Phoenix, AZ. – May 25, 2016 – The Cummings Institute, one of the few academic institutions in the United States that specialize in integrated behavioral health education, recently obtained 501(c)(3) status. Now, as a nonprofit organization, the Cummings Institute will be able to lower its tuition, making it more affordable for students to pursue a doctorate in behavioral health.
“The Cummings Institute is thrilled to offer an easier entry point for prospective students,” says Janet L. Cummings, Psy.D., the president of The Cummings Foundation and the Cummings Institute. “We want our students to revolutionize health care in America, but we don’t want them to go deep into debt in order to accomplish their goals.”
Tuition and revenue will go directly toward research, development of partnerships and institutional improvements that benefit students. The funds will also help the Cummings Institute achieve its vision of changing the way the world experiences health care, particularly in one of the most costly health care systems in the world. Despite the enormous amount of resources spent in the United States on health care, the overall quality of care delivered to individual patients is quite low.
With public mental health institutions shutting down, individuals with mental health illnesses are seeking out treatment from emergency care centers or primary care providers that aren’t traditionally trained in mental care. Since the average U.S. primary care physician usually has over 2,000 patients under his or her care, general practitioners often don’t have the time to address all of a patient’s needs—especially those related to mental or emotional health or social determinants of physical health.
The Cummings Institute aims to change the health care system and improve quality of care by educating students on the importance of integrated care, which blends behavioral health care with general practice or primary care. This integration allows a provider to focus on the patient and cover a wide range of medical, emotional and mental needs.
“What’s needed is someone who’s trained in different schools of thought,” says Cara M.C. English, DBH, the director of The Cummings Institute. “We need behavioral health professionals to offer a treatment that fits not only a typical diagnosis but also one that’s tailored to match a patient’s personality, family structure, cultural identity and support system.”
With a doctorate in behavioral health and immersion within a curriculum founded on the Biodyne model of focused psychotherapy, graduates of the Cummings Institute will be able to assess the overall status of a patient—ranging from emotional to physical health—and guide them through the correct health care channels in order to ensure that they receive the care they need from trained specialists.
The doctor of behavioral health (DBH) degree will ultimately help students to implement integrated health techniques into the private and public health sectors to prepare students to take a leadership role in integrated medical care.
“The Cummings Institute is thrilled to be able to drastically lower our tuition,” says English, “and it wouldn’t have been possible without the Cummings family, who founded this institution on a educational philosophy that refused to profit from the dreams of students and rather chose to partner with students to accomplish a collective dream.”
To learn more about earning a doctor of behavioral health degree, visit here: DBH.
