Western Michigan University Academic and Conference services in downtown Grand Rapids Housed at the WMU-Grand Rapids downtown location, The Center for Counseling and Psychological Services has provided psychological care to the residents of southwest Michigan – and training opportunities for graduate counseling students – for more than 10 years. In that time, students have provided more than 20,000 hours of clinical services to more than 2,300 clients. In addition to serving hundreds of low-income clients each year, the scope of clinical practice was expanded to meet the ongoing needs of the community by developing attention deficit disorder and learning disability subspecialty clinics as well as couples counseling, career coun-
seling, individual/family counseling, psychological evaluations, and career/vocational assessments. “We work hard to partner with community agencies and the health care movement in Grand Rapids to compliment existing programs and continue to add more programs and services that will benefit the community as a whole,” said Dr. Dawn M. Gaymer, WMU’s associate provost for Extended University Programs, who oversees eight WMU regional locations. “Through our programs we expose students to practical situations and support the good work being done by the nonprofits, bringing our resources together for positive outcomes.”
In 1909 WMU became the first public university to establish a presence in downtown Grand Rapids. More than a century later, it offers over 20 graduate programs in business, engineering, teaching, counseling, or health and human services. Its occupational therapy master’s program ranks second in Michigan (behind WMU’s Kalamazoo campus) and 21st in the nation. The key to the success of WMU’s downtown location is offering programs designed for working adults who desire to continue their education and professional development on a part-time basis.
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