Behavioral health professionals, college professors and alumni from College of the Desert (COD) and California State University, San Bernardino Palm Desert (CSUSB), came together on Nov. 12 to inspire 200 students from six local high schools to pursue careers in health care, especially behavioral health and social work.

The event, “Let’s Get Psyched!” was presented by Riverside University Health Systems – Behavioral Health (RUHS-BH), CSUSB, COD and OneFuture Coachella Valley’s behavioral health alignment team. Nisha Elliot, workforce education training manager for RUHS-BH, was the charismatic emcee, skillfully highlighting the wide variety of careers awaiting students and the positive impact they can make as behavioral health practitioners.

The event kicked off by introducing students to ikigai, a Japanese concept for discovering your purpose by thinking about what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs and what you can get paid for. This theme was woven into presentations throughout the day as students toured CSUSB’s nursing and kinesiology labs and met college faculty in psychology, child development, social work and nursing street medicine.

Students also heard from COD and CSUSB alumni who shared their behavioral health career journeys and what it’s like to now be working at places like Eisenhower Health and RUHS-BH. Presenters shared that there are medical positions in mental health like psychiatrist (MD), nurse practitioner (NP), and psychiatric technician, as well as allied mental health positions like psychologist (PhD, PsyD), licensed clinical therapist (LCSW, LMFT, LPCC), peer support specialist and family advocate.

Students surveyed after the event said they found it valuable. One student shared, “I learned there are so many other fields related to psychology beyond therapy, and there are different psychologists needed in different industries including schools, districts, clinics and social work. It helped me discover other jobs I could pursue revolving around psychology, which is my preferred field.”

“I was especially inspired by one person describing their journey,” expressed another student. “They started their career later in life, and if someone had told them this was possible 10 years earlier when their life was falling apart, they wouldn’t have believed them. That idea stuck with me, that, regardless of hard times, you should always keep going and should never give up.”

Learn more about the event by visiting https://bit.ly/GetPsychedCV. For more information on OneFuture Coachella Valley, visit www.onefuturecv.org or call (760) 625.0422.