GREENSBURG, PA- The Seton Hill College Masters of Arts in Art Therapy and Marriage and Family Therapy graduate programs have been selected by the Mental Health Association (MHA) in Westmoreland County to receive one of the organization’s inaugural "Innovations" Award. The graduate programs were selected for innovation in the education category. In addition, Latrobe Area Hospital and the Westmoreland County Bar Association will also be honored. An award ceremony will be held Tuesday, June 11th at Mountain View Inn.

The Innovations Award for Education is presented to an individual or entity that increases the understanding of mental illness and mental health in adults, children, adolescents or older adults. Considerations included that the nominee provide unique mental health education, promote the newest, most innovative information about mental health issues, utilize creative approaches to mental health training for professionals and/ or human resource development, maximize the utilization of MHA educational programming and support MHA efforts to educate target audiences.

The Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy is designed to foster critical and creative thinking and enhanced communication skills. The program is designed to expose students to the theory, practice, and research in psychology, systems interventions, and the arts. The Marriage and Family Therapy program is committed to increasing students' awareness of the socio-cultural issues addressed (or ignored) in current practice, introducing students to scholarly analysis of mental health treatment, and sensitizing students to the ways in which women are treated in the mental health system.

The Master of Arts in Art Therapy is designed to teach students the theory and skills necessary for the effective practice of visual and verbal therapy in a variety of therapeutic environments (educational, clinical, and rehabilitative settings). As art therapy is firmly rooted in both art and human psychology, the master's program combines the two disciplines and offers the art therapy student a strong foundation in applied psychology alongside an in-depth approach to the theory and practice of art therapy.

The Mental Health Association in Westmoreland County is a United Way agency that works for better mental health and victory over mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety disorders and bi-polar disorder through programs of advocacy, education and service. In 1964 the MHA was formed by a group of volunteers to examine the mental health needs of Westmoreland County. Since then the MHA’s aim has been to alleviate the stigma and public misunderstanding of mental illness and offer programs geared toward promoting good mental health and services to assist persons with mental illness.