The 2020 Winter AUS PsyD Newsletter is Here

The Winter 2020 edition of the AUS PsyD Newsletter opens with a Faculty Spotlight on Dr. Melissa Kennedy, who explains “I grew up in the Midwest, but now I’m from Seattle. It’s really my home.” Dr. Kennedy describes her doctoral dissertation, motivations for getting into clinical psychology (saying “I simply wanted to learn more about being human” and more), things she finds rewarding about teaching graduate students (such as, “My favorite part of teaching is learning with my students.”), fun facts about her, some enthusiastic book recommendations, her favorite hobbies, and advice for current graduate students (including “Don’t give up.”)

Next, the newsletter celebrates AUS PsyD Department experiences and accomplishments at the 2019 Washington State Psychological Association Fall Convention. Specifically, Dr. Jude Bergkamp, PsyD, Lindsay Olson, BS, and Abigail Martin, BA authored “Coloring Inside the (Guide)lines: An Introduction to Awareness for Multiculturally Competent Practice” for display at the convention, 3rd-year student Kelle Agassiz wrote about the convention itself for the newsletter, and Dr. Bergkamp was featured for receiving the WSPA Distinguished Psychologist Award.

Following this, the newsletter lists authors, titles, and abstracts for the some of the latest AUS PsyD student dissertation defenses:

  • Michelle Ehle wrote Death Anxiety & Life Satisfaction: A Qualitative Study.
  • Veronica Felstad wrote Cultural Differences, Social Support, and Therapy Outcomes: A Comparative Study Between Individualist and Collectivist Cultures.

Following the student dissertation defenses, the newsletter lists the winter 2020 PsyD department community meetings, and departmental interest groups, such as A.W.A.K.E. with Dr. Waters, which is an acronym for “The Autistic Women’s Advocacy, Knowledge, and Empowerment Project.” Another one of the five groups is the Trauma Interest Group with Dr. Heusler, which describes itself as being “in the process of brainstorming trauma research ideas.”

Finally, the newsletter offers a multiple-choice trivia contest for prizes, and wishes readers “HAPPY WINTER 2020!”

Read the AUS PsyD Newsletter Winter 2020 in its entirety.