Barbour Community Health psychologist wins statewide award for school-based mental health work

September 28, 2026 - 11:43

The West Virginia Psychological Association has recognized Dr. Casey Jo Cottrill of Barbour Community Health Association with its 2026 Early Career Citizen Psychologist award. The honor highlights her efforts to bring behavioral health services directly into rural schools, where students often face long waits and long drives to see a provider.

Cottrill has spent her early career building partnerships between health clinics and local school systems. Her work focuses on placing mental health support inside the buildings where children already spend their days, cutting down on transportation barriers and missed class time. Teachers and counselors can refer students quickly, and care happens in a setting that feels familiar rather than clinical.

The approach matters in a region where mental health resources are spread thin. Rural communities across West Virginia struggle to recruit and keep licensed providers, and families sometimes travel an hour or more for a single appointment. By embedding services in schools, Cottrill's model reaches students who might otherwise fall through the cracks.

Colleagues describe her as persistent and practical, someone who understands that mental health care works best when it meets people where they are. The award, given to psychologists early in their careers, points to a growing push to treat school-based mental health as essential rather than optional. For Barbour County students, that shift is already making a difference.