Flashes Hire Tilley as Mental Health Provider
11/15/2021 12:57:00 PM | General
KENT, OHIO- The Kent State Athletic Department, under the Direction of Randale Richmond is excited to welcome Kelly Tilley as the Department's Mental Health Provider.
"Kelly Tilley is an important and exciting addition for our department," Richmond said. "She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience both as a mental health professional and as an athlete. She will provide a necessary resource for our first-class student-athlete experience."
Tilley will promote mental health in an informed environment through consultation with student-athletes, coaches, and staff as well as through preventative outreach programming. Tilley's role was created as part of the University's mental health expansion and enhancement. Her role will be emboldened with funds for additional mental health resources raised via a 2020 Athletic Department crowdfunding campaign.
"The hiring of Kelly Tilley is one example of the intentionality behind expanding and enhancing our mental health efforts across our 8-campus system," Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Lamar Hylton said. "We recognize that student-athletes navigate incredibly unique challenges. Having a mental health provider embedded within the Athletics department demonstrates our commitment to Flashes taking care of Flashes. We are thrilled to have Kelly on our team; she brings a wealth of experiences that will be beneficial to our work supporting student mental health."
In this role, Tilley will facilitate both face-to-face and virtual mental health services and will work on individualized assessments, treatments, and care plans for Kent State student-athletes. She will work out of the University's Counseling and Psychological Services Department to assure that the individualized plans stay consistent across the University and through multiple health disciplines.
"I have always enjoyed working with the college age population," Tilley said. "As an athlete and counselor of many years, I'm excited to use my experience to provide the dynamic and diverse student athletes of Kent State with the tools they need to excel in all areas. I hope to be an asset to Kent State in my embedded position, providing a bridge between mental health and the athletics department."
She has over 20 years of experience in providing clinical services. Simultaneously, she served as a counselor for the University of Mount Union where she provided counseling services and assessments for the student body.
Tilley has extensive work experience with adolescents, children, and families. She has experience as a Mental Health Clinician for Akron Children's Hospital. Tilley also worked in an educational setting as a Clinical Supervisor for school-based mental health teams for the Applewood Centers in Cleveland and oversaw a similar team in Lorain. Additionally, she served as a Mental Health Administrator and Clinical Therapist for the Ohio Department of Mental Health as a member of the Medina Child and Family Intervention Team.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from the University of Mount Union, a master's degree in Counseling and Human Services from John Carroll University and has completed her doctoral course work in Clinical Psychology from Walden University.
