Get to know Kristin Dempsey, Ed.D. - Full-Time Faculty, Counseling Psychology Program
See Kristin's professional biography .
Shayna Quilty (SQ): Tell me about your history with the 91精品.
Kristin Dempsey (KD): This is my second time around at the 91精品! Several years ago, I taught in my three areas of passion: Addictions Counseling; Crisis, Disaster & Trauma Counseling; and Community Mental Health. I took a break from teaching in order to pursue my doctorate, which I completed earlier this year. Now I'm back and I'm really excited because I believe in creating a socially responsible, recovery-oriented behavioral health workforce. I鈥檓 looking forward to teaching again, and to engaging with the warm, positive environment of this program.
SQ: We鈥檙e glad to have you back! What has been your most memorable moment at the 91精品?
KD: Earlier this year, before I decided to return to the 91精品, I organized an internship coordinator conference and worked with the team to host it at the 91精品. That helped me decide to rejoin the faculty here. I remember sitting in a workshop with 91精品 faculty on the panels, and enjoying learning from them. I was inspired by how much they care about the work that they do. They're thinking really strategically and explicitly and profoundly about very important issues, and they鈥檙e very present in the room.
SQ: What originally drew you to the 91精品?
KD: One thing I always liked about the 91精品 was the feeling that the leadership was interested in and supportive of my work. I love that teaching is such a collaborative experience in this program, which isn鈥檛 the case everywhere. I find that collaborating with my colleagues creates a more enriching experience for us, and benefits the students because they鈥檙e learning from all of us, not just the faculty member who鈥檚 in the room.
SQ: What course are you most excited to teach? What do you love about it?
KD: I鈥檓 definitely excited about the MFT Professional Development Seminar because I enjoy working with people at the beginning of their practicum experience. I do a lot of training on basic counseling skills at the high school level all the way up to seasoned clinicians. I like the idea of being really intentional about what skills we teach right at the beginning of training, and watching the transition through the years is so rewarding. But all of the classes I鈥檒l be teaching are exciting to me because they鈥檙e either an area where I鈥檓 comfortable or an area where I鈥檓 excited to continue to grow. I always look forward to teaching Addictions Counseling because there鈥檚 so much in addiction that鈥檚 changing all the time. Right now it鈥檚 a political topic, so I鈥檓 interested in engaging in those discussions.
SQ: Going back in time a bit, can you tell me about someone or something that motivated you to get involved with mental health work?
KD: When I was an undergrad, I had a work study job where I was a receptionist for a student-run peer counseling program. The people who were in the program were graduate students in counseling, and they were really influential for me. Then when I became a Women鈥檚 Studies major, I did a lot of advocacy work, and I did an internship at a women鈥檚 shelter. Because of scheduling I was only able to work in the children鈥檚 program, which I found really disappointing because I wanted to work with adult women. I was surprised to find that I was actually good with kids and enjoyed that side of the work.
Through additional work experiences after college, I saw the relationship between activism and empowering people for healing through counseling. People can and do get well, develop self-efficacious behavior, and sometimes become advocates around social issues that exacerbate mental illness. Working through this process with people has made my life meaningful.
SQ: Once you decided to move into the mental health field, how did you decide which specific degree and licensure track made sense for you?
KD: I originally considered going into social work because of my interest in the medical field and family planning. I鈥檝e done a lot of case management, advocacy, and policy work, which traditionally fall under the social work umbrella. I decided to go into Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) training because I was hoping it would let me focus on a broader range of things, including those systems pieces as well as counseling, which I wasn鈥檛 sure I鈥檇 be able to do as much of as a social worker. There are a lot of MFTs in policy areas as well. What I really liked when I started training as an MFT was the systemic approach to therapy. We鈥檙e looking at how an individual fits into a family and other systems, not looking at isolated individuals.
Like the 91精品鈥檚 Counseling Psychology program, my graduate program fulfilled the requirements to be an LPCC as well, so when that license became available in California all I had to do was take the licensure exams. I鈥檓 now able to incorporate those different focus areas - careers, etc - into my practice as well. I hope to help shape the future of this license in California by making it more recovery oriented and helping to determine the niche that this license will fill in our state as there鈥檚 an increasing need for mental health professionals.
SQ: I know that working at the 91精品 is only one of many hats that you wear. How else do you spend your time?
KD: I have a half-time private practice. I'm also participating in workforce development and training projects for the California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS). For most of my training, I do things I would in clinical practice, like motivational interviewing and also trauma informed care and then different types of cognitive behavioral therapies. In my free time I like to do yoga and travel.
SQ: If you could give one piece of advice to the students in the Counseling program, what would it be?
KD: I would urge students to come to the program with willingness and flexibility. Willingness to do things you don鈥檛 expect of haven鈥檛 tried before and a flexibility to learn from one another and adapt. Try new things; you never know if it will lead to a new passion.
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