Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska

- Programs and Training Overview
- - Lifelong Learning Fund
    BHECN's Lifelong Learning fund supports educational and career engagement opportunities to help grow our state's behavioral health workforce.
  - Graduate Trainee Stipend Program
    The Graduate Trainee Stipend Program financially supports master's-level students during select advanced practicum or internship experiences.
  - Mentoring Program
    BHECN's mentorship program provides guidance and support to undergraduate and graduate-level students seeking licensed behavioral health careers in Nebraska.
  - BHECN Scholars
    The BHECN Scholars program supports undergraduate seniors who plan to pursue master’s degrees in Nebraska-based behavioral health programs.
- - Core Topics
    This accredited continuing education activity is designed for Behavioral Health providers to include psychologists, nurses, therapists, and social workers.
  - Project PEACE
    The Project PEACE Webinar Series is a series of webinars recorded by psychiatry residents on rotation with BHECN.
  - Telehealth Training
    Following the COVID-19 pandemic, day-to-day use of telehealth allows people to connect safely and effectively to mental health services no matter where they are located.
- Partnerships Overview
- Nebraska Behavioral Health Education Partnership (NEBHEP)
  BHECN partners with the 19 academic institutions to track the number of graduate-level behavioral health education students graduating and staying in Nebraska.
- Nebraska Behavioral Health Training Partnership
  BHECN establishes partnerships to create and disseminate educational materials for the development of the behavioral health workforce.
- Advisory Groups
  BHECN’s advisory groups provide input that shapes our work and help us keep up with the latest challenges and issues facing Nebraska’s behavioral health workforce.
- Research, Data & Policy Overview
- Nebraska Behavioral Health Workforce Dashboard
  The dashboard helps policy makers, employers, and behavioral health care stakeholders understand the state of the behavioral health workforce.
- Legislative Reports
  BHECN's biennial legislative reports examine the characteristics of actively practicing behavioral health providers in Nebraska.
- Nebraska Behavioral Health Policy Forum
  This forum discussed how investments in BHECN are being used to recruit, train, and retain behavioral health and rural healthcare providers across Nebraska.
- ARPA
  Access information related BHECN’s allocation of $25.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to Nebraska behavioral health providers.
- BHECN's Published Research
  See a listing of BHECN's published research.
- BHECN Sites Overview
- BHECN Panhandle
  Our BHECN Panhandle site supports our mission of recruitment and retention of behavioral health professionals in Western Nebraska.
- BHECN Central
  BHECN Central is a remote site for training and workforce development at the University of Nebraska Kearney that serves the central part of the state.
- BHECN Northeast
  BHECN Northeast is a remote site based at Wayne State College that facilitates training and workforce development in Northeast Nebraska.
- BHECN East
  BHECN East is located at the UNO Grace Abbott School of Social Work and focuses primarily on the behavioral health workforce needs of the Omaha area.
BHECN Model

— Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska — BHECN Sites — BHECN Panhandle

BHECN Panhandle

BHECN Panhandle serves as an additional location supporting the BHECN mission of recruitment and retention of behavioral health professionals across Nebraska. BHECN Panhandle covers the entire panhandle of Nebraska and Cherry County.

Frontier Area Rural Mental-Health Camp and Mentorship Program

FARM CAMP is a project developed by Western Nebraska Behavioral Health and funded in part by BHECN. It is intended to identify and mentor rural students who are interested in eventual careers in behavioral health.

Learn more about FARM CAMP

BHECN Panhandle Advisory Board Members

Holly Brandt

Regional Administrator, Region 1

Jeanice Caporaso, MSW, LIMHP

Private Practice

Mary Jo Carnot, PhD

Psychology Professor, Department of Professional Studies, Chadron State College

Katie Carrizales, PhD, LP

Behavioral/Mental Health Director, Educational Service Unit (ESU) 13

Tina Chasek, PhD, LIMHP, LADC

Director, BHECN Central

Marley Doyle, MD

Director, BHECN

Victor Gehrig, LADC

Executive Clinical Director, North East Panhandle Substance Abuse Center

Bruce Hoem, MSW

Professor, Social Work, Department of Professional Studies, Chadron State College

Carrie Howton, PhD, LIMHP

Human Services Program Director, Western Nebraska Community College

Brent Khan, EdD

Co-Director, BHECN (?)

Gage Sterensky, PhD, MP, LADC

Director of Behavioral Health, Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska

Anne Talbot, PsyD, LP

Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Options in Psychology

Kathleen Woods, PhD, LPC, NCC

Professor, Counseling, Department of Professional Studies, Chadron State College

Catherine Jones-Hazledine

Catherine Jones-Hazledine, PhD

Co-Director, BHECN Panhandle
Licensed Psychologist and Owner, Western Nebraska Behavioral Health

Phone: 308-327-2026

Tara Wilson

Tara Wilson, PhD, NCC, LMHP

Co-Director, BHECN Panhandle
Associate Professor, Chadron State College

Phone: 308-432-6043