As a beacon in the community, our Counseling Center provides affordable, welcoming, and affirming mental health services to the often marginalized populations of the broader Indianapolis community. With a diverse staff, the Counseling Center welcomes all — regardless of their ability to pay and with no boundaries for race, gender, sexual orientation, or faith background. What began almost 60 years ago as a center for student training has grown into more than 11,000 annual counseling sessions for residents of central Indiana.
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CTS plays a crucial role in workforce development. According to a recent study by the Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research & Policy at Indiana University titled “Playbook for Enhancing Indiana’s Mental and Behavioral Health Workforce,” workforce shortages are among the many complex factors contributing to the burden of untreated mental illness here in Indiana. By preparing graduates with the advanced education and supervised clinical experience required for professional licensure in Indiana, CTS is helping build the next generation of mental health professionals and addressing one of our state's most pressing workforce needs.
With your help, we can significantly expand our reach and impact, better address trauma-related mental health issues, and enhance our healing spaces and technological tools so we can meet today’s mental health challenges while forming compassionate, capable clinicians for the future — promoting healing and wholeness throughout creation.
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Healing and wholeness are essential to the flourishing of individuals, families, and communities. Yet today, rising rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, and isolation—combined with a critical shortage of mental health professionals—leave too many people without access to the care they need.
In order to train the next generation of mental health counselors, CTS has created an integrated model that strengthens both the mental health workforce and access to care. Through the School of Counseling and the CTS Counseling Center, we prepare the next generation of licensed counselors and marriage and family therapists by combining rigorous graduate education with extensive supervised clinical experience. At the same time, the CTS Counseling Center is expanding access to affordable, high-quality mental health care throughout central Indiana. Each year, our clinicians and trainees provide more than 11,000 counseling sessions for children, adults, couples, and families. Rooted in our commitment to hospitality, dignity, and healing, we welcome people of all backgrounds and offer services on a sliding fee scale so that cost is never a barrier to receiving care. By preparing compassionate clinicians while expanding access to care, CTS is advancing healing and wholeness in individuals, families, congregations, and communities throughout Indiana. And we’re ready to do more.
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Your investment strengthens both access to care and the counselors who provide it, helping ensure that cost is not a barrier for individuals and families seeking counseling. It also equips our interns and residents with the technology, clinical resources, and support systems they need to deliver exceptional care, and to expand our reach to build community partnerships and increase awareness of our services. Together, we are preparing the next generation of mental health professionals while expanding access to healing and hope for individuals, families, and communities across Indiana.
By adding a dedicated Outreach Coordinator, we'll be able to make more connections with healthcare providers and build a referral pipeline that can help get individuals in need connected with our services.
Additional support will allow us to add affiliate faculty with expertise in trauma, strengthening the specialized training and clinical preparation available to counseling students.
Your support will enable us to update our counseling spaces with furnishings, acoustics, technology, and new layouts to enhance privacy, accessibility, and therapeutic effectiveness, while also supporting instructional use and supervision to meet the demands of a contemporary clinical practice.
By expanding subsidy support for clients with limited financial resources (often those experiencing poverty, trauma, discrimination, or instability), we will be able to ensure they can receive consistent, high-quality mental health care without interruption.
The mental health crisis is real — but so is the hope. Your gift supports the Counseling Center's mission to provide affordable, compassionate, stigma-free mental health care to everyone who needs it. Every gift helps us open more doors, reach more people, and bring more healing and wholeness to our community.
