APPENDIX G

First Electronic Message to Participants

Dear Licensed Professional Counselor:

I am a doctoral candidate under the direction of Professor Louis V. Paradise in the Department of Educational Leadership, Counseling and Foundations at the University of New Orleans. I

developed the “LPC Uses and Perceptions of the DSM-IV-TR” (UPDSM) questionnaire in order to conduct a research study to measure the extent to which LPCs utilize the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). The UPDSM will also measure LPCs’ perceptions of their training, multicultural and ethical issues in regards to diagnosis and the DSM-IV-TR, and how their theoretical orientation impacts the process of diagnosis.

If you hold a professional counseling license, I request that you be a part of this study in order to contribute to the counseling body of knowledge about these issues facing professional counselors today.

If you choose to participate in this study, all information that you provide will be anonymous, and there will be no way of identifying you after you submit your answers. Although the results of the research study may be published or used in professional conference presentations, your name will not be used. The survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

If you are willing to assist me with this important study, please click or cut and paste the following link in your browser to the UPDSM:

[survey link]

Completion and electronic submission of the UPDSM will indicate your consent to participate in this study. Again, your participation in this study is entirely voluntary, and if you choose not to participate or to withdraw from the study at any time, there will be no penalty to you.

The risks of participating in this study are minimal. You may tire while answering the questions or you may experience some discomfort due to the personal nature of some of the questions. If you would like additional information, have any questions concerning the research study, or you would like to discuss any discomfort you feel as a result of completing this study, you may contact me, Micah Patureau-Hatchett, by telephone, (504) 481-8195 or by email,

[email protected]. You may also contact my faculty advisor, Dr. Louis V. Paradise, by telephone, (504) 280-6026, or by email, [email protected].

Sincerely,

Micah Patureau-Hatchett, LPC, M.Ed., NCC Doctoral Candidate

University of New Orleans

348 Bicentennial Education Building

University of New Orleans, Lakefront Campus New Orleans, LA 70148

(504) 280-6026 [email protected]

Second Electronic Message to Participants

Dear Licensed Professional Counselors:

Approximately two weeks ago, I wrote to you in regards to a study I am conducting in order to measure the extent to which LPCs utilize the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). The “LPCs Uses and Perceptions of the DSM-IV-TR” (UPDSM) is designed to also measure LPCs’ perceptions of their training, multicultural and ethical issues in regards to diagnosis and the DSM-IV-TR, and how their theoretical orientation impacts the process of diagnosis.

If you have already participated in this study by completing the UPDSM, I thank you.

If you have not had the opportunity to participate and are a licensed professional counselor, please take 10 minutes to read the following information and follow the hyperlink below to complete the UPDSM. Please note that current usage of the DSM-IV-TR is NOT required to complete this questionnaire.

I request that you be a part of this national study in order to contribute to the counseling body of knowledge about these issues facing professional counselors today.

If you chose to participate in this study, all information that you provide will be anonymous, and there will be no way of identifying you after you submit your answers. Although the results of the research study may be published or used in professional conference presentations, your name will not be used. The survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

Clicking on or cutting and pasting the following link into your browser will allow you to access the UPDSM:

[survey link]

Completion and electronic submission of the UPDSM will indicate your consent to participate in this study. Again, your participation in this study is entirely voluntary, and if you choose not to participate or to withdraw from the study at any time, there will be no penalty to you.

The risks of participating in this study are minimal. You may tire while answering the questions or you may experience some discomfort due to the personal nature of some of the questions. If you would like additional information, have any questions concerning the research study, or you would like to discuss any discomfort you feel as a result of completing this study, you may contact me, Micah Patureau-Hatchett, by telephone, (504) 481-8195 or by email,

[email protected]. You may also contact my faculty advisor, Dr. Louis V. Paradise, by telephone, (504) 280-6026 or by email, [email protected].

Sincerely,

Micah Patureau-Hatchett, LPC, M.Ed., NCC Doctoral Candidate

University of New Orleans

348 Bicentennial Education Building

University of New Orleans, Lakefront Campus New Orleans, LA 70148

(504) 280-6026 [email protected]

Third Message to Participants

Dear Licensed Professional Counselors:

This is my last effort to encourage you if you have not had the opportunity to participate and are

a licensed professional counselor, to please take 10 minutes to read the following information

and follow the hyperlink below to complete the UPDSM. Please note that current usage of the

DSM-IV-TR is NOT required to complete this questionnaire.

I am conducting a study to measure the extent to which LPCs utilize the Diagnostic and

Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). The “LPCs Uses and

Perceptions of the DSM-IV-TR” (UPDSM) is designed to also measure LPCs’ perceptions of

their training, multicultural and ethical issues in regards to diagnosis and the DSM-IV-TR, and

how their theoretical orientation impacts the process of diagnosis.

If you choose to participate in this study, all information that you provide will be anonymous,

and there will be no way of identifying you after you submit your answers. Although the results

of the research study may be published or used in professional conference presentations, your

name will not be used. The survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

Clicking on or cutting and pasting the following link into your browser will allow you to access

the UPDSM:

[Survey Link]

Completion and electronic submission of the UPDSM will indicate your consent to participate in

this study. Again, your participation in this study is entirely voluntary, and if you choose not to

participate or to withdraw from the study at any time, there will be no penalty to you.

you would like additional information, have any questions concerning the research study, or you

would like to discuss any discomfort you feel as a result of completing this study, you may

contact me, Micah Patureau-Hatchett, by telephone, (504) 481-8195 or by email,

[email protected]. You may also contact my faculty advisor, Dr. Louis V. Paradise, by

telephone, (504) 280-6026 or by email, [email protected].

Sincerely,

Micah Patureau-Hatchett, LPC Doctoral Candidate

University of New Orleans

348 Bicentennial Education Building

University of New Orleans, Lakefront Campus New Orleans, LA 70148

(504) 280-6026 [email protected]

Final Message to Participants

Dear Participants:

Thank you to everyone who participated in my dissertation study survey titled “LPC Uses and

Perceptions of the DSM-IV-TR.” The data collection and analyses has concluded.

If you would like to receive a copy of the final results, please send an email request to Micah

Patureau-Hatchett at [email protected].

If you would like additional information about this study or if you would like to discuss any

discomforts you may have experienced, please send your request to the principal investigator for

this study, Micah Patureau-Hatchett, at [email protected]. You may also contact my faculty

advisor, Dr. Louis V. Paradise, by email, [email protected] or by telephone, 504-280-

6026, for more information regarding this study.

Thank you again for your participation,

Micah Patureau-Hatchett, M.Ed., NCC, LPC Doctoral Candidate

University of New Orleans

348 Bicentennial Education Building

University of New Orleans, Lakefront Campus 2000 Lakeshore Dr.

New Orleans, LA 70148 504-280-6026

VITA

Micah Patureau-Hatchett earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the

University of New Orleans in 1998. Micah returned to the University of New Orleans and

graduated with a Master of Education degree in mental health counseling in 2001, and a Ph.D. in

counselor education from the University of New Orleans in August 2008.

Micah is a licensed professional counselor (LPC), and national certified counselor

(NCC). She is a member of the American Counseling Association, and the Louisiana Counseling

Association.

Micah has experience as a mental health counselor in a variety of settings, including a

private partial hospitalization program, and a non-profit organization which provided

psychoeducational groups to children of divorce. She served as a graduate assistant for the

practicum and internship component in the Counseling Program of the University of New

Orleans Department of Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations, and was a

university and group supervisor of master’s students. She currently works in a private practice.

She has participated in presentations about group process with the severely mentally ill, and

helped to establish the Louisiana chapter of Counselors for Social Justice. She has co-authored