Professional Affiliations
- American Psychological Association (APA)
Select Presentations
- Group therapy with sexually abused children: From Manual to Practice. (October, 2007). Midwest Conference on Child Sexual Abuse, Madison, Wisconsin.
- Group therapy with sexually abused children: From Manual to Practice. (January, 2006) International conference on Child Abuse, San Diego.
Select Publications
- Urman, M., Funk, J., & Elliott, R. (2001). Children’s Experience of Traumatic Events: The Negotiation of Normalcy and Difference. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 6(3), 403-424.
Q&A
Q. Please describe your teaching philosophy.
A. I greatly enjoy teaching, and find working with students to be my favorite part of working at TCS. I find that I am continually learning, not only from the preparation that comes with teaching, but from my students – who challenge me to be creative and stay current, while remaining grounded in my clinical work and the theory behind it. As an instructor, I encourage students to be responsible for their own learning process, both in and out of the classroom. I see students’ role as preparing for class with the assigned readings, and my role as “bringing the readings to life,” that is, helping students understand and apply to concepts to clinical practice. Rather than lecture on course readings, I use clinical case vignettes, my own experiences, and problem-based learning to help students gain an understanding of the concepts and achieve learning objectives.
Q. Please describe your philosophy regarding the practice of psychology.
A. I work primarily with children and families in my clinical practice, with a specialty in working with those that have experienced trauma, particularly child sexual abuse. I work integratively, as I was originally trained, using several frameworks and types of techniques. I strongly believe in understanding the child in the context of the family, and while I heavily use cognitive – behavioral techniques in therapy, I employ a systemic lens, while always considering the importance of early attachment patterns and caretaking relationships. I have a nurturing, yet directive style that helps children and families to feel at ease, as I believe that feelings of safety in the therapeutic relationship are most important. I consider it a privilege to be allowed into a family system to facilitate change, and have been honored by being a part of the healing process for many children and families.
Q. What advice would you give a student entering The Chicago School of Professional Psychology?
A. For a student entering TCS, my advice would be to take advantage of every opportunity you can. Our curriculum has such breadth; there is the opportunity for exposure to so many different areas of psychology. If you would like to go deeper into one area, go for it! Our faculty is so diverse, with expertise in so many areas, I encourage you to approach faculty with whom you have similar interests and work to develop a relationship with them. There is also great opportunity to work in the community, locally and internationally! Again, you may have to take some initiative to find the ones that work best for you, but our faculty have connections that will help you both as a student, and in the future.