Investigator(s): Lea Carranza, MS
Study Title: The Influence of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Mental Health Providers’ Specializations
I am a student at The Chicago School. This study is being conducted as a part of my Dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology.
I am asking you to participate in a research study about the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on mental health professionals' chosen specializations. You will be asked to complete a demographic survey, ACE questionnaire, and professional practice survey via SurveyMonkey. This will take approximately 10 minutes of your time. This may cause emotional distress or upset, and your confidentiality may be at risk. Risks of study participation are loss of confidentiality, emotional distress or upset, materials or questions that may be regarded as sensitive or invasive, questions about traumatic abuse, and invasion of privacy. Although you may not benefit, it will help to understand how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) influence mental health professionals' specialization choices, potentially improving clinical training, self-awareness, supervision practices, and patient outcomes. By identifying patterns in career motivation, countertransference, and burnout risk, the findings can enhance self-awareness practices for clinicians, promote clinician well-being, and ultimately lead to better client outcomes in the field of mental health.
Please take your time to read the entire document, and feel free to ask any questions before agreeing to this document.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the specialization choices of mental health professionals. Research suggests that individuals with a history of adversity in childhood are more likely to enter helping professions, such as mental health (Elliott & Guy, 1993; Bryce et al., 2021). However, little is known about their personal experiences' influence on the populations or presenting problems they choose to work with.
This study seeks to address this gap by exploring whether clinicians with higher ACE scores are more likely to specialize in trauma-focused therapy or work with clients who have had similar adversities in childhood. Additionally, this study will examine whether personal therapy mitigates these patterns, offering insight into how self-reflection and support impact clinical decision-making.
By identifying these relationships, this study aims to enhance clinical training, improve supervision practices, and promote clinician self-awareness in the mental health field. Findings may help shape polices that support mental health professionals in managing countertransference, reducing burnout, and ensuring ethical and effective care for their clients.
Procedures: You will be asked to complete a one-time online survey about your professional background, specialization choices, and personal childhood experiences. This survey will consist of a demographic survey, ACE questionnaire, and professional practice survey that will take place on SurveyMonkey and will take approximately 10 minutes to complete, and can be done at your convenience.
Risks to Participants: Risks of study participation are loss of confidentiality, emotional distress or upset, materials or questions that may be regarded as sensitive or invasive, questions about traumatic abuse, systematic selection or exclusion of a specific group (age, identity, ethnicity, gender, etc.), and invasion of privacy. The following measures have been put in place to protect your well-being and privacy:
The risk of confidentiality will be minimized by not obtaining and direct identifiable information (names, emails, IP addresses). Additionally, demographic data will be analyzed only in aggregate form to prevent re-identification of individual participants. Finally, all data will be stored in a password-protected computer, on an encrypted storage platform, The Chicago School OneDrive, with access limited to the principal investigator and faculty advisor.
The risk of emotional distress or upset will be minimized by placing a trigger warning before questions about ACEs, trauma, and burnout. The survey is designed to be self-paced, which will allow you to take breaks or exit at any time. Additionally, you may skip any question that causes discomfort. Finally, a brief debriefing statement will be provided at the end of the survey, including a list of mental health resources for participants who may need support. The resources provided are •National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) , Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
The risk of materials or questions that may be regarded as sensitive or invasive will be minimized by framing questions in a neutral, non-judgmental manner, and you will have the option to skip any question should you become uncomfortable or distressed
The risk of questions about traumatic experiences or abuse will be minimized by asking you not provide detailed narratives about your experiences and not monitoring survey completion in real time. You will not be required to justify skipped responses. Additionally, there will not be a time limit on the survey, which allows you to complete the survey at your own pace
The risk of invasion of privacy will be minimized by survey questions being framed as self-report answers and will not be observed or contacted directly. Additionally, a clear exit option will be available for you should you need to. You may exit the survey at any time without penalty and with no haggle. Finally, you will be able to review their responses before submitting.
Benefits to Participants: You will not benefit from this study. However, we hope the information learned from this study may benefit society in our understanding of how the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on professional development. This research may also inform strategies for burnout prevention and clinician well-being, ultimately improving therapist effectiveness and client care.
Alternatives to Participation: Participation in this study is voluntary. You may withdraw from study participation at any time without any penalty.
Confidentiality: During this study, information will be collected about you for research purposes. This includes demographic information (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, professional title, certifications held, highest degree earned, licensure status, population and specialization, work setting), responses to the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) questionnaire, and professional experiences related to burnout and countertransference. However, no directly identifiable information (e.g., name, email, IP address) will be collected.
To protect your privacy, all survey data will be coded, and stored and secured on The Chicago School OneDrive. The survey platform (SurveyMonkey) will have IP tracking disabled. Data will be reported in aggregate form only, meaning no individual responses will be identifiable in study results. Only my chair and I will have access to the data.
Research materials will be retained for a minimum of five years after publication, in accordance with American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines. After this period, all data will be permanently deleted using secure data-wiping software (DBAN).
It is possible that your data may be used for future research or distributed to another researcher without your consent. However, information that could identify you will be removed.
Your research records may be reviewed by federal agencies whose responsibility is to protect human subjects participating in research, including the Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) and by representatives from The Chicago School Institutional Review Board, a committee that oversees research.
Questions/Concerns: If you have questions related to the procedures described in this document please contact:
Lea Carranza, MS, Primary Investigator lcarranza@ego.thechicagoschool.edu
Dr. Mark MacMillin, Faculty Advisor mmacmillin@thechicagoschool.edu
If you have questions concerning your rights in this research study you may contact the Institutional Review Board (IRB), which is concerned with the protection of subjects in research projects. You may reach the IRB office Monday-Friday by calling 312.467.2335 or writing: Institutional Review Board, The Chicago School, 325 N. Wells, Chicago, Illinois, 60654.
Study Title: The Influence of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Mental Health Providers’ Specializations
I am a student at The Chicago School. This study is being conducted as a part of my Dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology.
I am asking you to participate in a research study about the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on mental health professionals' chosen specializations. You will be asked to complete a demographic survey, ACE questionnaire, and professional practice survey via SurveyMonkey. This will take approximately 10 minutes of your time. This may cause emotional distress or upset, and your confidentiality may be at risk. Risks of study participation are loss of confidentiality, emotional distress or upset, materials or questions that may be regarded as sensitive or invasive, questions about traumatic abuse, and invasion of privacy. Although you may not benefit, it will help to understand how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) influence mental health professionals' specialization choices, potentially improving clinical training, self-awareness, supervision practices, and patient outcomes. By identifying patterns in career motivation, countertransference, and burnout risk, the findings can enhance self-awareness practices for clinicians, promote clinician well-being, and ultimately lead to better client outcomes in the field of mental health.
Please take your time to read the entire document, and feel free to ask any questions before agreeing to this document.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the specialization choices of mental health professionals. Research suggests that individuals with a history of adversity in childhood are more likely to enter helping professions, such as mental health (Elliott & Guy, 1993; Bryce et al., 2021). However, little is known about their personal experiences' influence on the populations or presenting problems they choose to work with.
This study seeks to address this gap by exploring whether clinicians with higher ACE scores are more likely to specialize in trauma-focused therapy or work with clients who have had similar adversities in childhood. Additionally, this study will examine whether personal therapy mitigates these patterns, offering insight into how self-reflection and support impact clinical decision-making.
By identifying these relationships, this study aims to enhance clinical training, improve supervision practices, and promote clinician self-awareness in the mental health field. Findings may help shape polices that support mental health professionals in managing countertransference, reducing burnout, and ensuring ethical and effective care for their clients.
Procedures: You will be asked to complete a one-time online survey about your professional background, specialization choices, and personal childhood experiences. This survey will consist of a demographic survey, ACE questionnaire, and professional practice survey that will take place on SurveyMonkey and will take approximately 10 minutes to complete, and can be done at your convenience.
Risks to Participants: Risks of study participation are loss of confidentiality, emotional distress or upset, materials or questions that may be regarded as sensitive or invasive, questions about traumatic abuse, systematic selection or exclusion of a specific group (age, identity, ethnicity, gender, etc.), and invasion of privacy. The following measures have been put in place to protect your well-being and privacy:
The risk of confidentiality will be minimized by not obtaining and direct identifiable information (names, emails, IP addresses). Additionally, demographic data will be analyzed only in aggregate form to prevent re-identification of individual participants. Finally, all data will be stored in a password-protected computer, on an encrypted storage platform, The Chicago School OneDrive, with access limited to the principal investigator and faculty advisor.
The risk of emotional distress or upset will be minimized by placing a trigger warning before questions about ACEs, trauma, and burnout. The survey is designed to be self-paced, which will allow you to take breaks or exit at any time. Additionally, you may skip any question that causes discomfort. Finally, a brief debriefing statement will be provided at the end of the survey, including a list of mental health resources for participants who may need support. The resources provided are •National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) , Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
The risk of materials or questions that may be regarded as sensitive or invasive will be minimized by framing questions in a neutral, non-judgmental manner, and you will have the option to skip any question should you become uncomfortable or distressed
The risk of questions about traumatic experiences or abuse will be minimized by asking you not provide detailed narratives about your experiences and not monitoring survey completion in real time. You will not be required to justify skipped responses. Additionally, there will not be a time limit on the survey, which allows you to complete the survey at your own pace
The risk of invasion of privacy will be minimized by survey questions being framed as self-report answers and will not be observed or contacted directly. Additionally, a clear exit option will be available for you should you need to. You may exit the survey at any time without penalty and with no haggle. Finally, you will be able to review their responses before submitting.
Benefits to Participants: You will not benefit from this study. However, we hope the information learned from this study may benefit society in our understanding of how the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on professional development. This research may also inform strategies for burnout prevention and clinician well-being, ultimately improving therapist effectiveness and client care.
Alternatives to Participation: Participation in this study is voluntary. You may withdraw from study participation at any time without any penalty.
Confidentiality: During this study, information will be collected about you for research purposes. This includes demographic information (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, professional title, certifications held, highest degree earned, licensure status, population and specialization, work setting), responses to the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) questionnaire, and professional experiences related to burnout and countertransference. However, no directly identifiable information (e.g., name, email, IP address) will be collected.
To protect your privacy, all survey data will be coded, and stored and secured on The Chicago School OneDrive. The survey platform (SurveyMonkey) will have IP tracking disabled. Data will be reported in aggregate form only, meaning no individual responses will be identifiable in study results. Only my chair and I will have access to the data.
Research materials will be retained for a minimum of five years after publication, in accordance with American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines. After this period, all data will be permanently deleted using secure data-wiping software (DBAN).
It is possible that your data may be used for future research or distributed to another researcher without your consent. However, information that could identify you will be removed.
Your research records may be reviewed by federal agencies whose responsibility is to protect human subjects participating in research, including the Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) and by representatives from The Chicago School Institutional Review Board, a committee that oversees research.
Questions/Concerns: If you have questions related to the procedures described in this document please contact:
Lea Carranza, MS, Primary Investigator lcarranza@ego.thechicagoschool.edu
Dr. Mark MacMillin, Faculty Advisor mmacmillin@thechicagoschool.edu
If you have questions concerning your rights in this research study you may contact the Institutional Review Board (IRB), which is concerned with the protection of subjects in research projects. You may reach the IRB office Monday-Friday by calling 312.467.2335 or writing: Institutional Review Board, The Chicago School, 325 N. Wells, Chicago, Illinois, 60654.