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Utah Valley University converts presidential home to student clinic

A university in Utah converted the former home of the school’s presidents into a mental health clinic for students and community members.

The new facility on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem opened earlier this semester, The Daily Herald reports.

The building constructed after the appointment of a new president in 1988 housed the university presidents and their families.

The UVU Community Mental Health Clinic is expected to provide training for students in the university’s Master of Marriage and Family Therapy program.

Students therapists will be supervised by faculty and provide couples, family and premarital therapy.

The 24 students are also expected to provide individual therapy for conditions including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

“We are sort of uniquely equipped to address some of the relational strains that some of our students are experiencing as a result of school,” clinic Director Todd Spencer said.

With a shortage of therapists in the area, Spencer said the program and the clinic will help meet community needs.

“It feels like a place of growth and healing and (where) people can feel confident and comfortable receiving quality services,” Spencer said.