Eric Schmidt

Eric Schmidt has worked in the behavioral health and substance abuse field for the past 20 years. He served primarily in key executive level positions for community-based behavioral health care/substance abuse treatment organizations.

Eric boasts both a Masters of Science in Social Work and a Masters of Business Administration. Aside from his business and administrative success, Eric, as a Licensed Mental Health Therapist, personally provides a variety of clinical services, such as individual, group, and family treatment, diagnostic assessments, and psychosocial assessments utilizing a range of techniques and theoretical designs. Further, Eric is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Utah School of Social Work, where he teaches a variety of clinical and professional development courses. He has utilized marketing, sales, and management skills to dramatically amplify revenues and operations for many of the agencies for which he has worked. He is excited to be at the helm of New Roads.

DBT Clinician Certification from the Linehan Board of Certification.

New Roads Behavioral Health is extremely proud to announce that our CEO and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Team Leader, Eric Schmidt, has received his DBT Clinician Certification from the Linehan Board of Certification.  He is the 5th individual in the State of Utah, is one of only 500 in the U.S., and is among one of less than 2000 in the world to earn this distinction.

Linehan Board Of Certification is awarded to those who have demonstrated extensive knowledge of DBT, to those who have proven ability to deliver the treatment with adherent fidelity to the evidence-based model, and to those who have established a thorough mindfulness practice.

This was no small feat for our Eric, which required intensive study and practice. To attain certification, Eric passed a comprehensive exam measuring knowledge of the essential components, principles, and treatment methods of DBT.  Many candidates do not initially pass this exam because of the breadth of material it covers and the intensity of studying required to pass. Eric confirmed his ability deliver adherent DBT treatment by submitting three consecutive videos of actual client sessions, which are then submitted for evaluation of strict fidelity. To achieve this, Eric for years submitted videos to DBT experts for coding and coaching. Finally, Eric participated in a multi-day mindfulness retreat, which he intends to do again when the pandemic is behind us.

Although Eric has been actively learning and applying DBT since the 90’s, he decided to pursue certification, which is relatively new, for several reasons.  Eric has become a nationally recognized and highly requested DBT trainer.  This certification further bolsters the recognition of his knowledge for those who request his workshops.  He also felt this would offer unique credibility to our DBT programming at New Roads. Finally, certification fulfills a personal challenge to himself.

Certified Prolonged Exposure Therapist

Eric Schmidt recently completed his certification as a Certified Prolonged Exposure Therapist by the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania.

Prolonged exposure (PE) was developed by Edna Foa, PhD, Director of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety. Numerous well-controlled studies have shown that PE significantly reduces the symptoms of PTSD, depression, anger, and anxiety in trauma survivors. Practitioners throughout the United States and many foreign countries currently use PE to successfully treat survivors of varied traumas including rape, assault, child abuse, combat, motor vehicle accidents and disasters. PE has been beneficial for those suffering from co-occurring PTSD and substance abuse when combined with substance abuse treatment.

Over years of testing and development, PE has evolved into an adaptable program of intervention to address the needs of varied trauma survivors. In addition to reducing symptoms of PTSD, PE instills confidence and a sense of mastery, improves various aspects of daily functioning, increases client’s ability to cope with courage rather than fearfulness when facing stress, and improves their ability to discriminate safe and unsafe situations.