Mitchel Turbin, Ph.D.

E-Mail: mitchel.turbin@va.gov 
Telephone:  503-220-8262 x56651
Fax:  503-721-1402

Current Appointments

• Research Investigator, NCRAR
• Adjunct Professor, Deafness Rehabilitation, Western Oregon University

Current Research

Self-Management Groups for Veterans with Dual Sensory Loss (Pilot), VA RR&D, 6/1/10-5/31/12

Research Interests

Dr. Turbin's research interests include ways to enhance collaborative self-management by adults who are hard of hearing or experience combined vision and hearing loss; improvements in audiologic counseling; and understanding real world dynamics of living with sensory loss.

Currently a Principal Investigator at NCRAR, Dr. Turbin is dedicated to advancing rehabilitation science, services and scholarship at VA. He has been active in education for improving the quality of life for persons with disabilities for over 30 years and is Adjunct Professor in Deafness Rehabilitation at Western Oregon University, where he has taught since 1984. Dr. Turbin lectures widely to both professional and consumer audiences about coping with sensory loss. He recently served as a Commissioner of the Oregon Disabilities Commission, to which he was appointed by the Governor of Oregon in 2001. He also has served on a variety of boards, task forces and as a Peer Review Panelist for the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services.

Dr. Turbin earned his EdM in Rehabilitation and Counseling Psychology from Columbia University, and his PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Oregon. He was Director of Services to Persons with Hearing Loss at Independent Living Resources in Portland before joining the staff at NCRAR in 2002. Dr. Turbin was Principal Investigator of “Randomized Trial of a Brief Patient-Centered Aural Rehabilitation Model,” a collaboration with the Bay Pines, Florida VA Health Care System, and is currently Principal Investigator of “Pilot Study: Self-Management Groups for Veterans with Dual Sensory Loss”, a collaboration with the VA Center of Excellence for Aging Veteran with Vision Loss at the Atlanta VA Medical Center. He has worked with Dr. Henry on several of the latter’s NCRAR research projects.

Recent Publications

Turbin M, Abrams H, Chisolm T, English K, Trycin S, McMillan G, James, K (in preparation). Randomized Trial of a Brief Patient- Centered Aural Rehabilitation Model.

Henry JA, Galvez G, Turbin MB, Thielman E, McMillan G, Istvan JA, (under review) Pilot study to evaluate ecological momentary assessment of tinnitus

Galvez G, Turbin MB, Thielman E, Istvan J, Andrews J, Henry J. (under review) Feasibility of ecological momentary assessment of hearing difficulties encountered by hearing aid users.

Henry JA, Zaugg TL, Myers PJ, Kendall CJ, Turbin MB (2008). Principles and application of counseling used in progressive audiologic tinnitus management. Noise and Health

Turbin M. (2008) Deaf-blind people and scientific research. The Deaf-Blind American; 47(2): 2-6.

Turbin M.  (2008). (Guest Associate Editor). Special Issue: Audiology and vision research. The Deaf-Blind American; 47(2)

Turbin MB (1994) Combined vision and hearing impairments. In M. Ross (Ed.) Communication Access for Persons with Hearing Loss: Compliance with the Americans with Disability Act. Baltimore: York Press.

Recent Presentations

Turbin MB, Echt KV. (2011) Self-Management Groups for Adults with Dual Sensory Loss: Pilot Study. Sixth International Aural Rehabilitation Conference. St. Pete Beach, Florida.

Turbin MB, Chisolm T, Abrams H, English K, Trychin S, Tsukuda P, McMillan G. (2010) Brief Patient-Centered Aural Rehabilitation Groups: What worked and why? Academy of Rehabilitative Audiology Institute, SF, California.

Turbin M (2010) Dual Sensory Loss: Considerations for rehabilitation and research. NCRAR Seminar Series. Portland, OR.

Turbin MB, Abrams H, Chisolm T, English K, Trychin S, Tsukuda P, James K. (2009) Patient-centered AR groups. Vth International AR Conference. Tampa, FL.

Turbin MB. (2008) Patient-centered audiology: It’s not just about individual care. Academy of Rehabilitative Audiology Institute, Portland, OR

Turbin MB. (2007) The Living Well with Hearing Loss Workshop NCRAR Community Lecture Series, Portland, OR.