A Word From The Executive Director
Greetings from the Mental Health Regulatory Agency.
We hope your transition from summer activities to fall activities is going smoothly, and you and your families are well.
The Agency has continued to work through our various projects as we head into the upcoming 2027 Legislative Session. These projects have kept staff and board members busy. Both boards will be accomplishing strategic planning in the next couple of months, and they will attempt to line out projects and work plans for the upcoming year.
2027 Legislative Session. The Agency is preparing to present our budget during the session. We are updating Key Performance Measures and completing required state reports to ensure we have the most current information when outlining for our budget committees the work we do and the impacts the Boards have on Oregon’s citizens. While neither Board has any specific legislation request for the session, MHRA has participated in planning for a cleanup bill to ensure our authorizing statutes for fingerprint-based background checks remain accepted by our federal partners. Additionally, the Board of Psychology has provided input into an anticipated legislative concept that provides cleanup for a couple of administrative issues in the legislation for the Board’s new Licensed Behavioral Health and Wellness Practitioner license.
Speaking of
LBHWPs, the Board of Psychology is wrapping up its intensive rulemaking around this new license. The proposed changes are out for comment and the Board is well-positioned to meet the January 1st, 2027 deadline to have all rules in place to implement the license.
New licensing system. MHRA was selected to participate in reviewing the proposals received in response to the recent statewide request for licensing system vendors. Next steps will include getting additional information from some vendors and beginning to narrow down the remaining vendors who will be selected for a statewide price agreement. We are still anticipating being able to begin new system work by the fall of 2027.
As always, we invite you to attend a board meeting to learn more about your Board, and/or take a trip through our website to stay current on licensing and compliance issues.
Thank you,
Todd Younkin
Administrative Rulemaking
On September 29, 2026, the Board filed a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the following rule changes:
Implements SB 1547, licensed behavioral health and wellness practitioners; reorganization; updates; continuing education; applications; fees.
- Creates a new Division 60- Licensed Behavioral Health and Wellness Practitioners (LBHWPs) with 10 sections, establishing:
- Initial application and renewal procedures
- Licensure requirements: education, experience, and exams
- Continued supervision requirements and reporting
- Code of professional conduct
- Requirements for representation to the public
- Fees
- Moves psychology specific rules from Division 10 into a new Division 50- Psychology Practice (sections 1, 2, 3, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 25, 30, 36, 38, 39, 41, 50, 55, 56, 57, 60, 62, & 75)
- In Division 10- Procedural Rules, revises sections 18, 20, & 65 to include LBHWPs
- In Division 20- Compliance, revises sections 25, 45, 55, 75, 85, & 96 include LBHWPs
- Adds continuing education (CE) requirements for LBHWPs in Division 40
- Removes one-year wait for Board to review a second application if the first is denied, and clarifies that application extensions must be for good cause.
- Adds new CE related definitions and methodology for crediting home study courses that involve reading material and publication activities. Expands list of activities that do not qualify for CE. Adds new requirements for documenting home study courses that involve reading material and publication activities. For psychologists and psychologist associates, clarifies ethics committee meeting qualifications and adds a new four-credit limitation for office records organization, records maintenance and security procedures, or billing software instruction.
- Makes various clarifications, reorganizes, updates terminology, removes obsolete/archaic provisions, and corrects references.
The agency requests public comment on whether other options should be considered for achieving the rule’s substantive goals while reducing negative economic impact of the rule on business. Please email your comments to
laree.stashek@mhra.oregon.gov or mail them to the Board’s office at 3218 Pringle Road SE, Ste. 130, Salem, OR 97302. All comments must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on October 22, 2026. Additionally, a public hearing will be held at 2:00 p.m. on October 22, 2026.
Please visit our
Administrative Rulemaking webpage for more information.
Enforcement Actions
During the period of time from July 14, 2026 to October 12, 2026, the Board took the following actions:
Date of Board Action: 9/11/26
Violation(s): OAR 858-020-0045(5)(a), Failure to Cooperate with a Board Investigation, which is Unprofessional Conduct Pursuant to ORS 675.070(2)(d).
Sanction(s): License Revocation
Date of Board Action: 9/11/26
Violation(s): ORS 675.020(1)(a), Unlicensed Practice of Psychology
Sanction(s): $40,000 Civil Penalty
Date of Board Action: 9/11/26
Violation(s): OAR 858-010-0020(6), False Statement on Board Application Form
Sanction(s): $200 Civil Penalty
Date of Board Action: 9/14/26
Violation(s): OAR 858-020-0045(5)(a), Failure to Cooperate with a Board Investigation, which is Unprofessional Conduct Pursuant to ORS 675.070(2)(d).
Sanction(s): License Revocation
In Memoriam
Sally Jeanne Grosscup, Ph.D.
Sally passed away peacefully on July 28, 2026, in Eugene, OR at the Pete Moore Hospice House next to her husband of 58 years after a brief illness. Born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1946 to Harold and Velma Thoenig, Sally and her family moved to Eugene, Oregon when she was 3yr old. Sally graduated from South Eugene High School in 1964, where she served as yearbook editor, and from the University of Oregon in 1968. She later earned her master’s degree from Miami University (Ohio) and returned to the University of Oregon to earn her PhD in Counseling Psychology in '77. During the '66-67 academic year, she studied abroad at the University of Vienna through the Institute of European Studies meeting her future husband and life partner, Rick Grosscup. They married in 1968.
Sally's greatest enjoyment was the help she provided thousands of patients for more than half a century of healing. In Eugene, Oregon, she was White Bird Clinic’s first psychology supervisor and directed Lane County Oregon's Drug, Alcohol, and Corrections treatment program for a decade before establishing a private practice as a licensed psychologist for 41 Years. She was a proud member of the Oregon Psychological Association as a member of its board of directors & treasurer. Additionally, she spent many years on its is Ethics Committee. She was also very involved with the Lane County Psychologists' Association. She wrote many articles for the associations including being ahead of her time writing about Telehealth in '10. She even played a small part in the process of developing the DSM-V. Sally had a great impact on her community, the Oregon mental health professionals community, and on her patients for over half a century.
An avid adventurer and athlete, Sally participated in marathons and triathlons and climbed peaks across the Pacific Northwest—including all Three Sisters in Oregon—as well as summits worldwide such as Aconcagua, Argentina and Imja Tse (Island Peak), Nepal. Her passion for travel and learning new cultures took her to six continents and over fifty countries.
Sally lived her life to its fullest! She is survived by her husband Rick and their two children: Aaron (born 1974) and Valerie Spear PMHNP DNP (born 1987). A Celebration of Life will be announced this fall.
Susan South, Psy.D.
It is with much sadness that we announce the passing of Susan Marie South Brennan on December 2nd, 2025, following a rapid progression of her cancer. Susan was born to Joanne and Charles South in Los Angeles. She grew up in Albany, Oregon, and attended St. Mary’s Grade School, North Albany Middle School, and West Albany High School. She attended Santa Clara University–the fourth generation South to do so–and graduated in 1986 with a BA in English Literature. Upon returning to Oregon, Susan earned a Master's in Education from Portland State University and taught English and religious studies at Central Catholic High School. She ultimately earned both a Master's degree in Psychology and her Doctorate of Clinical Psychology from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.
Susan worked as a clinical psychologist at New Mexico State University, the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, Good Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis, and the State of Oregon Disability Determination Services, where she investigated and evaluated medical and psychological disability claims for the last 10 years. She had previously specialized in geropsychology. In 2005, she managed to squeeze into her schedule a volunteer stint in New Orleans to work as a member of a mental health disaster response team after Hurricane Katrina. Susan was a member of the Oregon Psychological Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Mental Health Alliance. Susan is survived by her husband, Dr. Stephen Brennan, daughters Emma (Lane Johnson) and Maggie, parents Joanne and Charles South, and brothers Robert (Jennifer) and Michael (Erica). She was preceded in death by her sister, Laura South, a heartbreaking eleven days earlier.
Official obituary.
Please visit our
Meetings page to see upcoming Board and committee meetings.
Contact This official newsletter of the Oregon Board of Psychology is edited by Board staff. If you would like to submit an "In Memoriam" tribute for a member of the psychology community, or have other comments or suggestions, please
email us. |