University of Central Missouri Athletics in collaboration with the University of Central Missouri Counseling Center has hired KaNeil Purifoy as the department’s first-ever Mental Health Clinician, it was announced Friday morning, Oct. 11.

As the new Mental Health Clinician for UCM Athletics, Purifoy will provide clinical services to student-athletes and assist with the coordination of treatment with team physicians and athletic trainers and provide outreach and training to coaches, teams and athletic staff that will help promote student-athlete mental health, holistic wellness, academic achievement and athletic excellence.

Purifoy comes to UCM after five years serving as a University Counselor/Resident Director at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark., where he established a vital link between the counseling center and athletic department and boosted student-athlete involvement in counseling through targeted outreach efforts. In addition, Purifoy created a program aimed at enhancing mental performance for student-athletes and teams, utilizing principles of sports psychology.

In addition to his position at OBU, Purifoy also served as a licensed professional counselor at Living Well Professional Counseling in Arkadelphia for four years. While at Living Well Professional Counseling, Purifoy gained experience by working with a range of populations and a variety of presenting problems.

Purifoy graduated from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 2016 and received his master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Henderson State in 2019.