LCSW Jennifer Mitchell tells board her DUI conviction prompted 'profound' change as she seeks early termination of probation

Jennifer Ann Mitchell, a licensed clinical social worker, asked the California Board of Behavioral Sciences on Feb. 27 for early termination of her probation, telling the board the discipline and subsequent work produced a “profound transformation.”

At a hearing before Administrative Law Judge Corin Wong, Deputy Attorney General Anahita Crawford summarized Mitchell’s discipline: Mitchell was convicted of driving under the influence in January 2020 with a reported blood-alcohol concentration the hearing record described as 0.35 percent; the record shows a statement of issues was filed in December 2020 and a stipulated settlement placed Mitchell on probation with multiple conditions. A later petition to revoke probation led to a stipulated settlement that extended Mitchell’s probation; the hearing record indicates probation is currently set to terminate June 23, 2028.

Mitchell described a long professional history in social services and group-home work in which she said chronic exposure to trauma normalized crisis response and hindered her ability to process emotions. She told the board that after the DUI and later disciplinary events she engaged in deep therapeutic work. Mitchell testified she completed required coursework and programs, participated in psychotherapy and substance‑use treatment, attended AA meetings early in her rehabilitation, completed a three‑month DUI program and community service requirements, maintained regular drug/alcohol testing and has submitted the required documentation to probation. She said she has been sober since the date of the crash and that recent traumatic events in her life reinforced her abstinence.

Mitchell walked the board through the internal changes she attributes to psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral work, meditation and mindfulness practice and grief work. She told the panel she now checks daily with gratitude practice and meditation, has regular therapy appointments (monthly at present), and uses cognitive-behavioral techniques in her clinical work. Mitchell described attending various AA meetings, keeping periodic contact with sponsors earlier in her recovery, and continuing to use selected mutual‑aid meetings and individual psychotherapy as supports.

Board members asked about the positive tests and missed check-ins that led to a petition to revoke probation; Crawford’s summary briefed the board that Mitchell had failed tests in December 2021 and had earlier missed testing and call‑ins that resulted in a cease-practice order in January 2022. Mitchell said subsequent missed check-ins stopped after the revocation matter; she said she now takes several daily steps to ensure testing compliance and submitted evidence of clean tests since the violations. Mitchell also described workplace impacts: she lost clinical panels during the suspension and later had some clients continue as cash payers; she testified that an employer later reinstated her after suspension and rehired once the stipulation was satisfied.

Mitchell asked the board to consider her written and documentary submissions, including letters from professional colleagues and personal references, course certificates, psychotherapy summaries and a summary of interventions she said she uses to maintain recovery. The board did not take action at the hearing; Judge Wong closed the record and told Mitchell the board would deliberate in closed session and mail a written decision.

No vote or board decision was recorded at the hearing.