UWyo MagazineServing Wyoming

January 2016 | Vol. 17, No. 2

New Era of Science

Professor Matt Gray, who oversees the Wyoming Trauma Treatment Telehealth Clinic, meets with graduate students Sarah Steinmetz and Kendal Binion.

UW’s professors go far beyond teaching to positively impact every corner of the state.

By Micaela Myers

When you think of the impact professors make in a community, you probably think of the classroom and the many lives they touch through teaching. While this is indeed a core impact, University of Wyoming professors serve the state far beyond the classroom through their outreach, research and special projects.

UWyo Magazine invited nominations of outstanding professors who are making a difference across the state. We received a windfall of impressive suggestions from every college—so much so that we hope to make this an annual feature. Here, we introduce you to 10 of UW’s professors who help make life in the Cowboy State even better.

Trauma Treatment

Thanks to the efforts of psychology Professor Matt Gray, Wyoming survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence in Rawlins, Cheyenne and Gillette can receive free, evidence-based therapy via the Wyoming Trauma Treatment Telehealth Clinic.

“Wyoming is certainly a state above all others that can really benefit from and effectively utilize distal (distance) technologies to try to connect rural populations with specialized university services,” Gray says. “We currently have three sites—Wyoming Safe House in Cheyenne, Gillette Abuse Refuge Foundation and Carbon County COVE in Rawlins. They’re all sexual assault and domestic violence agencies that provide tremendous support and services to the clients they serve, but a lot of times these centers would tell us they had difficulty getting trauma-focused, specialized therapy services for folks who have those needs.” Gray hopes to expand the clinic to other rural communities if consistent funding is secured.

Using encrypted software, psychology doctoral students provide therapy via video conferencing. “This is a natural, symbiotic relationship because our clinic is staffed by Ph.D. students in the psychology department,” says Gray, who trained at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center and National Center for PTSD. “This telehealth project has allowed us to make sure UW students get a very concentrated experience with these issues.”

The clinics are also cost-effective. “There’s no cost to clients, and there’s virtually no cost to the distal agencies. The only cost that we incur when I write a grant is just a graduate assistant. All of the monies go toward supporting the training of doctoral students who are working on a Ph.D. and to serve a very needy population in the state who might not otherwise have services,” says Gray, who currently serves on the Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Board of Directors and the Wyoming State Board of Psychology.

The first trauma telehealth clinic opened in Rawlins seven years ago, and clinic results are impressive. “We have pretty consistent and significant reduction in PTSD symptoms and depressive symptoms,” Gray says, adding that client, therapist and advocate staff satisfaction with the clinics is also extremely high.


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