Mental Health Professionals Loan Repayment Assistance Program

If you are a qualified mental health professional practicing in a Mental Health Professional Shortage Area (MHPSA) and providing services to recipients under a medical assistance program, you may be eligible for a loan repayment award between $10,000 and $160,000, depending on your practice specialty.

To find out if your site is located in an MHPSA, go to the Health Resources and Services Administration Shortage Areas search page. The site address is where you are physically working, not where the headquarters or administration office is located.

Note: Veterans Affairs clinics and military bases are NOT eligible for the program as they are not open to the public and do not provide direct patient care to Medicaid and/or Texas Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollees.  

How to apply

The Mental Health Professionals Loan Repayment Assistance Program application is currently closed and will be available in Nov. 2025. 

Please check back at that time for updates and application instructions. 

When the application is available, you will need:

  • A copy of your current license/certification.
  • Information about your student loan balances, account numbers, and loan holders.
  • Your National Provider Identifier (NPI).
  • The email address for your facility’s chief administrative officer (CAO). Your CAO may be a facility administrator, Director of Human Resources, or other official who is authorized to certify your employment. After you have submitted your application, we will email a service verification form to your CAO.

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for this program, you must:

  • Be practicing in an eligible practice specialty.
  • Have completed at least one year of full-time qualifying service.
    • Full-time service: Employed or contracted full time (at least 32 hours per week for providers participating only in the state-funded program, or at least 40 hours per week for providers participating in both the state-funded program and the SLRP).
  • Be a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident.
  • Provide direct mental health services in an MHPSA to one of the following:
    • Medicaid recipients;
    • Texas Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollees;
    • Persons committed to a secure correctional facility operated by or under contract with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department;
    • Persons confined in a secure facility operated by or under contract with any division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; or 
    • Students in a school district which is located partially or completely in an MHPSA, an open enrollment charter school located in an MHPSA, or a Title I school (LSSPs only). 
  • Not be currently fulfilling another obligation to provide mental health services as part of a scholarship agreement, a student loan agreement, or another student loan repayment program.
  • Agree to provide three consecutive years of service at an eligible practice site.
  • Not be employed in a contract employee status. 

Eligible Practice Specialties

  • Psychiatrists
  • Psychologists
  • Advanced practice nurses board certified in psychiatric or mental health nursing
  • Licensed professional counselors
  • Licensed clinical social workers
  • Licensed marriage and family therapists
  • Licensed chemical dependency counselors
  • Licensed specialists in school psychology 

How Much Can I Receive?

You may receive up to the following award amounts over a three-year period:

  • Psychiatrists: $160,000
  • Psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, licensed professional counselors, and licensed marriage and family therapists who hold doctoral degrees: $80,000
  • Advanced practice nurses: $60,000
  • Licensed clinical social workers, licensed professional counselors, licensed specialists in school psychology, and licensed marriage and family therapists who do not hold doctoral degrees: $40,000
  • Licensed chemical dependency counselors who hold associate degrees: $10,000 

If your verified loan balance is less than the maximum award amounts above, you will be awarded a lower amount:

  • 33.33% of the original loan balance in Year 1
  • 33.33% of the original loan balance in Year 2
  • 33.34% of the original loan balance in Year 3

Are My Student Loans Eligible?

To qualify for repayment through this program, a loan must:

  • Have been used to pay for the cost of attendance for your undergraduate, graduate, or professional education.
  • Not have been made during residency or to cover costs incurred after completion of a graduate or professional education.
  • Not be in default at the time of application.
  • Not have an existing service obligation.
  • Not be subject to repayment through another student loan repayment or loan forgiveness program or as a condition of employment. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you will have to reapply each year, and we will also need verification of your eligible service and updated loan information each year. 

No, a counselor must be a licensed specialist in school psychology who performs specific services within the profession for a school district and must hold the appropriate credential from the appropriate state agency. The school district must be located partially or completely in an MHPSA; an open enrollment charter school located in an MHPSA; or a Title I school. Under the statutory authority for this program, professionals who are employed as contract employees are not eligible.

No, you do not need to be board certified initially, but you must be eligible to take the board certification exam by the second year of participation and have earned certification from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology or the American Osteopathic Board of Psychiatry and Neurology to qualify for your final year of loan repayment assistance.

No, with the exception of psychiatrists, as noted above, you must be fully licensed/certified and have completed a year of service to be eligible to apply.

No, you must be fully licensed and have completed a year of service to apply. 

Before changing practice sites, please contact our office to discuss the impact of such a change. If you wish to change practice sites, the new site must be in an MHPSA for you to continue to be eligible for the program.

No, you do not have to provide services only to Medicaid and CHIP patients. However, you must accept all forms of payment and not turn away patients due to their inability to pay.

Full-time employment is a minimum of 32 hours per week.

No, you must be employed full time with a minimum of 32 hours per week.

No, since the PSLF Program requires a borrower to make 120 payments before the loan is potentially forgiven, it could be possible for a participant to qualify for both programs. 

No, it is not possible to apply for and receive funding under both programs. You will have to fulfill the obligation for one program before applying to another program.

The percentage is based on the verified loan balance at the time your application for enrollment is reviewed. If you owe less than the aggregate maximum award amount, the annual payment amounts will be the amounts needed to repay the loan over a period of three years.

The annual award will be mailed to the lender after you have completed each year of service, and all documentation has been received and reviewed. We cannot send payments electronically or via ACH, so please allow time for the check to be mailed and processed by your lender. 

What’s Next?

After you submit your application, it will be held in a pending status until we receive the completed service verification form from your facility’s CAO. 

If we have questions or need additional information, we will contact you at the email address you provided on your application. If your application is approved, we will mail a paper check to your lender and email an award notification to you. If your application is not approved, we will notify you by email, and you may re-apply in future years.

Want to Learn More?

Contact Us

To speak to a customer service representative regarding loan repayment programs, call 833-597-0454, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST.

Email Inquiries:   LoanRepaymentPrograms@highered.texas.gov