Inside Education and Health Sciences

The ECHO program at the University of Dayton provides mental health services to children in Dayton and Cincinnati Catholic schools. In 2022, as the school year came to a close, many families that utilize ECHO's services inquired about sessions for their children over the summer. 

Unfortunately, the program followed an academic calendar and the therapists were not contracted to work when school was not in session. Any progress that the children had made during the school year would have to be picked up again in August.

This led Rhonda Mercs, director of the ECHO program, to reach out to the clinical mental health counseling program in UD's Department of Counselor Education and Human Services. Clinical mental health counseling graduate students needed opportunities for practicum and internship experience, and ECHO was looking for therapists to work with kids over the summer. That first summer, two UD interns were hired to work for ECHO.

"The option of summer counseling allows for continuity of care," Mercs said. "The children have the opportunity to speak to a therapist if they are having a difficult time over the summer. I see ECHO as a community outreach for UD so this allows the graduate students to see the impact of their work in the community as well."

The process is repeating again this summer with counseling interns offering mental health services to more than 40 school children from regional Catholic schools.