Faculty

Lenore S. Blum, PhD, Program Director Emeritus

Counseling Methods I: Interviewing and Assessment 

Lenore Blum earned her doctorate degree from Northwestern University in 1976 and was Director of the Master's Program in Counseling Psychology for 33 years. As a member of the University faculty, Dr. Blum's career has been largely devoted to the education, training and supervision of professional counselors. She is widely recognized for her creative teaching and training models, including the Preceptor training model that has been the hallmark of the Northwestern University Counseling Psychology Program since 1979. Dr. Blum has taught extensively at both undergraduate and graduate levels, and in 1996, was named to the Faculty Honor Roll by the Northwestern Associated Student Government. Her research interests include clinical training/ professional development and stress, coping and adaptation, focusing particularly on the psychosocial and social systems aspects of physical illness/disability and other medical stressors. She has presented numerous scholarly papers and skill development workshops across the country. In addition to her academic activities, Dr. Blum is a former member of the Psychologists Licensing and Disciplinary Committee of the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation and of the Northwestern University Human Subjects Review Board. She has maintained a private psychotherapy practice for 25 years.

Ava Carn-Watkins, PhD, Interim Program Director

Introduction to Clinical Practice

Ava Carn-Watkins received her doctorate degree from Northwestern University in Counseling Psychology in 1991 and, following post-doctoral training, joined the Counseling Psychology program as Assistant Program Director and Assistant Clinical Training Director in 1993. In 2007, Dr. Carn-Watkins was appointed Clinical Training Director and in 2009 accepted the position of Interim Program Director.  She is also a Clinical Lecturer in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University. Dr. Carn-Watkins designed and developed the innovative Two-Plus Curriculum and teaches the accompanying 3-course Introduction to Clinical Practice sequence. Her areas of interest include clinical training, clinical education and supervision, professional identity development, psychotherapy research and practice, and teaching philosophical and practical applications of clinical theory. In addition to her position at Northwestern, Dr. Carn-Watkins is a licensed Clinical Psychologist in private practice in Chicago and has over 20 years of experience working with young adults and adults in individual and couples therapy.  

Donald Catherall, PhD

Evaluation and Treatment of Trauma Disorders

Donald Catherall is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. He reviews articles and serves on editorial boards in the areas of traumatology and relationships. His interest in the intersection of the two areas led to his editing the Handbook of Stress, Trauma and the Family in 2004. He has also authored three other books and more than 30 articles and book chapters. His most recent book, Emotional Safety (Routledge, 2007), departs from the field of traumatology and offers a new model of couples therapy that is built on the affect theory of Silvan S. Tomkins. Dr. Catherall maintains a full-time private practice and teaches at both Northwestern University and the University of Chicago.

Joseph Cullen, PsyD

Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy

Joseph Cullen received his PsyD from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in 1994 with a major in Clinical Psychology and a minor in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. He also has graduate degrees in Special Education and Community Psychology. He is currently a Candidate at the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis. Research interests have included aspects of fatherhood and depression among older adults. He currently maintains a private practice for individual adults and couples.

Ann Cusack, PsyD, RN, CADC

Theory and Technique of Substance Abuse Counseling

Ann Cusack is a licensed clinical psychologist, a certified alcohol and drug counselor and a registered nurse currently in private practice. Dr. Cusack trained and began her career in the helping professions at Cook County Hospital School of Nursing in 1978. She obtained her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology. She has been working with chemically dependent individuals and families since 1985 both in treatment settings and in private practice as a therapist and a substance abuse interventionist. She has a general practice with offices in Wilmette and in the Chicago Loop. Her areas of special interest and training include all aspects of substance abuse and addiction, bereavement, health related issues and trauma work. Dr. Cusack is skilled in brief therapy as well as in longer term treatment. She is an experienced EMDR Practitioner (eye movement desensitization reprocessing) and is also trained in DBT. She speaks and presents on a wide range of topics, and is a speaker for the MS Society. She is the Chair of the Women's Issues Section for the Illinois Psychological Association and is the Site Coordinator for the Survivors of Suicide Group at Willow House (A non-for-profit organization serving bereaved families).

Solomon Cytrynbaum, PhD, Associate Director of Education, Center for Applied Psychological & Family Studies

Individuals and Systems: Psychodynamic Viewpoints

Group and Organizational Dynamics

Solomon Cytrynbaum is a Professor in Northwestern's School of Education and Social Policy and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Medical School. He is a widely published authority on organizational life and group relations. His recently published book, co-edited with Professor Debra Noumair of Columbia University, is entitled Group Dynamics, Organizational Irrationality and Social Complexity (2004). He teaches graduate seminars in personality theory, group and organizational dynamics, and school reform. His current research activities focus on organizational consultation especially to family-owned business succession. Professor Cytrynbaum received his Doctorate in Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1971 and joined the Northwestern faculty in 1977. He is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and has maintained a private practice in psychotherapy and organizational consultation for over 30 years.

James Dod, PhD

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Adults and Children 

James Dod received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1988. After a research post at the University of Illinois-Chicago in the Department of Medical Education, he took a clinical position at Evanston Hospital and subsequently the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare (ENH) Medical Group where he practiced individual and group therapy for 17 years. He was the Director of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Center at ENH until his move to private practice in 2004. Dr. Dod practices cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and since his licensure has trained psychology graduate students and psychiatry residents in CBT. Until 2010, he was also Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine where he was named Teacher of the Year in 2003 by vote of psychiatry residents. He has a special interest in treating anxiety disorders, compulsive disorders and procrastination problems.

John Dunkel, PhD

Professional Ethics 

John H. Dunkle is the Executive Director of the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at Northwestern University. He earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University at Albany, SUNY in 1995. He is a licensed psychologist in both Illinois and New York and is credentialed by the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. He is also on the Board of Advisors for the Center for the Study of College Student Mental Health, a national research effort on college and university student mental health issues being conducted at Penn State University.

Linda Edelstein, PhD

Psychology of Adult Development: Theory and Research 

Linda N. Edelstein received her PhD in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern University in 1982 and worked in community mental health before concentrating on private practice and teaching. She was a professor in Clinical Psychology at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology for 15 years before she began to teach at Northwestern. Her research activities began with a focus on grief and adaptation to loss and culminated in her first book, Maternal Bereavement: Coping with the Unexpected Death of an Older Child (1982). In her second book, The Art of Midlife (1999), Dr. Edelstein expanded her research to examine optimal adaptation in response to developmental transitions.  The creativity she studied led to an idea  outside psychology and her third book, The Writer's Guide to Character Traits (1999) and its revised edition (2006) has sold more than 60,000 copies. In The Writer's Guide, Dr. Edelstein used psychology to assist writers in creating richer and more believable characters. She is presently working on a friendly psychology book tentatively titled, What Do I  Say? which examines questions and answers. She has conducted workshops in the Chicago area and has presented papers nationally. She has extensive experience doing therapy with individuals and couples as well as clinical consultation and supervision.

Amy Freed, MA, LCPC, Interim DIrector of Clinical Training

Introduction to Clinical Practice 

Amy Freed received her Master's Degree from Northwestern University in Counseling Psychology in 1997. She worked as a Staff Therapist in the Adult Outpatient Program of the Community Counseling Centers of Chicago and in 2000 she joined the staff of the Counseling Psychology program to assist with clinical training, fieldwork placements and classroom instruction. Currently, Amy holds the position of Interim Director of Clinical Training. She maintains a private practice specializing in adolescence. Her areas of interest include group dynamics, counselor training, clinical education and supervision, and professional identity development.

Jordan Jacobowitz, PhD

Psychopathology Through the Adult Life Course

Assessment of Individual Differences in Personality and Intelligence

Child Psychological Assessment

Vocational Assessment 

Jordan Jacobowitz received his PhD from Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1984. He has been teaching in the Northwestern University Counseling Psychology Program since 1989 and is also an Associate Professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. He has worked mainly in university/hospital settings, including nine years at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in the Older Adult Program of the Psychiatric Institute. His clinical interests include personality assessment, psychopathology, lifespan psychology and clinical training. He has extensive experience in clinical interviewing and has worked for more than 30 years interpreting objective and projective tests. His research has included student selection of graduate schools, psychosomatic phenomena, lifespan psychology and gerontology, learning processes in graduate psychology programs, and leadership and selection in business settings.

Patricia Meaden, PhD

Research Methods in Counseling Psychology 

Patricia Meaden received her PhD in Counseling Psychology in 1993 and went on to pursue a career that includes research, teaching and clinical practice. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center, where she has worked for the past 16 years in a variety of capacities. Currently, Dr. Meaden leads the outcomes research team responsible for collecting and analyzing data for all areas of Psychiatry. She assists in developing quality improvement projects based on these data. In addition, she lectures and supervises psychiatry residents in various aspects of psychotherapy. She has participated in three multi-site studies focusing on the addition of psychotherapy to medication management for people with severe mood disorders. In her private practice, Dr. Meaden works with individuals, couples and families affected by severe mental illness. In addition to teaching at Northwestern, Dr. Meaden was adjunct faculty for three years in the Art Therapy program at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago.

Donald McDevitt, MS, LCPC

Counseling Methods II: Assessment and Intervention

Counseling Methods III: Special Issues 

Donald McDevitt is a Licensed Clinical Professional Psychotherapy with over 27 year of clinical experience.  He is a diplomate analyst of the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago and presently a fifth year candidate in the Core program of the Institute for Psychoanalysis in Chicago. He was the Executive Director of Youth and Family in Libertyville for over 17 years and previously the Clinical Director of Northwest Mental Health Center in Arlington Heights, IL.  In the beginning of his career he worded for Cigna, inc. and has significant knowledge about Managed Care.  Currently he maintains an active private practice in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago. His interests include contemporary ego psychology, object relations theory, and psychotherapy supervision.  He also is interested in not for profit board development and fund raising/fund development.

Richard Rotberg, MA

Career Psychology

Contemporary Issues in Career Psychology 

Richard Rotberg is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and the Assistant Executive Director of Employment Services for the Chicago Jewish Vocational Service. His responsibilities include the administration of a two million dollar budget covering career and college counseling, job placement and other major agency programs such as the Refugee Employment Services Program, English-as-a-Second Language School, Workplace Education and Volunteer Programs. Mr. Rotberg has a certificate of completion from the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis where he studied psychoanalytic theory in a special program for career counselors. He has been in private practice for 10 years in addition to serving more than 20 years as counselor and supervisor in the career-counseling program at JVS. His most recent publication is, "Microenterprise Programs and Their Impact on JVS and the Community," in the Journal of Jewish Communal Service, Summer 2007.

Vicki Seglin, PhD

Professional Issues in Counseling Pscyhology 

Vicki Seglinreceived her doctorate from Northwestern University's Counseling Psychology Program in 1990. She is a licensed Clinical Psychologist in private practice, with special interest in trauma/abuse/Borderline Personality Disorder, vicarious traumatization, adolescence, mindfulness and spirituality, and somatic therapy. Her involvement with the Tavistock Group Relations Conferences has contributed to her interest in group and organizational dynamics. She has been a clinical consultant with educational institutions, sexual abuse/assault agencies and individual mental health professionals. She has taught at the Pacific College for Oriental Medicine and frequently leads workshops and seminars in her areas of specialization. She was formerly a member of the Professional Advisory Committee of the Mental Health Association of the North Shore.

Patricia Blosten Shafer, PhD

Psychosocial Development in Children and Adolescents: Implications for Counseling

Child Psychotherapy Therapy 

Patricia Blosten Shafer received her doctorate from the Counseling Psychology program at Northwestern University in 1984. During her graduate studies, she created a specialized program which allowed her to focus on intensive work in development psychology, child and adolescent psychotherapy, and family therapy. She provided the first models for self-contained classes for children with severe learning and behavioral problems in 1976 in Cambridge, Mass., and for the early inclusive programs in the early 1980s. For over 25 years, Dr. Shafer has provided outpatient psychotherapy to children, adolescents and their families, and provides consultation to a variety of school districts and mental health agencies. She has taught child and adolescent development and psychotherapy at the Chicago School for Professional Psychology and the Institute for Psychoanalysis in addition to Northwestern University.

Amy Wagner, PhD

Marital and Family Therapy

Dr. Amy Wagner is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. She is the coordinator of the Family Institute's marital and family therapy clinical training program for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Psychiatric residents. She is also a Clinical Lecturer in Psychology at Northwestern University, in the Counseling Psychology Program at the Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies. Dr. Wagner received her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Virginia in 1987 and received postdoctoral training in family therapy at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic and the Institute for Juvenile Research Family Systems Program. Dr. Wagner previously served as the Director of Internship Training and Core Faculty at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She is an approved supervisor of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy and a member of the American Family Therapy Academy. Dr. Wagner has over 20 years of experience treating children, adults, couples and families and specializes in divorce and remarriage.