Cratsenburg hugging her mother after coming home from being deployed in Iraq.

From joining ROTC in 2014 to commissioning as an Army officer in 2017, Sara Cratsenburg has continued her service while pursuing a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at UNC–Chapel Hill. Today, she continues to serve in the Army, inspiring us all to value resilience, community, and the importance of mental health.

Cratsenburg’s academic journey began in California, where she earned her undergraduate degree in Women and Gender Studies. Motivated by the evolving inclusion of women in combat roles, she commissioned as a field artillery officer and has since maintained continuous active duty service. Her assignments have included postings in South Korea, Fort Campbell on the Tennessee–Kentucky border, and Fort Bragg. Her path as a field artillery officer led her to a deployment in Iraq, where she saw firsthand the mental health struggles of not only the soldiers around her, but also herself. Cratsenburg reflects, “And I think really the interesting thing about trauma, …the thing that really affects people is not the trauma itself, but it’s the aftermath. The moment that combat happens, your training takes over, and everything is fine. But then it’s the after, and you’re kind of just left with picking up the pieces.”

“I certainly would not have been able to do that alone. So really, we are built up with the village that surrounds us.” -Sara Cratsenburg

Soldiers are given all the training they need to survive combat, but when it comes to processing those experiences afterward, they are often expected to do it alone. Although there is support available through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), a gap remains that needs to be bridged. Not all VA centers are the same—especially in rural towns—making it difficult to meet everyone’s needs. No matter how hard providers work or how good the work they do is, there are simply not enough resources to reach every veteran. Cratsenburg mentioned that it took her eight months after returning from deployment to get a mental health appointment. Soldiers who fought for our country are lacking timely access to mental health care, which is what led Cratsenburg to pursue graduate studies and ultimately to focus her thesis on PTSD and trauma recovery. 

Cratsenburg is currently in a fellowship program called Advanced Civil Schooling, where the Army sponsors her education with the expectation that she will become an instructor at West Point, teaching psychology. 

Cratsenburg’s thesis centers on a cannabis use study examining the effects of cannabis reduction on PTSD symptoms. She is working closely with the Durham VA and Dr. Jeannie Beckham, alongside a team of psychologists, Ph.D. statisticians, and researchers. The research is important because, as of right now, the best evidence-based PTSD treatments outside of medication are prolonged exposure therapy and cognitive processing therapy. Both approaches involve patients recounting trauma repeatedly until it no longer feels overwhelming. However, these therapies often have high dropout rates and a high risk of re-traumatization. Cratsenburg’s thesis builds on these concerns in the hope of helping soldiers access more effective and compassionate care. 

Cratsenburg in front of her poster at the conference.

Cratsenburg recently participated in a conference where she presented a poster on aging veterans. “We found that people who live in rural areas tend to have higher rates of psychiatric disability and more severe psychiatric disability. And a lot of the time, those resources just aren’t there for people,” she explained. This finding reinforces the same gap she experienced after Iraq: the lack of consistent, accessible care for veterans, and connects directly to her thesis work on PTSD and cannabis reduction.

Cratsenburg remains deeply grateful for the opportunities she has been given. Rather than viewing her journey as extraordinary, she emphasizes that her peers are working just as hard. “I’m really trying to look at this through a lens of gratitude,” she said. “In a lot of ways, my story isn’t that unique. A lot of my classmates are working full-time jobs in addition to trying to get their master’s degree.” She adds that both her school and the Army have been understanding and supportive, which has made balancing her commitments far more manageable.

In the end, Cratsenburg is clear that her story is not hers alone, but was made possible by the community around her. “The thing that will get you through hard things is the relationships you form with people, and being able to be needed and also to need others,” she reflected. Learning to accept help wasn’t always easy, but she calls it the most powerful and profound lesson of her life. From her peers in the Army, to her professors in graduate school, to the unwavering support of her parents, Cratsenburg’s journey is as much about the people who lifted her as it is about her own determination. Her advice: don’t stress the small things. Life’s too short to worry about what won’t matter in a year; so relax, enjoy, and build your best village.

Rose was nominated for this award by Dr. Susan Hill, current president of NCPF. Rose was nominated in light of her extensive involvement in both NCPA and NCPF. She has served as chair of the Scientific, Academic, & Student Affairs (SASA) Committee since 2013. In that role, she serves as the Chair for the Annual North Carolina Undergraduate Psychology conference, which brings undergraduates from universities across the state to the annual conference where students can learn more about careers and graduate training in psychology.  In addition, Rose and the committee oversee two scholarship endowments that are presented to two graduate students each year.

Rose joined the faculty of UNC-Chapel Hill Division of Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling in 2019 and currently holds the roles of Assistant Professor, Clinical Coordinator, and Program Coordinator for the Behavioral Medicine track of the Department of Psychiatry’s UNC Pre-Doctoral Internship.  Throughout her career, Rose has been committed to training mental health counseling and psychology trainees.  She has served as a supervisor at Central Regional Hospital, UNC Health Center for Abdominal Transplant, and here in Health Sciences.

Rose shared that her commitment to training and mentorship was fostered by her graduate program at Marshall University.  “Our faculty were committed not only to training future psychologists, but also to joining and serving the people of the state through the psychological association.  Additionally, many of my early career mentors and supervisors (Anne Louise Barrick, PhD and Madeleine Crockett, PhD) were active members of the North Carolina Psychological Association and they instilled the importance of that work in me.”

“I was unaware I had been nominated for the award, so it was a true surprise. The North Carolina Psychological Association & Foundation are such wonderful organizations, and I am incredibly honored to be recognized by them.”

The program began with inspiring words from Dr. Eileen Burker and Dr. Christopher Ingersoll, followed by beautiful introductions of each student from Dr. Terra Rose.

Congratulations to the CRMHC Class of 2025!

One moment you’re fully engaged in your master’s program studies, and the next you’re supporting state and federal agencies in managing an unexpected natural disaster.

That was the life for Mason Poythress, a graduate student pursuing his Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC), when Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina and he was called to a State of Active Duty (SAD) by the North Carolina Army National Guard. Poythress is currently a Captain (CPT) in the North Carolina Army National Guard, the commander of Detachment 1, B Company, 2-151 Aviation Regiment, and served as a part of the North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM) State Emergency Response Team (SERT) Air Branch during efforts to support North Carolinians affected by Hurricane Helene.  

The responsibilities of the Air SERT Team are to coordinate aviation assets to support local missions that include search and rescues (SAR), supply distribution, and air movements. At the peak of the support effort for Hurricane Helene he helped to coordinate more than 50 military aircraft from other states and military branches to increase reach and capacity to help the many affected communities. In his role, he collaborated with federal agencies like Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to deconflict the airspace and ensure safe aviation operations, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to understand supply needs and coordinate deliveries to Western North Carolina.

Balancing military duties and graduate school is not easy, but Mason was supported by his program faculty to do what he does best: help those in need. Once the immediate crisis of the hurricane passed, he returned to his classes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, this time with a renewed sense of pride about his service, and an increased awareness of the critical needs for care within many North Carolina communities. His experiences as an Army officer, helicopter pilot, and his recent service coordinating emergency relief efforts deepened his commitment to mental health care, not just for service members, but for everyone who needs it. Mason cites that his experiences in the National Guard and working with soldiers from diverse backgrounds have guided his focus to pursuing a helping profession. He also states the CMHC program at UNC-Chapel Hill has been instrumental in preparing him for his future civilian career as a mental health counselor.  

“The CMHC program has been such an incredible launching point for my career as a counselor,” said Mason. “We’ve learned so much about the diversity of theoretical orientations and counseling modalities that I feel confident in how I want to develop a counseling approach that is both authentic and evidence-based.” 

As he prepares for graduation in May, Mason reflects on his academic journey in the CMHC program, his military experiences, and how they have helped shape his identity as both a military officer and a future mental health counselor. The blend of academic rigor and real-world applications in the CMHC program has allowed him to explore new dimensions of leadership and empathy, both traits that were already deeply ingrained by his military service. Whether it is in uniform or sitting with a client in a counseling session, Mason says his goal remains the same: to serve with integrity, compassion, and purpose. After graduation, he plans to continue supporting individuals in need of mental health resources through support, connection, and validation.  

The Division of Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling was ranked #7 by U.S. News & World Report in the publication’s 2025 rankings of Rehabilitation Counseling programs in America. This is the third consecutive top 15 ranking for the program.

The program offers a unique and challenging 60+ credit master’s degree in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling with concentrations in working with individuals with developmental and/or psychiatric disabilities.

Graduates of the program are eligible for the national professional certification as Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) and can receive their North Carolina state credential for Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC).

Graduates are employed in a variety of positions in mental health settings, on ACT teams, working with individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, and traumatic brain injuries, and helping individuals with disabilities find meaningful employment. Graduates have recently been admitted to PhD. programs in rehabilitation counselor education, counselor education, clinical psychology, school counseling and school psychology.  Last year 23 students graduated from the CRMH program.

What began as working with those who had experienced brain injury, stroke and/or spinal cord injury evolved into also supporting families who have been affected by intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Some commonly known forms of IDD include autism, cerebral palsy, ADHD, pediatric brain injury and down syndrome.

Morrison was recently awarded $250,000 over two years from the Eugene Washington Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institution (PCORI) for Project BENEFIT: Building Effective Networks to Engage Families in Improving Transitions. Dr. Diana Cejas, MD, MPH, a faculty member in the Department of Neurology and at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD), serves as the project’s co-lead.

PCORI supports projects that encourage involvement of patients, caregivers, clinicians and other healthcare workers in patient-centered outcome research. The purpose of Project BENEFIT is to partner with and engage IDD stakeholders in patient-centered outcome research in the area of healthcare transition. Healthcare transition is defined, in this instance, as the transition from pediatric healthcare services to adult healthcare services.

“Historically, there is a large gap in healthcare transition because of the limited number of medical providers trained to work with the IDD population,” said Morrison. “Many people with IDD could be in their 20s and still be working with a pediatric provider, but existing research shows that inadequate healthcare transition to adult providers can lead to poor health outcomes that affect community life, particular in IDD patients that are considered racially/ethnically marginalized.”

Goals and Outcomes of Project BENEFIT

Project BENEFIT involves partnerships with IDD advocacy organizations, including UNC’s Center for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (CIDD), Family Support Network of North Carolina (FSNNC), Virginia Commonwealth University’s Partnership for People with Disabilities, and Parent2Parent USA. Each of the partner organizations will play a unique role in supporting people with IDD and their families, with the primary goal of developing trusting, long-lasting research partnerships. Additionally, a stakeholder advisory group comprised of various IDD stakeholders with differing backgrounds– individuals with IDD, physicians, researchers, family members – will oversee the project’s implementation, provide guidance and recommendations, and will co-create the project deliverables.

Goals of the project include:

• Developing trusting, sustainable partnerships to co-create research materials that will help improve engagement of IDD stakeholders in future patient-centered outcome research
• Developing research materials and an infrastructure that increases capacity to conduct future patient-centered outcome research in the area of IDD healthcare transition
• Creating a sustainable network of IDD stakeholders to help plan and conduct future clinical effectiveness trials, so that meaningful evidence-based healthcare transition supports are developed for the IDD and underserved communities.

“The true outcomes we seek through Project BENEFIT are determining how to best ‘co-create’ a healthcare transition research roadmap, with input from IDD stakeholders,” said Morrison. “We’re trying to answer questions about what research steps need to be taken within this area, and what future research should look like.” Other project deliverables include an IDD-accessible video on patient-centered outcomes research and a partnership framework to enhance researcher practices and use stakeholder-informed approaches to IDD research.

Morrison hopes that Project BENEFIT will support the creation of a culture of IDD stakeholder-led research that will help reduce healthcare disparities for people with IDD. “It’s not just about educating,” he said. “This project will help educate and improve healthcare professionals and researchers understanding of effective patient-centered healthcare transition research and services, so they can better meet the unique healthcare needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”

The program offers a unique and challenging 60+ credit master’s degree in clinical rehabilitation and mental health with concentrations in working with persons with developmental and psychiatric disabilities.

Graduates of the program are eligible for national professional certification as Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) and can receive their North Carolina state credentials for Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC). During the past five years, graduates of the program have had a CRC examination pass rate of 100 percent, much higher than the 2022 national average of 71 percent.

Additionally, graduates are employed in a variety of positions in mental health settings, on ACT teams, working with individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, and traumatic brain injuries, and helping individuals with disabilities find meaningful employment. Graduates have also been admitted to PhD. programs in rehabilitation counselor education, counselor education, clinical psychology, school counseling and school psychology.

Beginning fall 2023, one program will become two separate programs – a Master of Science in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling and a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling. Concentrations/tracks are offered in working with persons with developmental disabilities and/or psychiatric disabilities in both programs.

Novachek’s Personal Beginning with Parkinson’s Disease

Novachek received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Appalachian State University. While in college, she mentored a high school student with disabilities, leading her to desire a career involving work with people with disabilities.

Her decision to pursue a master’s degree in CRMH was personal. While in college and spending time with a significant other’s family, Novachek noticed the grandfather – who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease – trying to keep up with family conversations by writing down his thoughts. He was unable to do so because of his disease and eventually stopped trying.

“Watching him slowly stop being a part of his family conversations stuck with me – he had no voice and no one to advocate for him,” Novachek said. “I wanted to be that advocate for people with Parkinson’s disease and show others that those who cannot advocate for themselves are not less valuable.”

While pursuing her master’s degree, Novachek was simultaneously pursuing her passion to work with people with Parkinson’s disease by establishing Rock Steady Boxing NC Triangle.

Knocking Out Parkinson’s: Rock Steady Boxing NC Triangle

Rock Steady Boxing NC Triangle was established in 2017, the same year Novachek graduated from the CRMH program, to help change the lives of people with Parkinson’s disease. The program combines boxing and physical activities with mental health activities.

“Physical activity helped me manage my own anxiety and depression, which changed my life,” Novachek said. “I knew I wanted to incorporate physical activity therapy as a form of rehabilitation for this population for the same reason.”

Rock Steady Boxing offers boxing, yoga and functional fitness classes. The company has grown from offering four classes a week with 25 people to now serving more than 100 people in two locations and online – an option for people who want to join classes from other locations.

Novachek is most proud of the sense of community built behind the program. “We’ve all become each other’s family,” she said.

The Journey Continues with Growth in Mind

Novachek admits that she cried when she found out she was included on the Triangle Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list.

“I know what I do is very valuable and important to the people around me, and people are appreciative, but not many people are vocal about it,” she said. “While going to graduate school and starting a business was difficult, it also felt like nobody saw it. Now, the recognition is a nice reminder to keep going.”

The plan for the future of Rock Steady Boxing is its continuation and ongoing growth. Novachek is interested in moving into more therapy aspects of mental health to reach people with Parkinson’s disease and other life stages.