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School Department News

Psychology and Counseling

Greater Pinebelt Community Foundation Awards Grant to WCU’s Quality of Life Project
Tuesday, March 5, 2013 - 8:51am

Hattiesburg, Miss., March 5, 2013 - The Greater Pinebelt Community Foundation’s Ann Morris Memorial Fund recently awarded $10,000 to the William Carey University Quality of Life Project, which pairs music therapy students with adults with intellectual developmental disabilities in activities designed to enrich their lives. The project has been in operation since August 2009.

Dr. Paul Cotton, professor of psychology and executive director of the program, said that the Quality of Life program serves a diversified group as WCU students have one-on-one experiences working with these adults. “Some adult individuals with developmental disabilities do not get a chance to get out of their living quarters and go on outings. Our program’s mission is to enrich the lives of such individuals,” said Dr. Cotten. “The grant will help us charter buses for outings and provide funding for several educational and recreational trips.”

The Ann Morris Memorial Fund was set up to assist area organizations who work to enrich the quality of life of intellectually challenged adults. “Our grant review process helps us to invest in productive and contributing nonprofit organizations in our local communities,” said Theresa Erickson, executive director of the PineBelt Foundation. “The Quality of Life program at William Carey has contributed greatly to the well being of many individuals in our community. We know this funding will help them continue their progressive mission.”

The PineBelt Community Foundation exists to strengthen communities by connecting charitably minded people to causes that matter most to them. As a driving charitable force in our region, their mission is to build better communities through philanthropy.

WCU’s Quality of Life Program Receives $10,000
Wednesday, December 7, 2011 - 12:00am
The Quality of Life Project (QLP), established by William Carey University professor of psychology and music therapy Dr. Paul Cotten to benefit elderly persons with special needs, recently received $10,000 from the John Morris Testamentary Trust and Ann Morris Memorial Fund. Dr. Cotten, who has over 30 years of experience working with special needs persons in various capacities, established QLP in 2009, and it is entirely funded through the John Morris Testamentary Trust and Ann Morris Memorial Fund. QLP honors the life of John’s late daughter, Ann, who was mentally disabled. 
QLP works to expand the leisure options of persons with special needs by allowing each client to have an interdependent relationship with a pre-professional WCU student in the field of either music therapy or psychology and by fostering new experiences for the client including travel, movies, live theatre and restaurant dining. Activities include events such as cook-outs, theatre visits, picnics, and an annual day trip to the New Orleans Aquarium, which the group will take on Saturday, December 10. 
For more information about QLP, contact Dr. Cotten at paul.cotten@wmcarey.edu.
WCU Professor to Hold Seminar Educating Public About Mental Retardation
Tuesday, November 22, 2011 - 12:00am

Dr. Paul Cotten, professor of music and psychology at William Carey University, will conduct a seminar titled, “All you ever wanted to know about mental retardation, but were afraid to ask” at 4 p.m. on Thursday, December 8 in Lecture Hall 2 in the academic building of the WCU College of Osteopathic Medicine complex. Dr. Cotten began his career working in the field of mental retardation specializing in music therapy. In 971, he was named director of Ellisville State School, and from 1974-1981, he concurrently served as director of the division of mental retardation for the Mississippi Department of Mental Health. In 1984, he was named as director of Boswell Regional Center. Since his retirement from Boswell in 1992, Dr. Cotten has maintained a teaching career and a strong involvement with programs related to mental retardation, such as the Quality of Life Project (QLP) he established in 2009 that benefits senior adults with special needs. He is also the recipient of a number of awards and honors for his service to the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities, including Fellow Status in the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The public is invited to this event and admission is free.

WCU Professor Coordinates National Conference for Foster Grandparents
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 - 1:00am

Dr. Paul Cotten, professor of music and psychology at William Carey University, recently returned from the 2011 National Foster Grandparent Conference held in Little Rock, Ark., October 21-24. This was the 7th year that Dr. Cotten served as program coordinator for the conference, which meets in a different state each year. The Foster Grandparent Program enables adults, ages 55 and up, to become mentors to abused children, troubled teenagers, and children with physical and mental disabilities, as well as those with an illnesses. The National Foster Grandparent Conference serves as a time for Foster Grandparent program directors, assistant directors, coordinators and supervisors, as well as others who wish to promote the Foster Grandparent Program, to come together and share ideas and learn new ways to better assist the children and teens. “It is a time of education and stimulation for the Foster Grandparents who work with disadvantaged or disabled children,” said Dr. Cotten. WCU has been and still is very involved with the national Foster Grandparent program. In addition to Dr. Cotten, two Carey graduates served as workshop directors at the conference: Lori Parker, MT-BC (Music Therapist – Board Certified), class of 1999, and Rachel Everett, MT-BC, class of 2005. Parker, who is currently working on her master’s in counseling psychology at WCU, works at Alexander Milne Home for Women in Laurel, and Everett works for Mississippi State Hospital.

There were over 350 persons in attendance at the conference. For more information about Foster Grandparents, or the National Foster Grandparent Conference, contact Dr. Paul Cotten at pcotten@wmcarey.edu or (601) 318-6416.

WCU to offer Activity Director's State Certification Course
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 - 12:00am

William Carey University will offer an activity directors’ state certification course for those already working in or planning to work in long-term care facilities. The course will be lead by Dr. Paul Cotten, professor of music and psychology at WCU and director of the Quality of Life Project (QLP), which benefits elderly persons with special needs, and Dr. Hank Rainer, LCSW, a national consultant on social work and activities services in long-term care facilities. Completing the course and obtaining certification is extremely beneficial to those seeking careers in this field or currently employed in such facilities.

The course will be divided into two sessions: November 2-4, 2011, and February 4, 2012. In between the sessions, participants are assigned to health care facilities where they will complete 50 hours of service. All class meetings will be in room 103 of Green Science Building on WCU’s Hattiesburg campus, from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
WCU students will pay regular tuition for the three-hour course, and for non-students the course is $500. This is the 15th year this course has been offered at Carey.
For more details and to register, contact Dr. Cotten at pcotten@wmcarey.edu or 601-318-6416.