By Kristy Volmert | Staff Writer
Students in Baylor’s Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program are making huge strides in the community by interning in local mental health departments, one of which has just received state-wide recognition.
Psychology doctorate student Elizabeth Hernandez, under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Dolan, the graduate school’s associate dean for professional development, is a member of the McLennan County Recovery Court Team. This team was awarded the 2025 Spotlight on Success Outstanding DWI Court Team of the Year by the Texas Center for the Judiciary at the DWI Court Advanced Conference on March 5 in Galveston.
As part of their education, Psy.D. students are placed in different local work areas in which they will actively practice their clinical skills during a year-long internship. Hernandez is part of the McLennan County Recovery Court Team.
She said she has loved being a part of this team and seeing the way that everyone she works with truly cares for the clients is very rewarding.
“I just feel so proud of our team and the work that we do and of the participants for just showing up for themselves and for the community,” Hernandez said. “It makes me feel so thankful to even be a part of something like this.”
Dolan said this type of program provides those who have been convicted of DWI-related crimes and actively struggle with substance abuse and addiction the opportunity to go through a probationary recovery program rather than be sentenced to jail. The program provides unique and enriching resources for these people to make a full recovery, giving them another chance and abundance of support along their recovery journey, Dolan said.
“It’s called a specialty court.,” Dolan said. “We have three of them in our county: Recovery Court, Veterans Treatment Court and Mental Health court. Our graduate students are involved in all three. The Recovery Court happens to be the oldest and most established, and the one that won this statewide award.”
Dolan said the members of the court team work closely, caring deeply for each other and for the clients. This team’s work has seemed to stand out among other teams, she said, and a national drug court expert at a previous conference told them that their team functions well.
“One of my favorite things about recovery court is the team,” Hernandez said. “We work with so many people with different backgrounds with different experiences and different perspectives, and I’ve truly learned so much from all of them.”
They are one of very few Recovery Court teams that also look at the participants’ psychological functioning, which is an essential way to aid them in a more rapid and genuine recovery. The psychologists on the team perform a full psychological evaluation on every participant.
According to Dolan, a large number of those struggling with this level of substance abuse are highly likely to relapse. So contributing to measures that help prevent that from happening and seeing their work come to fruition is rewarding, Hernandez said.
“The most challenging piece is knowing that recovery is not linear,” Hernandez said. “When it comes to people in recovery, returning to use is very common, and it’s really hard to see. I’ve learned to trust the process.”
Dolan said the Recovery Court Team has dynamic benefits in this community that are worth recognizing.
“It’s a great benefit for the participant because they’ve gotten all this treatment and we’ve worked really hard with them so they can be happier and healthier,” she said. “It’s also a real benefit to the community.”
Clients being able to make a full recovery through this program will reduce their odds of using again, which could lead to them committing another offense that would be dangerous for the community.
“Upon completion of the program, they’re hopefully living happier, healthier lives for themselves. It’s really inspiring, just to see people making those changes,” Dolan said.
Hernandez said being able to watch the positive transformation of their clients and supporting them along their journey until the end has really touched her heart and inspired her as she works towards her future career path.
“It truly brings me so much joy to see them graduate at the end of the program. I feel so much joy hearing them describe what the program has been like for them and getting to this point of success,” Hernandez said. “It could bring me to tears.”
