With the consistently increasing need for mental health care across campus and in order to maximize our service delivery capacity, as of Fall 2023 the SCC employs the Positive Actions Towards Health (PATH) model in order to best support MICA students. This model is designed to improve access to mental health care on campus, reduce appointment wait times, and offer a malleable, multi-faceted approach to address student concerns. It allows for a variety of resources and services to be matched to students’ needs in a way that allows students to take an active role in supporting their own mental health care. 

Generally, students’ first point of contact is a PATHs assessment, where students meet with a licensed clinician one-on-one and are assessed based on severity of need and readiness to accept help. Staff utilizes shared decision making to introduce and describe different PATHs, thus assisting students in exploring preferences and making decisions as to which PATH might suit them best. Students are encouraged to work with SCC staff to choose a PATH, and they may move between different PATHs according to their needs. The PATH model allows SCC staff to meet with students and come up with mental health plans tailored to suit individual needs, empower students to learn and grow, and support ownership over their lives.