Mental Health Policy Fellowship

Are you a recent graduate looking to develop a mental health lens to carry into your professional career — whether in social work, law, business, counseling, education, or another field? If so, you’re in the right place.

Are you looking to pursue a career in public policy research and advocacy, working on a wide range of mental health and substance abuse policy issues? If so, you might be a good fit for the Mental Health Policy Analyst and Fellowship Coordinator position. (Think you might want to try for both positions? You can do that, too – but you must apply for each position separately.) The deadline to apply for all positions was August 13.

Oklahoma Policy Institute seeks qualified, diverse applicants for the Oklahoma Mental Health Policy Fellowship. Fellows will participate in a two-year, full-time program acquiring knowledge and skills to become expert advocates for mental health policy reform in the public or private sector throughout their professional careers. The fellowship has three main components:  a curriculum to help improve knowledge of mental health, mental illness, and addiction disorders; training in research and evaluation of relevant policy as well as formulation of new policy; and building effective advocacy tools, including real-world application of this knowledge.

Fellows are assigned to a mentor who is a mental health policy professional in a Tulsa-area agency or higher education institution. Mentors are well-recognized experts with a record of successful advocacy for evidence-based policies. The selection of a fellow is based in part, but not completely, on matching applicants’ interests to those of a mentor.

Importantly, the fellowship is not a clinical internship or supervised practice program of any sort, nor an opportunity to engage in any form of clinical service. 

Click here for more information on the fellowship program.

Qualifications and responsibilities of a fellow:

Fellows are early-career professionals who have completed a degree program no more than two years prior to the time of application and are selected through a competitive application process. Preference is given to applicants who have completed a graduate or professional degree. Fellows’ backgrounds may include a wide range of disciplines including but not limited to: education, psychology, counseling, law, business, social work, nursing, health care policy and others. Prior to application, fellows must have demonstrated their interest in mental health or addiction issues as well as policy advocacy.

Those selected must agree to participate fully in all aspects of the fellowship curriculum, which is the equivalent of a full-time effort (40 hours or more per week) for two years. They must also exhibit an intent to work in the Tulsa area or elsewhere in Oklahoma upon completion of the program. Fellows are employees of the Oklahoma Policy Institute with an annual salary of $45,000 and benefits paid in accordance with our human resources policies. OK Policy offers excellent benefits, including health insurance, dental insurance, retirement, and generous paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays.

How does one apply to become a fellow?

The deadline to apply for this position has passed.

Oklahoma Policy Institute is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that believes that Oklahoma can be a great state, one that ensures prosperity for all our citizens through good schools, good jobs, good health and strong communities. To make the best policy decisions that lead us to this better future, policymakers and citizens need reliable, factual information. We provide the facts and advocate for fair and responsible public policies. You can learn more about OK Policy at https://okpolicy.org.

OK Policy is fully committed to cultural diversity and equal opportunity. It is OK Policy’s procedure to make opportunities available to a wide-range of diverse individuals without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, HIV status, any condition defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), marital or parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or citizenship status. OK Policy is committed to providing a work environment free of bias based on the above classifications, and to complying with the ADA and the policies and directives of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, to the extent applicable. All OK Policy employees are expected to support this policy.