Dear Healthcare Professional Community,

The Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) is dedicated to ensuring public safety while also supporting the well-being of licensed professionals in our state. A significant aspect of this commitment involves addressing Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) within the healthcare professional (HCP) community. 

As you know, SUDs can affect a substantial percentage of healthcare professionals, often presenting unique challenges and fears about seeking to help due to potential impacts on their licenses and careers. DOPL has a multifaceted, supportive approach to this issue, emphasizing both public protection and providing pathways to recovery for professionals. 

We would like to launch a new five-part article series titled "Improving Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Monitoring: A Collaborative Approach in the Division of Professional Licensing." The first article in the series introduces DOPL's programs involved with SUDs, including Investigations, Licensing, Enforcement, the Utah Controlled Substance Database (CSD) and the Utah Professionals Health Program (UPHP), as well as highlights the formation of our new SUD & Prevention Workgroup. 

The goal of this series is to:

• Increase understanding of DOPL's processes related to SUDs.
• Break down the stigma surrounding SUDs.
• Encourage professionals to seek assistance to reduce negative impacts on their licenses.  

We believe this series would be highly valuable and relevant to your members, offering crucial information and fostering a more supportive environment for HCPs. We would be grateful if you would consider featuring this series, starting with the attached introductory article, in your upcoming newsletter or on your website.

Please find the introductory article attached for your review. We are open to discussing how this collaboration can best serve your association and its members.

Sincerely, 

Connie Kitchens, PhD - Public Heath Policy Manager, Utah Controlled Substance Database

Connie joined the Utah Department of Commerce, Division of Professional Licensing in fall 2021.  She has many years of experience in public health, with much of it being tied to substance abuse prevention.   She taught Public Health full-time as an assistant professor at two colleges. Dr. Kitchens has been the leader for many grants and programs throughout her career and currently has three grants that help fund projects with the Controlled Substance Database and Public Health consulting.

Kelli Jacobsen, MSW, LCSW - Program Manager, Utah Professionals Health Program

Kelli joined UPHP as the program manager in 2020. She earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Oklahoma in 2003 and has primarily worked with adults with substance use disorders in various clinical settings. Kelli’s prior experience includes working as a therapist and program director for an outpatient mental health and substance abuse clinic in Oklahoma, as a therapist at the University of Utah, Assessment and Referral Services, and in private practice. In her current role, Kelli oversees the daily operations of UPHP, manages program development, and provides clinical direction alongside the medical director. She integrates her clinical background and dedication to destigmatizing substance use disorders in her work with healthcare professionals. Outside of work, Kelli enjoys spending time with her family and engaging in outdoor activities like skiing, mountain biking, and adventuring in the mountains and desert.

My name is Jessica Stovall. I am a PhD candidate in the Counselor Education and Supervision program at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. I am conducting a quantitative study to examine supervisee perception of power dynamics within individual and triadic clinical supervision as a potential predictor of supervisee nondisclosure. This study may help inform counselor and clinical supervisors in training professional counselors.

If you are a master’s level counseling student or a provisionally licensed counselor actively under clinical supervision, please consider contributing to my study. Participants can complete the survey linked below to contribute to my study. Responses will be confidential and will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Thank you for considering volunteering your valuable time to this study.

I appreciate is you would also consider announcing this study to others who may qualify.

Survey Link: https://qualtricsxm7s5zdxynl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6lNIkK9T4txK9QW

We’re a research team from Old Dominion University, and we’re diving into an exciting research project exploring cultural awareness and the perception of advocacy needs among counseling professionals. Your insights could make a meaningful impact! 

You are eligible to participate if you meet the following criteria:

1. Are at least 18 years old

2. Identify as at least one of the following:

   1. Master’s level counseling practicum student

   2. Master’s level counseling internship student

   3. Licensure-seeking counselor

   4. Licensed counselor 

   5. Counselor educator 

If you are eligible and interested, we request that you complete an anonymous Qualtrics survey which includes informed consent, demographic questions, and the advocacy needs assessment. The survey should take approximately 20-30 minutes. 

Here is the link for the survey: https://tinyurl.com/CounselingAdvocacyNeeds

We would also appreciate your assistance in disseminating this email and/ or the attached flyer to master’s students, counselors, and counselor educators in your program. 

The Institutional Review Board at Old Dominion University has approved this study (IRB Protocol #2262133-1). For general questions about this research study, please contact the faculty supervisor, Dr. Jeffry Moe at jmoe@odu.edu.  If you have any questions about your rights as a participant, please contact Dr. John Baaki, the Chair of the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies (DCEPS) Human Subjects Review Committee at Old Dominion University, at jbaaki@odu.edu or 757-683-5491.

My name is Norma L. Day-Vines, and I am professor in the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. I am conducting a research study on counselor trainees’ identity management in relation to discussing social and cultural issues in therapy. I am inviting you to participate in a survey study.

The goal of the study is to improve training for future mental healthcare professionals by better understanding the relationship between their social attitudes and broaching behavior. If you complete the survey, you will have a chance to win a $25 gift card after completing the survey.

The survey should take no more than fifteen minutes. Participation in this study is voluntary and your identity as a participant will remain anonymous during and after the study. The data will contain no information that can personally identify respondents. Results will only be reported on group levels and solely used for research purposes.
Once you click on the survey link, you will be redirected to an information page. Please read it through carefully. After the information page, an informed consent statement will be presented to respondents. I kindly request that you read it thoroughly and contact me in the case you have any questions or concerns.

Only school or clinical mental health counselors (in training) who have completed or are currently completing internship can participate.

Please contact me at norma.dayvines@jhu.edu if you have any questions.

If you are interested in participating, follow this link to the Survey:
Take the Survey

Or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser:
https://jhuedu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3lqGIWZe0YUAK7I?Q_DL=2qNE8b0qqVQeoj5_3lqGIWZe0YUAK7I_CGC_uBam5CkU15EIsW0&Q_CHL=email

Thank you for your participation,
Dr. Norma L. Day-Vines

Differential diagnosis for certain symptoms related to mood, anxiety, and eating behaviors can often be challenging to determine. The Evidence Based Treatment Centers of Seattle (EBTCS) is conducting a research study exploring whether symptom characteristics influence clinicians’ diagnostic impressions and treatment recommendations for several mental health conditions. Our hope is that data collected from this study will help us learn more about the reliability of clinicians’ diagnostic impressions for certain disorders, which in turn may inform efforts for clinician training and the refinement of psychiatric diagnostic systems.

Study participation involves completing an online survey via SurveyMonkey. Most individuals take between 10-15 minutes to complete the survey. All data is completely anonymous. Names or other unique identifiers are not collected in connection with study data.  

The study procedures include: (1) providing demographic data and information about work settings and activities, and (2) reading two clinical vignettes and providing diagnostic impressions and treatment recommendations for each vignette.

Risks for participating in the study are minimal. Participants can choose to enter a drawing with the chance to win one of five $50 Amazon gift cards. The drawing will take place once data collection has been completed.

Interested licensed mental health professionals can click below to be taken to the study consent form and survey, or can contact Ariel Ravid, PhD, ataravid@ebtseattle.com. 

Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3SHPGYK

Survey Password: Study2024 

Thank you for considering participating in this study! 

Ariel Ravid, PhD and Travis Osborne, PhD 

Co-Directors of Research  

Evidence Based Treatment Centers of Seattle (EBTCS)

The Utah Office of the Legislative Auditor General is conducting a performance audit of the behavioral health workforce in Utah. To document provider feedback and insights on the workforce, we have created a short survey for professional association members to complete. The survey is anonymous and asks questions about challenges and successes within the workforce. We hope you will participate in the survey and share your insights on the mental health counselor profession in Utah. Below is the link to the UMHCA survey. If you are able, please complete the survey by 12/23. Thank you!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/UMHCA-OLAG

Please do not hesitate to reach out to McKenzie Cantlon at mcantlon@le.utah.gov if you have any questions or concerns. We look forward to your participation.

	McKenzie Cantlon
Lead Performance Auditor | Utah State Legislature
	Mobile 716-698-3490 Office 801-538-1033
	mcantlon@le.utah.gov
	W315 State Capitol Complex Salt Lake City, UT 84114
olag.utah.gov

My name is Kyler Lehrbach and I am a doctoral candidate at Temple University working with Philip Kendall, PhD. We are currently looking for mental health service providers to participate in a dissertation project. 

My study is examining the decision making of mental health service providers regarding accepting health insurance. Our hope is that findings improve insurance reimbursement rates for mental health services. 

The survey is available at this link: https://redcap.link/projectaccess

The survey will take less than 20 minutes to complete, all responses will be keptconfidential and used solely for research purposes, and participants will be compensated $5 for their time.

Eligible participants are those who:

• practice under a license of LCSW/LMSW/LICSW, LMFT, LPC, LMHC, or PhD/PsyD

• work in private practice

• see at least 50% of clients out-of-network (i.e., do not accept insurance for the majority of their caseload)

• conduct 10 hours of client facing therapy per week

• see individual clients for 50% or more of their caseload

• have the ability to decide whether they accept insurance for their clinical work

If you require any further information about the study or the survey, please do not hesitate to contact me at access@temple.edu. This study had been approved by Temple University IRB (#31833). Additionally, if you would like to receive a summary of the study findings once they are available, we would be more than happy to provide that to you.

My name is Ellen Dotas, and I am a doctoral candidate at James Madison University in Counseling and Supervision. I am currently seeking participants for a research study that focuses on crisis counselor burnout and self-efficacy. I am doing two studies. One is a quantitative study that explores these issues and also looks at whether someone had any prior training in crisis intervention before they started working in that field. The IRB Protocol number through James Madison University is IRB-FY25-309.

Eligible participants will be counselors who:

·       have a master’s or doctoral degree in counseling, and

·       work or (have worked within the past two years) in a crisis counseling position in a hospital emergency department or on a community mental health agency crisis team.

The second study involves an interview. I am looking for several counselors who, after completing the initial surveys, might then be willing to participate in a virtual interview that explores the lived experiences of counselors who work in hospital emergency departments. Counselors who work in this role have a very important place in mental health support for communities. They have often been underrepresented in research. This study aims to focus on their lived experiences and the challenges and rewards of that work.

If you, or someone you know, is interested in participating in this study/studies and meet the above criteria, please follow this link:

Follow this link to the Survey:
https://jmu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0d2FvpqiBTF9T3U

You will then be redirected to the demographic page, consent form, and survey questions. It will take approximately 30 minutes or less to complete.

For those who would then be interested in participating in the qualitative interview, at the end of the survey is a question about participating in that study. If you would like to participate in a one-time virtual interview to share your experience in this area, please complete the last question and I will then follow up to schedule a time to talk and will send appropriate consent for at that time. The interview will take approximately 45-60 minutes. You may withdraw from participation at any time in the interview without penalty. Participants who withdraw will also be allowed to ask that any recordings be deleted. I am very interested in the experiences and perspectives of those who have done this work. The IRB number for that study is: IRB-FY25-234.

I hope you will consider participating in this research. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at dotaser@dukes.jmu.edu.

Thank you for your consideration,

Ellen R. Dotas, LPC, MEd

My name is Kyler Lehrbach and I am a PhD student in clinical psychology at Temple University under Dr. Philip Kendall. I am currently looking for mental health service providers to participate in my dissertation project.

My study is examining the decision making of mental health service providers regarding accepting health insurance. Our hope is that findings improve insurance reimbursement rates for mental health services.

I have attached information about the survey (i.e., text describing the study and including the survey link). In short, I am looking for licensed mental health service providers who do not accept insurance for the majority of their caseload to fill out a survey that will take less than 20 minutes to complete. All responses will be kept confidential and used solely for research purposes. Participants will be compensated $5 for their time.

“Are you a mental health professional-in-training in the USA or a mental health professional working in the USA?

We are looking for mental health professionals-in-training in the USA and mental health professionals working in the USA to complete a 15–20-minute online survey about their training and experiences in delivering e-therapy.

We are interested in hearing from both those who do and do not use e-therapy.

Be entered to win 1 of 20 $25 USD Amazon gift cards for your participation.

Follow the link below or scan the QR code for more information or to participate!

You can reach us at (506) 458-7924 or anxietylab@unb.ca

Principal Investigator: Emma Giberson (UNB)

Supervisor: Dr. Janine Olthuis (UNB)

REB#: 2024-070”

Emma Giberson (She/Her) | BSc (Hons), MAPRE

PhD Clinical Psychology Graduate Student

University of New Brunswick | Fredericton Campus

Room 16B, Keirstead Hall