Please join us in congratulating CODAC Therapist Bill Owenby for being recognized as a 2022 40 Under 40 recipient! This esteemed honor celebrates “the rising leaders, entrepreneurs, influencers, creators and contributors that are shaping our community and paving the way for what comes next” according to the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 40 Under 40 web page. Here’s what makes Bill Owenby, ABD, MC, LPCS, LASAC, NCC, CCMHC, ACS, CCTP, DCMHS, worthy of this incredible recognition:
Bill is a provider of integrated wellness. He provides therapy, nutritional services, and alternative holistic treatments for people with trauma, substance use disorders, general mental health concerns, and serious mental illnesses (like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder).
He is a Nationally Certified Therapist, a Nationally Certified Supervisor, as well as a Certified Telehealth Provider.
He also trains the next generations of behavioral health professionals by providing free clinical supervision, professional consultation, and trainings on Best Practice treatments.
Bill is a leader in his field, teaching and training at all levels to improve the quality of services in the community. He has developed trauma therapy interventions for CODAC, where he is also a Sleep Wake Disorder specialist and a co-consultant for smoking cessation, weight loss and caffeine use impairments to help improve patients’ health/quality of life.
Bill has also helped clients in crises, and in detox and hospital settings by providing immediate therapy, diagnostic clarification, and treatment recommendations to improve outcomes.
He is currently studying how COVID stress/diagnoses have impaired health at higher and more severe rates than other illnesses and how to improve the health of those with serious mental illnesses.
Combining his experience as a former Karate Master, karate instructor and World Fighting and Forms Champion with his career as trauma therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor, Bill is currently developing a therapeutic self-defense program for survivors of violence to improve their confidence, quality of life and safety.
Bill is also pending three book chapters as lead author in an international encyclopedia on Social Justice and Multicultural Counseling. The chapters will aid other researchers, professionals and therapists to improve treatment from a social justice and advocacy perspective, which is much-needed in today’s world.
Bill is accomplished in endeavors surrounding implementing local and national policies and procedures for examining and permitting Emotional Support Animals (ESA) as a form of therapeutic care. He has a newly published book on the clinical concerns and ethical issues related to utilizing Emotional Support Animals in healthcare treatment (Avoiding Faux Paws & Pitfalls with Emotional Support Animals). This book – recently nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for 2023 – is the first of its kind to identify legal, ethical, and clinical approaches and concerns of humanely and clinically using animals in treatment.
Bill is also a nationally-published researcher and expert in the field of ESA and introduces a novel model to safeguard clients, professionals and animals in the ESA dynamics of our society.
While working full-time, publishing and developing curricula, Bill is also a doctoral candidate in Counseling. He is examining how to improve multicultural counseling skills, quality of care and outcomes for minority populations with mental health needs by identifying specific personality and confidence factors among current therapists.
Bill is the recipient of the Chi Sigma Iota International Awards for Most Outstanding Doctoral Counseling Student, Outstanding Research & Writing, Outstanding Doctoral Student and Chapter Fellowship. He was nominated for Clinician of the Year by the Association of Clinicians and by the Arizona Association of Counselors.
During his undergraduate years, Bill was the president of Psi Chi, president and founder of the Pima Community College Cycling Team and Psychology Club, and member/recipient of the All-Arizona Academic Team, with a nomination to the All-American Team. Earlier in life, Bill also earned two national championships and 12 state championships in cycling, two world championships in karate, and held two 20-year City of Tucson records in swimming.
Finally, Bill embraces his duty and commitment to helping others in his community. He enjoys the challenge of providing complex and holistic approaches to healthcare and wants to see his local community grow and heal – one client at a time, one experience at a time. He is honored to be a recipient of the 2022 Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 40 Under 40 award as a non-profit community health therapist, supervisor, educator and leader.
