WASHINGTON — Lahoma Schultz, PhD, a Native American currently serving as the supervising clinical psychologist in a rural clinic in Clinton, Oklahoma, has been awarded the 2018 Excellence in Rural Psychology Award from the American Psychological Association in recognition of her commitment to providing integrated health services to a large population of Native American tribes in Western Oklahoma. The clinic is funded by Indian Health Service (IHS) and is about 1.5 hours west of Oklahoma City. Schultz provides supervision for all mental health providers and has taken a leadership role in integrating behavioral health services available to the native American population in this rural setting.
"Within a short period of time after her hiring, [Dr. Schultz] had recruited a highly qualified Native clinician to provide primary care services in the adult area of the clinic, a highly qualified Native social worker to provide primary care at the El Reno, Oklahoma IHS Clinic, as well as making home and school visits seeing individual patients herself. Dr Schultz’s efforts have resulted in increasing the number of Native Americans seen in the Clinton IHS clinic" said Diane J. Willis, PhD, Professor Emeritus, University of Oklahoma.
"Dr. Schultz has made significant contributions to the implementation of mental health services to the underserved, rural populations" said Barbara L. Bonner, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Center of Child Abuse and Neglect from the University of Oklahoma.
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 psychological advocacy, research, education and practice in these regions. The award will be presented to Schultz on Aug. 10 at the APA Annual Convention in San Francisco, California.