John Petty, M.Ed.

johnpetty@mac.com

802-387-5011





CURRENT EMPLOYMENT



12/88-    Present    Vermont Center for a Safer Society

Founder and Sole Proprietor



Outpatient services providing evaluation and treatment services to adult and adolescent male sex offenders. Referrals from the Vermont and New Hampshire courts, and Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts agencies such as corrections, protective services, mental health agencies, and other sex offender therapists. Between 1988 and 2001, I conducted outpatient evaluation and cognitive-behavioral/relapse prevention treatment groups for adult sex offenders referred by Vermont Corrections. Since 2002 I have provided contract services to a range of employment sites.



7/87-Present    Southern State Correctional Facility

Springfield, VT.

Forensic Evaluator, VTPSA

Contractor to the Vermont Department of Corrections



Provide current "state-of-the art" evaluations (psychosexuals, risk assessments & penile plethysmography) with culturally diverse incarcerated adult male sex offenders who are applying for admission to the Vermont Treatment Program for Sexual Aggressors (VTPSA), an internationally recognized model for incarcerative cognitive-behavioral sex offender treatment. Responsibilities include: psychoeducation, establishment of rapport, extensive clinical interviewing, and report writing. Utilization of actuarial and dynamic based risk assessment instruments, and the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R).



12/95-Present        Resolutions Programs

Montpelier, VT.

Forensic Evaluator



I subcontract to this outpatient sex offender treatment program; providing much the same type of services that I do to the VTPSA. I also evaluate adolescent male sex offenders in this program and incorporate several personality instruments.



 

PAST EMPLOYMENT



11/97-06/04        Vermont Department of Corrections

Forensic Evaluator

 

I subcontracted with the Vermont Department of Corrections to do risk assessment evaluations of culturally diverse non-sexual violent/heinous offenders.



07/99-04/02        Priority Placements, Inc.

Newfane, VT.    

Social Work/MIS Consultant



Priority Placements was a small, private child placement agency licensed by the State of Vermont. Its mission was to provide consistently safe, positive, and predictable outcomes for clients in need of assessment and stabilization in a short-term specialized foster care setting. My responsibilities included case management of youth, ages five to 17, as well as fiscal and information management.



2/93- 3/99        Bennington School Inc.

Bennington, VT.

Consultant



As a subcontractor I conducted residential group and individual treatment primarily with male adolescent sex offenders. Often I would write psychosexual reports. My other responsibilities included consultation and supervision to the school's clinical case managers.



4/87- 6/89        West Central Services Sexual Abuse Treatment Team

Lebanon, NH.

Consultant



I subcontracted to this New Hampshire mental health agency and conducted psychosexual evaluations. I also served as the primary therapist for three weekly outpatient child molester groups, one behavior therapy group, and one monthly aftercare group. I was an active participant in the weekly treatment team meetings.



6/85- 3/88        Brattleboro Memorial Hospital

Brattleboro, VT.

Director of Social Work Services



As hospital social worker, I provided inpatient and outpatient crisis and medical social work services. I facilitated a cardiac rehabilitation group as well as an Alzheimer's caregivers’ support group.

3/84- 7/85        Mental Health Services of Southeastern Vermont

Brattleboro, VT.

Sex Offender Therapist,



Primary therapist for a weekly outpatient child molester group for the Vermont Department of Corrections. This was the second outpatient sex offender treatment group in the state.



2/81- 5/85        Mental Health Services of Southeastern Vermont

Brattleboro, VT.

Emergency Services Specialist



As a Designated Mental Health Professional, I was a member of a rotating on-call team that specialized in emergency psychiatric assessments, commitments, and crisis intervention. Provided crisis intervention counseling to agency patients with chronic mental illnesses.



7/77-381        Department of Social & Rehabilitative Services

Brattleboro, VT.

Protective and Juvenile Services Social Worker



Provided child protection and family assessment services, including when necessary, interventions involving placement of at-risk/abused children and unmanageable adolescents in state custody via the legal system. Provision of case management and emergency services to youth in placement. I provided supervision, training, and support services to licensed foster parents.



10/74-10/76        Franklin County (NY) Mental Health Services

Substance Abuse Counselor

 

Provided individual counseling and crisis intervention services primarily to adolescents referred for substance issues. I also provided values clarification classes in county high school classes as outreach.



4/74- 10/74        Plattsburgh (NY) State University

Upward Bound Counselor



Individual and crisis counseling to high school students accepted into the Upward Bound Program. These students came from low-income families, families in which neither parent held a bachelor's degree, or families of first-generation military veterans.



 

EDUCATION



8/08-Present         Doctoral student in Clinical Psychology

(Anticipated graduation spring of 2013)

Union Institute & University



Practicum 1 (600 hours minimum): 9/09-7/10. Clinician, ServiceNet Inc., Northampton, MA. I perform intake, treatment planning, and individual therapy with a culturally diverse adult male and female outpatient population. I am also a member of the DBT Treatment Team and co-leader for DBT psychoeducation groups. Supervisor: Anna Remen, Ph.D.



7/72-5/73        M.Ed. in Counseling Education

St. Lawrence University                   



9/68-5/72        B.S. in Social Sciences (Psychology major)

Clarkson College of Technology



HONORS AND AWARDS



Fall 2009        Union Institute & University Academic Merit Scholarship



PUBLIC SERVICE



1/03-  9/08        Guardian ad Litem, Windham (VT) Family & District Courts



As a volunteer advisor I advocated for, oversaw provision of services, and safeguarded the ward’s best interests and rights. Most wards were children or adolescents, but some were adults deemed non-competent by the courts.



9/05-  9/08        Aikido Instructor, Green River Aikido, Greenfield, MA.



I taught rolling, falling, footwork, and basic aikido techniques primarily to children and adolescents on a weekly basis, as well as supervised children’s testing for belt rankings.



4/83- 2/87        Director, Brattleboro (VT) Nurturing Parent Program.



I was approached by Parents Anonymous to start a Windham County child abuse prevention/parenting program. I recruited and trained adult volunteer professional trainers, and alternated between facilitating the parent and children education components. I recruited and screened families for participation, and provided public relations, and fundraising duties. This was a ten-week program of weekly three-hour direct services sessions, run twice a year using the donated facilities of a Brattleboro elementary school.

8/73- 9/76        Crisis Counselor, Plattsburgh (NY) Community Crisis Center.



As a trained volunteer, I provided telephone and face-to-face crisis intervention services involving substance abuse, suicide, pregnancy, and mental health issues. As part of an outreach team, I provided psychoeducational presentations to high school students around values clarification. I later became involved in the recruitment and training of new volunteers.



MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS



8/08-Present        American Psychological Association

Graduate Student Affiliate



7/02-Present        American Counseling Association

Professional Member



12/88-Present        Association for Treatment of Sexual Abusers

Clinical Member



PUBLICATIONS/PRODUCTIONS



Pithers, W. D. (Producer), & Beal, L. S. (Director). (1989). Penile plethysmography: Before your assessment begins [Videotape]. Waterbury, VT: Vermont Center for Prevention and Treatment of Sexual Abuse.



Pithers, W. D. (Producer). & Beal, L. S. (Director). (1989). Behavioral therapy with sex offenders [Videotape]. Waterbury, VT: Vermont Center for Prevention and Treatment of Sexual Abuse.



Pithers, W. D., Beal, L., S., Armstrong, J., & Petty, J. (1989). Identification of risk factors

through clinical interviews and analysis of records in R. Laws (Ed.), Relapse prevention

with sex offenders (pp.77-88). New York: Guilford Press.



LICENSES & CERTIFICATIONS



1997            Certification for Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised

Certificate # 97-103.