back

https://socialwork.du.edu/about/gssw-directory/denise-cathleen-rice-prior

Denise Cathleen Rice-Prior

Adjunct

denise.rice@du.edu

Craig Hall, 2148 South High St. Denver, CO 80210

What I do

I work hard every day to contribute to the social work profession in a way that promotes social change and respects the lived experience of each person I encounter. Through both passion and perseverance (aka grit), I strive to share my love of the profession with the next generation of social work professionals.

Professional Biography

Professor Rice-Prior is an an LCSW and LASUDC in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado.She received her MSW from Cal State San Bernardino in 2001. She is a full-time faculty member with Utah State University in the Social Work Department. Professor Rice-Prior also works as a licensed mental health therapist for the Carbon County Sheriff’s office (WY), working with individuals in the county jail. She has been teaching as an adjunct with GSSW since 2016 and has taught various courses, both in person and online, since 2019. Professor Rice-Prior is a full-time student finishing a Doctorate in Social Work through Walden University. Her research is exploring grit as a contributing factor to social work retention following burnout. Her professional experience includes child welfare, community mental health, corrections, suicide assessment and intervention, co-occurring disorders, substance use treatment, trauma, crisis response, and hospital-based psychiatric crisis assessment. Professor Rice-Prior has presented on trauma and its impact on the brain at national and state conferences. She developed and has presented an advanced training curriculum (AdoptCare Advanced) for child welfare staff, mental health providers, court/legal staff, and resource parents on the impact of trauma on the brain for Raise the Future (formerly The Adoption Exchange) across the countryI. Professor Rice-Prior is a volunteer trainer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and a QPR trainer. She has four dogs and 2 cats. Her husband is her biggest fan, and they share 3 adult daughters and recently became grandparents.

Degree(s)

  • MSW, MSW, Cal State San Bernardino, 2001
  • BS, Sociology, University of La Verne, 1997

Licensure / Accreditations

  • Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
  • Licensed Addiction Counselor
  • Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
  • Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)