Counseling Psychology (PhD)

Credit Hours

62 semester hours

Program Length

4 years from MA

Admission Requirements

• Masters degree in psychology or related field
• Strong academic record (3.5 GPA and above preferred)
• Demonstrated interest in and commitment to counseling psychology
• Official GRE General and TOEFL or IELTS*
• Personal statement. Applicant may wish to highlight:
  •  Long-term career goals
  • Specific research and clinical interests
  • Current and past clinical and research experiences
  • Fit with program emphasis
• Three letters of reference
• Completed application (Due January 5)
• Personal interview with the faculty and current students will be held on (February 15, 2019)

Graduation Requirements

• Minimum of two years of advanced fieldwork
• At least 20 hours per week at an approved fieldwork site with supervision by a licensed psychologist or a licensed psychiatrist for a minimum of 600 hours per year
• Minimum of one hour of individual supervision per week by a licensed doctoral level psychologist
• Minimum of half (50%) of the 20 hours per week are required in direct service

Babatunde Aideyan

received a BA in Psychology from Emory University, and an MA in Counseling from Northwestern University. He has several years of work experience in corporate work environments where he developed data analysis skills and survey research skills and is now a member of the Motivational Interviewing and Health Disparities research team at Northeastern University. While obtaining his master’s degree, Tunde interned at a community mental health agency that supported group home and foster care residents, as well as in a private practice setting. He has worked on research studies investigating on-campus online Recovery programs, and sense of community in online education. His primary research interests include health disparities across ethnic minority populations and using innovative statistical methods for predicting mental health outcomes. He is also interested in positive psychology and strength-oriented mental health practices.

Janelle Alabiso

received her MA in counseling psychology from Boston College in 2012 and her BA in psychology from Boston University in 2008. She has co-authored several scientific posters and articles and has contributed to research projects on hoarding and OCD at Boston University; Tourette Syndrome, OCD and ADHD at Mass General Hospital; and substance abuse in a VA primary care setting at the Bedford VAMC. Additionally, she served as the project coordinator for the Safing Center, a clinic at the Bedford VAMC that focuses on intimate partner violence. Her current research and clinical interests include integrated behavioral healthcare and effective interventions and treatment for substance abuse. She is presently a graduate research assistant in Dr. Christina Lee’s Motivational Interviewing and Health Disparities Research Lab.

Rachel Berry

is a Ph.D. student in Counseling Psychology and a member of the APPEAR Research Team at Northeastern University. She received a B.A. in Art History from Davidson College (2008) and a M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Wake Forest University (2014). Prior to attending Northeastern, she worked as a Post-Masters Fellow in the NC State University Counseling Center in Raleigh, NC. Rachel’s primary research interests are the intersections of disordered eating and anxiety, control, self-concept, attachment patterns, and trauma. She is also interested in discourses around bodies and the psychological impact of fat shaming, beauty myths, and healthism. 

Jenna Campagna 

is a Ph.D. student in Counseling Psychology and a member of the Applied Psychology Program for Eating and Appearance Research (APPEAR) Lab at Northeastern University. She received a B.A. in Psychology from the College of the Holy Cross (2011) and a M.A. in Mental Health Counseling from Boston College (2016). Prior to beginning graduate school, Jenna worked as a psychometrist and clinical research assistant in the Pediatric Neuropsychology Department at Rhode Island Hospital. During that time, she administered neuropsychological test batteries and researched the impact of neurocognitive late effects of pediatric cancer on children and families, sleep habits in pediatric cancer survivors, and attention in children with epilepsy. Jenna completed a clinical practicum at Franciscan Children’s Hospital on the Community Based Acute Treatment (CBAT) Unit during her M.A. training and is currently completing her first doctoral practicum placement at the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program. Her primary research interests include the psychological impact of social media and pop culture on self-esteem, body satisfaction, disordered eating, and exercise behaviors in adolescent girls. She also has interest in the areas of health habits and body satisfaction in women, pediatric psychology, and trauma and attachment behaviors in children.

Elizabeth Cook

received an M.S. in Applied Psychology from University of Baltimore and an A.B. of Psychology, along with certificates in African-American Studies and Gender & Sexuality Studies, from Princeton University. Her primary interests pertain to social justice and the intersection of race and gender, specifically as they relate to Black women. Currently, she is active on several research teams exploring a range of topics, including racial micro aggressions among women of color and body image/appearance research. Elizabeth is currently working on her dissertation exploring internalized misogynoir among Black women.

Koriann Cox

received her master’s degree in mental health counseling and bachelor’s degree in forensic psychology from Seattle University. Her primary interests are resilience and comorbid mental health and addiction issues, particularly posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders. Her secondary interests include homelessness, intimate partner violence, and issues within forensic populations. Her previous work has looked at homelessness in veterans with addiction, intimate partner violence in veterans with PTSD, and behavioral reinforcement to increase treatment engagement within forensic populations. She has worked previously for the Department of Veterans Affairs and conducted research within correctional and hospital settings. Previous clinical work has included positions within community agencies providing mental health and substance use treatment to legally-involved individuals, providing mental health support to formerly homeless and/or incarcerated individuals in a job retraining program, and working with individuals with severe mental illness and problematic sexual behaviors.

Hannah Doucette

received her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi and her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Hannah also spent several years working as a clinical research assistant and case manager in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department at Rhode Island Hospital. Her clinical experience includes working with adolescents in a variety of settings, including the juvenile justice system and intensive treatment programs. Her research interests include interpersonal trauma exposure and risk-prevention among children and adolescents. Currently, Hannah’s research focuses on adolescent dating violence prevention, specifically parent-based interventions. 

Russell DuBois

received an M.S. from Palo Alto University and a B.A. from University of California, San Diego. His primary interests are in the area of eating and appearance research and health psychology. His previous work has examined health and gender disparities and barriers to treatment in the VA healthcare system. He has held clinical positions working with adolescents and adults with a range of psychological and behavioral disabilities.

Laura Fischer

received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Rhode Island and an M.S. in Psychology from Drexel University in Philadelphia. She has held positions across a variety of clinical, research, and community mental health settings, including the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Her primary clinical and research interests include empirically supported treatments for anxiety disorders, mindfulness-based interventions, and the implications of intersecting identities for mental and physical health.

Sean Hallinan

received his BA in Psychology from Northeastern University and his MS in Mental Health Counseling from Suffolk. He has worked in a variety of treatment settings including group homes, homeless shelters, community treatment centers, psychiatric hospitals and emergency rooms. His clinical interests include homelessness, military personnel, and veterans. His research interests focus on technology and mental health – how mobile technology can be leveraged as a research and treatment tool.

Joan Hanania

received her Master of Arts and Master of Education degrees in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University. She completed her undergraduate studies in Psychology and Educational Psychology from McGill University. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, Joan worked at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and at an outreach outpatient community clinic. Additionally, she authored several journal articles and posters. Joan’s primary research and clinical interests include pediatric psychology, child and adolescent psychopathology, treatment outcomes, and health disparities.

Erik Hood

received an M.S. from Husson University (2015) and a B.A. from Bates College (2008). His primary research interests include understanding factors that influence unhealthy adolescent relationship behaviors such as in-person dating violence, cyber dating abuse, and unsafe sexual practices.  He is also interested in understanding how parents exacerbate or protect teens from involvement in these unsafe activities.  Prior to beginning at Northeastern, Erik worked in a variety of clinical and research settings including work with nontraditional college students returning to school, adults with intellectual disability maintaining independence in their community, and adult men mandated to specialized sexual offender treatment. Erik has also supported adolescents in an inpatient hospital, supported residential, and alternative high school settings. 

Alice Lowy

received her M.A. in Psychology from Boston University in 2014 and her B.A. in Psychology and Spanish Literature from Kenyon College in 2008. Her previous clinical experience with court-mandated youth sparked an interest in examining treatment accessibility for underserved populations, as well as cultural influences on psychopathology. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, she served as Program Administrator of a residential and partial treatment program for eating disorders, during which she oversaw program and staff development. She is primarily interested in evaluating current efforts toward eating disorder prevention for understudied populations, particularly regarding unique cultural risk factors and perceptions of health.

Madeline Manning

is a Ph.D. student in the Counseling Psychology program at Northeastern University. She received her B.A. in Psychology and Communications from Stonehill College (2015) and her M.A. in Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine from Boston University School of Medicine (2017). Prior to enrollment at Northeastern, Madeline gained clinical experience at Franciscan Children’s Hospital Community Based Acute Treatment (CBAT) Unit and at Riverside Community Care Life Skills Center during her M.A. training, where she served as a mental health counselor to outpatient and residential patients ranging in age from 4 to 18 years old. While working towards her M.A., Madeline also worked as a clinical research assistant at the Pediatric Anxiety Research Clinic at Bradley Hospital for Children and the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Rhode Island Hospital, working with teens expressing suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Madeline’s primary research interests include exploring the protective factors that encourage resilience in children and adolescents, as well as integrating community and individual resilience to violence and trauma. Other interests of Madeline include the areas of pediatric psychology, pediatric anxiety, adolescent dating violence prevention.

Chantal Muse

received an M.A. from Chatham University and a B.A. from Duquesne University. Previously, she worked on a study examining how employment status effects the health and well-being of Sub-Saharan African women. Also, she held a clinical position at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic Acute Adult Trauma Unit and the Comprehensive Services and Recovery Unit. Her primary research and clinical interests are working with cancer patients, examining the patient-provider relationship, specifically the relationship between African-American women with breast cancer and white doctors, and health communication.

Mariana Nicholls

received an M.A. from Boston University School of Medicine in Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine in 2016 and a B.A. from Florida State University in Psychology and Family and Child Sciences in 2014. Mariana is fluent in Spanish and her primary research interests include decreasing health disparities among the Latino/a population due to language barriers in clinical settings by researching culturally competent assessment tools. Additionally, she is interested in the immigrant population and the effects that acculturation stress has on the development of substance use and mental health concerns. Her previous work involved serving as a psychology intern at the South End Community Health Center providing bilingual outpatient psychotherapy and working in the Boston Medical Center Psychiatric Emergency Department providing bilingual crisis intervention. 

Jennifer O’Flynn 

is a Ph.D. candidate in Counseling Psychology at Northeastern University.  She earned her Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and her BA in Psychology from the University of Connecticut She has experience working in university, outpatient and inpatient clinical settings. Her primary research interests relate to eating disorder prevention, educating emerging adults about mental health issues, using motivational interviewing in non-clinical contexts and reducing barriers to professional help seeking in college-aged populations. 

Lisa Rines-Toth

received her Master of Arts and Master of Education degrees in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University.  She also holds a BA in English Literature from Columbia University.  Prior to beginning her doctoral studies at Northeastern, Lisa worked at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City as a clinician in the psychiatric emergency department.  Lisa’s primary research and clinical interests are in the general areas of integrated behavioral care, crisis intervention, addiction and mindfulness & yoga.  Lisa currently works as a counselor in the Department of Psychiatry at Boston Medical Center.

Kaitlyn Schneider

received an M.S. from Villanova University and a B.S. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Her primary research interests are in the areas of domestic violence, attachment, and trauma. Her previous work has explored the development of a rater-based method to measure secondary attachment strategies enacted within the maternal-fetal attachment relationship. She has also previously worked clinically with clients experiencing domestic violence.

Daniel Gittins Stone

received a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Boston (2010), and an MA in Counseling from the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis (2012). He recently completed a post-master’s fellowship at the Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, where he worked with children, families and school staff in the Boston Public School system. As a fellow, Daniel practiced individual and group counseling with children and adolescents, and co-created and implemented a collaborative student support system. His current research and clinical interests include integrated behavioral care and student support for high risk children and adolescents, and social emotional curriculum for school-aged children.

Peter Ward

received his MA in counseling psychology from Boston College in 2013 and his BA in psychology from the University of Delaware in 2007. Before starting doctoral study at Northeastern, Peter worked as a staff clinician at Habit OPCO Boston, a methadone clinic in Boston. Previously, Peter served as the behavioral health intern at the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program. Additionally, he has worked as a research assistant at the Washington DC VA Medical Center, where he conducted research on PTSD in veterans returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. His current research and clinical interests include innovative treatment approaches for opioid dependence, including psychotherapy integration with Medication-Assisted Treatments (MATs). Peter’s dissertation research focuses on measuring motivation in a sample of 300 adults in methadone treatment in Boston. Besides his interest in substance abuse research and treatment, Peter’s interests also include issues in counseling men, underserved populations, and studying interpersonal processes variables within the therapeutic alliance. He has served as a graduate research assistant in Dr. Christina Lee’s Motivational Interviewing and Health Disparities Research Lab and currently works as an adjunct instructor for two Northeastern courses in Counseling Psychology: “Counseling Theories and Practice” and “Mental Health and Counseling.” Last year, Peter’s Advanced Fieldwork experiences involved administering neuropsychological assessments at the Cognitive Neurology Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. This year, his fieldwork experience is at McLean Franciscan Hospital Unit 1, where he provides group and individual psychotherapy in an inpatient setting for adolescents and children in treatment for acute risk of harm and/or major mental illness. Peter is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Massachusetts. 

Elda Zeko-Underwood

received her M.A. in Rehabilitation Counseling from Assumption College. Currently she is vice-president of Northeastern Counseling Psychology Graduate Organization (NCP-GO). Her previous professional experience include service provision in disability rights and research of factors that impact access to higher education for minority groups. As part of two faculty led research teams, her current interest lay in understanding the impact of microaggressions on intersections of gender, race and sexual orientation. She is also exploring patterns of adolescent dating violence. In addition, she has taught and continues to teach several undergraduate courses such as Introduction to Psychology as well as Human Relationships and Family.

Goal #1:  To prepare graduates for the role of professional psychologists, to include advanced skill development in behavioral observations, interviewing, psychological assessment, counseling and treatment planning and practice, consultation, effective use of supervision and an understanding of and commitment to the profession’s ethical codes.

Objective 1A:  Students will be exposed to various professional roles including student teaching, participation in research projects where they are mentored by faculty and mentor peers and/or junior colleagues.

Competency 1A1:  Students will demonstrate a thorough understanding of their roles as clinicians.
Competency 1A2:  Students will demonstrate a thorough understanding of their roles as educators.
Competency 1A3:  Students will demonstrate a thorough understanding of their roles as community change agents ethically serving diverse populations and advocating for social justice.
Competency 1A4:  Students will demonstrate a thorough understanding of their roles as researchers.

Goal #2: To foster understanding and application of the scientific basis of clinical practice in psychotherapy and clinical assessment

Objective 2A:  Students will acquire an understanding of the biological, cognitive and affective, and social aspects of behavior.
Objective 2B: Students will acquire knowledge of the history and systems of psychology
Objective 2C:  Students will acquire knowledge of empirical research regarding effective clinical practice, assessment, and interventions.
Objective 2D: Students will acquire knowledge of contemporary theories that explicate human behavior across the lifespan.
Objective 2E: Students will study current evidenced based practices in psychotherapy, psychological testing, and biological bases of clinical practice.
Objective 2F: Students will acquire knowledge and skills to implement evidence-based clinical interventions with diverse populations.

Competency 2A: Students will understand the regulation of biological and emotional functions of the nervous system.
Competency 2B: Students will understand the contribution of environmental factors to brain development, to the development of the mind, and to their functions.
Competency 2C: Students will understand theories and research with respect to clinical efficacy.
Competency 2D: Students will understand contemporary theories of human behavior from a lifespan developmental perspective.
Competency 2E1: Students will demonstrate a thorough understanding of current evidence based practices in psychotherapy, psychological testing, and the neuroscientific bases of clinical practice.
Competency 2E2: Students will develop the ability to select and apply evidence-based interventions and to assess progress and outcomes.
Competency 2F1: Students will demonstrate that they are familiar with outcome research for various intervention strategies.
Competency 2F2: Students will develop the ability to implement a wide range of developmental, preventive, remedial, and psychoeducational interventions, including psychotherapy, crisis management, consultation and dealing with emergency psychological/psychiatric situations with people across sources of difference.

Goal # 3:  To produce graduates who possess advanced and applied research skills within an ecological perspective

Objective 3A:  Students will be involved in course work on advanced and applied research skills. Objective 3B: Students will become proficient in reporting research findings.
Objective 3C: Students will be able to critically evaluate research from an ecological perspective.

Competency 3A1:  Students will demonstrate competency in research design and data analysis related to health and illness using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods models.
Competency 3A2: Students will be able to develop meaningful research questions, based upon theories and models in the scholarly research literature.
Competency 3A3:  Students will be able to implement appropriate research design, methods, and statistical analyses, consistent with the research questions.
Competency 3A4: Students will understand advantages and disadvantages of various research designs, modes of inquiry, data collection methods, statistical procedures, and measurement concepts.
Competency 3B:  Students will demonstrate the ability to report their research investigations appropriately, including knowledge of the socio-cultural contexts in the interpretation of the data.
Competency 3C1: Students will demonstrate the ability to evaluate and critically assess the methodology of empirical research and the validity of research conclusions within a multicultural/ecological perspective.
Competency 3C2:  Students will be able to integrate themselves in research projects on research teams that stress a multicultural/ecological perspective.
Competency 3C3:  Students will successfully complete their dissertation proposals grounded within a multicultural/ecological perspective.

Goal # 4: To produce graduates who are committed to and demonstrate ethical practice as counseling psychologists.

Objective 4A: Students will learn through courses, mentoring, and supervision in the ethical codes of the profession.
Objective 4B: Student will learn through courses and supervised clinical experiences, local, state, and national laws affecting professional psychological practice.

Competency 4A: Students will become competent in understanding the codes of ethics and professional conduct of APA and develop a competent ethical decision-making process.
Competency 4B: Students will demonstrate understanding of the legal issues affecting practice and resolution of ethical/legal conflicts that may occur.

Goal #5: To produce graduates who are multiculturally competent across sources of difference, including race, ethnicity, gender, class, religion/spirituality, disability, and sexual orientation, in both clinical and research settings.

Objective 5A: Students will study, be mentored in, and be exposed to multicultural perspectives that stress the understanding of different worldviews and confronting forms of oppression.

Competency 5A1: Students will be able to integrate multiple worldviews and important historical and political positions in their clinical and research activities.
Competency 5A2: Students will be able to understand their own positions of privilege, related to race, gender, social class, ability, and/or sexual orientation and its effect on their work as professional psychologists.
Competency 5A3: Students will be able to integrate and actively advocate for the elimination of racism, sexism, class oppression, homophobia, ageism, and other forms of oppression.
Competency 5A4: Students will be able to conceptualize and advocate for social and economic justice as professional psychologists.

Goal # 6: To advance the field of counseling psychology using program strengths: (a) an interdisciplinary and interprofessional approach to clinical services provision and enhancement of the science of health promotion and health psychology; (b) stress on urban, community-based interventions using an ecological approach.

Objective 6A: Students will be exposed to interprofessional models of health promotion research within the Bouvé College of Health Sciences.
Objective 6B: Students will study the strengths and challenges facing urban populations and work within health promotion and prevention.

Competency 6A1: Students will develop an understanding of how health promotion research is conceptualized and undertaken by an interprofessional team.
Competency 6B1: Students will understand the unique challenges facing urban populations and work within settings that provide health promotion and prevention efforts with multicultural populations.

E*Value Clinical Training Tracking Tool