Rebekah Halmo

PhD, MSW, LCSW

Research Scientist

Nursing


Overview


Rebekah (Becky) Halmo has extensive experience designing, implementing, and evaluating education and training initiatives to enhance the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of the behavioral health workforce.

She has helped to secure external grant funding from more than a dozen agencies at both the federal and state levels and has managed projects spanning a range of topics including evidence-based treatment for substance and opioid use disorders, harm reduction approaches for substance misuse, behavioral health and primary care integration, SBIRT training for health professionals, trauma-informed school-based mental health services, and behavioral health workforce resilience.

With a background in clinical social work, Dr. Halmo approaches all aspects of the research process through a social justice lens and is committed to advancing scholarship that is collaborative, equitable, and accessible to all.

Research Interests


Substance use, harm reduction, stigma, health education, workforce development

Selected Publications

Putney, J., Halmo, R., Collin, C.-R., Abrego-Baltay, B., O’Brien, M., & Thomas, K. A. (2024). The perceived impact of substance use education on social work students’ knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Substance Use & Addiction Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/29767342241229051

Collin, C.-R., Putney, J., Halmo, R., Chinamasa, G., Desmond, S., Dodillet, N., & Cadet, T. (2024). Impact of virtual learning on interprofessional simulation outcomes: A mixed-methods study. Journal of Rural Mental Health,48(1), 36–46. https://doi.org/10.1037/rmh0000245

Halmo, R. S., Putney, J. M., & Collin, C.-R. R. (2023). Teaching note – Substance use education to improve harm reduction attitudes: Preparing social workers to advance public health. Journal of Social Work Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2023.2260843

Collin, C.-R., Halmo, R., Putney, J., & Cadet, T. (2022). Interprofessional skills as a predictor of culturally congruent practice behaviors. Families, Systems, & Health, 40(4), 513-518. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000762

Halmo, R. S., Sellers, C. M., Collin, C.-R. R., Chinamasa, G., & Putney, J. M. (2021). Changes in social work students’ attitudes and knowledge following opioid overdose prevention training. Substance Abuse, 43(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/08897077.2021.1941511