Megan Lawhon, PsyD, LP, received the American Psychological Association’s 2024 Excellence in Rural Psychology Award in recognition of her significant involvement in legislative advocacy for rural mental health care and her contributions to enhancing psychological services in rural Nebraska. She has been instrumental in expanding support for rural providers in Nebraska and her work reaches into West Virginia and the Appalachian region of Southern Ohio.
In her current role as training faculty within the High Plains Psychology Internship Consortium (HPPIC) at Options in Psychology, Lawhon provides individual and group supervision to HPPIC predoctoral interns who benefit from her rural skillset. Her work has contributed to the retention of interns who move into post-doctoral positions in rural-facing positions.
Lawhon’s legislative advocacy contributed to the allocation of $25 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for the recruitment and retention of behavioral health providers in the state of Nebraska. The clinic at which she works was able to secure over $750,000 in grant funding that supports the recruitment and training of doctoral psychology interns in rural communities. She continues to work with Nebraska Psychological Association legislative action groups to push for the expansion of rural psychological services throughout Nebraska.
Lawhon shared, “I am a first-generation college student from a blue-collar family in Appalachia, so I am long familiar with the struggles facing rural populations.” She went on to say, “I specifically sought a rural [predoctoral] internship program [and] it was during my internship year that I became passionate about advocacy.” One of her colleagues added, “Dr. Lawhon has shown an unswerving focus on obtaining the best training and breath of experience in providing a range of behavioral health services and advocacy for underserved rural residents of all ages.”
Lawhon is currently working to obtain prescriptive privileges so that she will be able to further expand the range of services she provides to rural communities. She finds her role as a mentor and supervisor incredibly fulfilling and she is deeply invested in creating pipelines of rural-focused psychologists into the workforce. As one of her colleagues shared, “[Her] range of exemplary and effective commitment and diligence to rural psychology practice” is commendable and is sure to make an enduring impact on the field.
The APA Excellence in Rural Psychology Award is presented annually to an individual who demonstrates outstanding service to rural and remote populations and who exemplifies the importance of psychological advocacy, research, education and practice in these regions. The award was presented to Lawhon at the APA Annual Convention in Seattle, Washington.