Build a Rewarding Career in Counseling Psychology

Thank you so much for joining us for this Q&A! Could you share a little bit about your background and your journey to leading the graduate psychology programs at GGU?

I’m a licensed psychologist and a psychoanalyst. I started at Golden Gate University in 2011 and have always been affiliated with the psychology degrees within the Ageno School of Business. Outside of GGU, I’m an eating disorder specialist and have written many books about eating disorders and psychoanalysis-related topics, which is my main research area.

What do you see as the GGU psychology department’s overall mission, and how does that align with the needs of today’s psychology students and the workforce?

At GGU, our psychology programs are oriented towards adult education. People who come to us have decided that it’s their mission or goal to pursue a career in psychology, whether that’s becoming a licensed counselor, a psychotherapist, or working in industrial-organizational psychology. They’re here to get the training they need for a successful professional future. We try to deliver that in an accessible way for adults, who are often working adults — an accessible, flexible, degree format and a top-notch education to meet those goals.

How do you ensure that the curriculum for GGU’s psychology programs stays current with the latest research and best practices in the field?

It’s certainly true that psychology is a rapidly evolving field. There are always new developments in research, in practice, and in technology, especially AI in recent years. We have committees of experts who regularly review curriculum for our graduate psychology programs. Our professors are involved in practice and research.

One of the great things about GGU is that the people who teach our classes are not just academics, they’re active practitioners in the field. They have firsthand knowledge of what’s happening “on the ground,” so they can bring that insight directly into the classroom. This ensures our students are learning what’s at the cutting edge not just in academia but also in the industry.

Could you talk about GGU’s approach to integrating different models of counseling, such as psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral, into a single, cohesive curriculum?

We are a broad-based degree in the sense that we train people in a range of theoretical models. We feel that to be a competent psychotherapist in today’s world, you need to have a familiarity with a number of different theoretical models. Our overall orientation is towards what we’d call relationship-oriented care. What we mean by that is that we feel that psychotherapy should address the whole person and their needs and not just be oriented around pure symptomology with a kind of cost-management framing.

We really want to train our students to do psychotherapy that takes into account the needs of the patient as a whole person. We feel that any theoretical orientation can be compatible with this, and that a broad-based knowledge serves everyone best.

The Master’s in Counseling Psychology requires students to complete an intensive traineeship. How does this traineeship requirement provide students with the highest level of career preparation?

To become a licensed psychotherapist, a traineeship is required as part of your degree. The California Board of Behavioral Sciences sets the basic requirements for a traineeship, and at GGU, we exceed those requirements in terms of the number of traineeship hours our students must complete. We do this for two reasons: one, we want our students to have a head start on completing their licensure hours when they graduate, and two, we want them to get a broad range of training in working with patients.

In the traineeship, you’re receiving training in how to do psychotherapy; you’re actually doing psychotherapy under the supervision of a licensed clinician. Our traineeship experience spans an academic year, so it really gives students the opportunity to immerse themselves in the practice of psychotherapy.

Can you share more about student placements for the traineeship? What kinds of partnerships do you have with local or national organizations?

We have around a hundred partnerships with different traineeship sites in the Bay Area and across the United States, including community mental health agencies, schools, and private practices that serve the mental health needs of various populations. Our students have the opportunity to choose to work with children, adults, older adults, families, and couples — the whole range of psychotherapeutic experiences can be explored during the traineeship.

Could you explain the program’s partnership with the Psychotherapy Action Network and why that’s a valuable component for GGU students?

The Psychotherapy Action Network is an organization that advocates basically for patient rights — for the idea that patients deserve quality care that addresses them as whole people. We really want to stand behind that as a value, and that’s something that that organization represents, and so that’s why we’ve partnered with them. A few years ago, we hosted their annual conference on campus and since then we’ve had a valuable partnership with that organization.

What kind of support, such as career counseling or networking events, can students expect to receive to help them translate their psychology degree into a career?

There’s a lot of support available. Golden Gate has a very active Career Services department that provides a range of events for students, from networking events to social media optimization workshops. They’re a huge resource for students entering the job market. Both our counseling and industrial-organizational psychology degrees have active internship programs, and we have a dedicated internship coordinator who maintains relationships with internship sites all around the country.

We also have very active student clubs, including a Psychology Club and a Society for Human Resources Club that are both affiliated with the psychology department. These student clubs host events, bring in speakers, and attend conferences, which provides a pathway for students to form professional relationships, an incredibly important part of developing a professional identity. Our student clubs also help foster a sense of community among psychology students, whether they’re on campus or studying online. During campus weeks, we’ll have speakers and regular events that are held both in-person and online, so students who aren’t local can access those as well.

What role does GGU’s Bay Area location play in providing students with unique learning or career opportunities?

I think the Bay Area location is very beneficial. Certainly, the demand for counselors and psychotherapists in the Bay Area is rapidly rising, so for people who live here, it’s a wonderful opportunity. San Francisco is also where some of the cutting-edge development in psychotherapy is taking place, which can benefit students whether they’re local to this area or taking their courses remotely.

Finally, how does GGU help Master’s in Counseling Psychology students navigate the complexities of licensure requirements, especially for those not practicing in California?

Licensure happens at the state level, and each state can have slightly different licensure requirements. We see it as our job to educate students on how to learn about the licensure requirements in their state of interest. Our students are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research regarding licensure, but we’re always available to meet with students to discuss this process and help them navigate it.

Our courses are also oriented toward teaching the material they’ll likely see on the license exam, and we even provide resources to help students prepare with different test prep companies.