Cursing Counselors, Heavy Workload, and Low Pay May Contribute to Staff Shortages at OBBHL

Pictured above: A man in a white button up shirt and blue tie angrily yells at the smartphone in his hand

On August 26, 2021, the Oklahoma Counseling Association distributed the OCA Summer 2021 Newsletter. The newsletter contained an article by Johnie Fredman, PsyD, LPC entitled "Are you a Professional ??." Dr. Fredman serves as the Ethics Liaison for the Oklahoma Counseling Association and is a current board member of the Oklahoma State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure.

In the article, Dr. Fredman reported that the OBBHL continues to be understaffed and that "I believe this now makes five total staff people (out of an office of four!) who have resigned in the past few months". 

Dr. Fredman goes on to speculate that the resignations may be due to the heavy workload or to the low rate of pay. He reports that the OBBHL averages around "500 phone calls and emails per day." 

In addition to the high workload, and low pay, Dr. Fredman states that a contributing factor to staff resignations is "being cursed at, berated, belittled, and talked down to" by counselors interacting with the office. 

Dr. Fredman ends the article encouraging all Licensed Professional Counselors to act professionally when interacting with the board office and in other settings. 

A search on the OklahomaJobs.ok.gov  job board by this writer shows that there are not currently any job positions listed for the Oklahoma State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure as of the publication of this article.