February 18th, 2021
Monroe County Executive Adam Bello today announced the appointment of Dr. April Aycock as Director of the Monroe County Office of Mental Health.
“Dr. Aycock’s experience working in behavioral health, substance use disorder and health care settings have prepared her to take on the challenges of developing systems that address the multi-faceted challenges confronting our community,” said Bello. “She brings a unique lens of equity and a deep understanding of how these key issues intersect when it comes to delivering mental health services. For far too long, our systems have failed to help the people who need help the most and we must reimagine the way this county delivers critical services and care to individuals in crisis. I am excited to welcome Dr. Aycock as a key addition to the leadership team in Monroe County during this time of tremendous change to the government’s approach to serving all its residents.”
Dr. Aycock is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Master level Credentialed Alcoholism Substance Abuse Counselor. She is a graduate of the United Way African-American Leadership Development Program and earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the State University College at Brockport. She holds a doctorate in executive leadership from St. John Fisher College.
During her decade-long career, Dr. Aycock has worked in various mental health and substance use disorder treatment settings, as well as taught and presented on topics related to mental health, substance use and diversity. She previously led the integration of substance use disorder services within the University of Rochester Medical Center Psychiatry Department’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Outpatient clinic. Most recently, she served as Clinical Coordinator for the URMC Strong Recovery Adolescents and Young Adults clinic, where she provided supervision and consultation for integrated adolescent substance use disorder services within the URMC Department of Psychiatry.
"I am honored to serve the community in the capacity of Monroe County Office of Mental Health Director. I am pleased that County Executive Adam Bello understands that mental health is a crisis affecting our community, especially our underserved communities,” added Dr. Aycock. “We must reimagine how our behavioral health systems provide critical services and care to individuals in crisis and their families."
