CIT Utah Academy Instructor / Original CIT Utah Planning Committee Member
Dr. Steven Allen is the coordinator of the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) clinic for the Salt Lake City VA Health Care System and has been involved in the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) since its inception in Utah. Dr. Allen was a member of the original Salt Lake City Police Department CIT planning committee in 2000.
Dr. Allen has been a faculty member teaching the PTSD portion of CIT training since the program’s inception. He is also a faculty member teaching CIT to corrections officers. Dr. Allen has worked with law enforcement agencies from around the state including most agencies in the Wasatch front and Elko, NV.
The CIT program is an essential component of the outreach function of his job at the VA in training law enforcement officers how to interact more effectively with mental health consumers. Through CIT, the Veteran's Administration has been able to help educate law enforcement officers about the challenges presented by PTSD in veterans and learn to intervene more effectively with veterans. Dr. Allen is also committed to improving the health of law enforcement officers by educating them about PTSD and discussing how to deal with occupational hazards they will encounter.
In addition to his role as coordinator of the PTSD clinical team at the VA Medical Center, Dr. Allen has been involved in outreach and education in the community. He holds adjunct positions as Clinical Professor in the Educational Psychology Department and Associate Professor in the Psychiatry Department at the University of Utah. Dr. Allen is also co-chair of the Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)/Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) community partnership and a member of the Utah State Legislature Commission on Veterans and Military Affairs.
