhD, has been chosen as the 2016 recipient of the Excellence in Rural Psychology Award.
“Werth demonstrates a long dedication to addressing the needs of underserved rural populations,” said Iva Greywolf, PhD, chair of the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Rural Health, which established the award last year. “His involvement in supporting the APA Journal of Rural Mental Health® since its inception should be commended, along with the innovative internship model he helped to create between Stone Mountain Health Services and Radford University and East Tennessee State University to benefit rural populations.”
The award was established to recognize exemplary work in rural and remote behavioral health care and efforts to keep this field at the forefront of psychological advocacy, research, education and practice.
In 2007, Werth became the founding director of Radford University’s PsyD program in counseling psychology with an emphasis on rural mental health. In this role, Werth emphasized cultural diversity, evidence-based practice and social justice in providing care to rural residents and contributing to scholarship on rural topics. The program received the Virginia Rural Health Association’s Best Practices in Rural Health Award in 2012.
In 2013, Werth became the behavioral health and wellness services director for Stone Mountain Health Services, a federally qualified health center with 11 clinics across seven of the westernmost counties of Virginia in a region designated as a mental health professional shortage area. Werth and colleagues established an innovative psychology and social work internship program, and the organization's behavioral health staff grew from two social workers to more than 14 mental health professionals, including psychologists, social workers, interns and psychiatric nurse practitioners.
Werth has been an advocate for the profession of psychology, serving as the Virginia Psychological Association’s rural health coordinator from 2009 to 2014. He was the 2010 chair of the APA Committee on Rural Health, and currently serves as the vice chair of the Virginia Board of Psychology.
The award will be presented to Werth on Aug. 5 at the APA Annual Convention in Denver.
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes more than 117,500 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.