Melody
Bacon
Melody Bacon
- Campus: Los Angeles, CA Anaheim, CA
- Department: Marriage & Family Therapy
- Institution: The Chicago School
- Address: 2400 East Katella Avenue Anaheim, CA 92806
Biography
Dr. Bacon is a professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy department. She has been an instructor and administrator for over 18 years and has been with the Chicago School of Professional Psychology for over 10 years. She has a passion for teaching and mentoring new mental health professionals. In addition to her work with TCSPP, Dr. Bacon is a clinical psychologist specializing in relational issues and has been in practice for over 20 years. Her clinical orientation centers on the work of Dr. Carl Jung and is informed by Bowen Family Systems.
Her dissertation, I thought love would last forever, examined the transformational potential of grief and divorce and initiated an interest that continues to this day. She is the author of The Grace Filled Divorce (2012). Most recently, she has developed a program for families struggling with addiction that is offered in an online format. She is the author of Family Therapy and Addiction: The Family Matters Program (2019).
Education History
Degree Institution Year B.A. Liberal Studies University of Toronto , Toronto Ontario CANADA 1979 M.A. California State University, Northridge , Northridge, CA 1994 Ph.D. Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Depth Psychology Pacifica Graduate Institute , Carpinteria, CA 2001 Professional Memberships
Role Organization Member American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT) Member California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) Presentations
Title Location Date Link Working with the Family in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Del Mar, CA June 15, 2022 Other Films: Hillbilly Elegy Virtual March 19,2021 Substance Use Disorders and the Family Virtual September 19, 2021 Family Therapy and Substance Use Disorders Honolulu, HI June 23 2020 “What It Means to be Human: Transcending Cultural Barriers Through Dream Analysis”. GEO Summit Online April 17 2020 “Switzerland Tour: Understanding Cultural Assumptions that have Helped Shape Western Culture”. GEO Summit Online April 17 2020 Substance Use Disorders and the Family RAISE Foundation Online April 16 2020 Family Therapy and Addiction Treatment International Family Therapy Association Annual Conference, Kona, HI April 2015 International Family Therapy Association (IFTA) 
Dr. Melody Bacon on helping an addicted family member INSIGHT Digital Magazine October, 2019 For Our Wellness Areas of Expertise
Area Expertise Addiction/Substance Abuse Co-occurring Disorders Career/Workplace Issues Work/Life Balance Clinical Psychology / Mental Health Substance-Related Disorders Marriage & Family Couples Counseling Divorce Family Therapy Therapeutic/Theoretical Orientation Jungian Theory Licenses
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, CA PSY19555 Publications
The Grace Filled Divorce, (2012), Sisters, OR: Deep River Books.
"Risking the Wildest Places: A Dialogue between Redecision and Jungian Therapy," Journal of Redecision Therapy Vol. II, No. 1, Spring 2000.
"Ask Us Not To Forget: The Lost Cause in Natchez, Mississippi," Southern Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of the South Vol. III, No. 3, Fall 1992.
Book Bacon, M (2019). Family Therapy and the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders. New York, NY: Routledge.
Chapter Warner, D. (2017). Couples and Trauma: Challenges and Opportunities. In Warner, D. (Ed.) His History, Her Story (pp. 241-2157). Santa Monica, CA: American Ghost Media.
Question and Answer
Please describe your teaching philosophy. I see my role as a mentor and a coach. In addition to conveying the knowledge I have acquired over 20 years of clinical and academic work, I am focused on assisting our students in learning the skills that they need in order to become excellent Marriage and Family Therapists and to contribute in significant ways to the field of psychology as a whole.
Please provide a statement or philosophy regarding the practice of psychology. I am a firm believer that the practice of psychology should be undergirded by a strong foundation in a theoretical approach. This is what distinguishes a licensed mental health professional from other types of professions that may offer similar services. Having a clear philosophy with regard to how people make change is a primary prerequisite for excellence in our field.
What advice would you give to a student entering The Chicago School? Take advantage of all the services that are provided for you, particularly those offered by the National Center for Academic and Dissertation Excellence (NCADE). Writing is a primary skill set for our profession and NCADE provides editing and writing coaches to assist you in bringing your writing up to graduate level expectations. I would also highly recommend becoming involved in your local chapter of your professional organization so that when you graduate you will have already created a network of professionals who can assist you in moving forward in your career.
Professional Skills
anxiety, clinical psychology, couples counseling, creativity, divorce, family therapy, humanistic psychology, Jungian archetypal analysis, life transitions and spirituality, marriage and family therapy, work/life balance