On December 7th, Dr. Laurie Guidry (Antioch PsyD, 2000), presented a colloquium to the PsyD community on Life After Graduate School. The presentation described her personal journey through her education and training as a professional psychologist. She also talked about her career development and the steps that led to her current position as director of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health’s innovative, evolving, statewide program for individuals with co-occurring chronic mental illness and problematic sexual behaviors and/or sexual offending behaviors. It has operated for nine years and is the only program like it in the country.
As part of this work, Dr. Guidry oversees and provides specialized clinical services, including assessment and treatment, consultation, program development services, and staff and agency trainings. For several years, she has offered practicum training opportunities for AUNE students. She also has a private practice in which she works with agencies and clinicians in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire in addition to patients and clients with complex clinical issues and systemic complexities (legal, ethical, provider-based) and co-occurring problematic sexual behavior and/or sexual offending behavior.
Dr. Guidry is president of the Massachusetts chapter of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (MATSA), is co-chair of the Massachusetts Coalition for Sex Offender Management (MCSOM), and presents and consults nationally. She recently published a book chapter on sex offender treatment and is working on two book projects regarding effective sexual violence prevention, assessment, treatment and risk management strategies with both impaired and nonimpaired sexual abusers. In May 2009, the Department presented its Distinguished Psychologist Award to Dr. Guidry, who graduated from AUNE in 2000.
