Faculty

Dr. Bersing received her doctorate from L'Universite de Toulouse-Mirail in France. As a clinical psychologist and a Gerontologist she has taught and led therapeutic groups and academic circles in Europe, South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and now in the United States. As leader in the Geriatric Industry, Dr. Bersing shows high integrity and a leadership known for ability to envision and create successful outcomes in complex situations with a tenacious commitment to education, research, and professional growth. A resourceful leader, multilingual and multicultural individual, Dr. Bersing's most recent project involves building a living retirement community for the LGBT population and further research in the overlapping of feminism and Ageism in our society.

A noted speaker and writer, she is the author of several books and articles. Actually, she is lecturing nationally in issues on aging, LGBT sensitivity training and her new work-in-progress, a book addressing the new role for aging women called From Crone to Mentor: still an opportunity for change. Her expansive involvement with professional associations includes sitting at the National Advisory Council fro the Lesbian Health Research Center -hosted by University of California- San Francisco, in the Institutional Review Board for Cal Research, the Board of Directors of the Existential Humanistic Institute, and the Advisory Board for the Children's Hospital in Oakland, in issues of diversity and health care.

Thomas Greening received his Ph.D.in Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1958. He is a licensed clinical psychologist in California and has been practicing client-centered, psychodynamic existential-humanistic psychotherapy for 47 years. He is a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology and a Fellow of five APA Divisions. He was Editor of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology from 1970-2005 and now is International Editor. He is a clinical professor of psychology at UCLA where he has supervised graduate students for 30 years.
Dr. Greening is active in citizen diplomacy. His first overseas trip was with the Quaker International Volunteer Service in 1952, followed by a Fulbright Fellowship to Vienna. During the Cold War he made five trips to the Soviet Union and recently he traveled to China. He and Saybrook graduate Clay Foreman created Saybrook's course in Citizen Diplomacy, the first such course in the world.
His teaching at Saybrook is within the Humanistic and Transpersonal Clinical Inquiry Concentration. He especially likes to teach Saybrook's courses in Humanistic Psychology and Psychotherapy, Existential Psychotherapies, Rollo May and the Existential Tradition, Critical Issues in Psychopathology, and Ethics.

Zonya Johnson received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Boston University.
Dr. Johnson is a licensed clinical psychologist whose primary focus is psychodynamic clinical theory and psychotherapeutic technique. Other research interests include socio-cultural values, and health psychology, including fertility issues, cancer treatment, and the interaction between socio-cultural issues and health.

Stanley Krippner received his Ph.D. in Special Education from Northwestern University. A pioneer in the study of consciousness, Stanley Krippner conducts research in the areas of dreams, hypnosis, shamanism, and dissociation, often from a cross-cultural perspective, with an emphasis on anomalous phenomena that seem to question mainstream paradigms.

Steven Pritzker received his Ph.D.in Educational Psychology from the University of Southern California.

His research has dealt with creativity and film, collaborative creativity in writing and business; creativity and spirituality; the effect of alcohol on creativity and the creative process in high achieving writers.

His background in the business world includes experience in marketing, advertising, training, consulting and marketing research. He worked in television writing and producing network television shows. He co-edited The Encyclopedia of Creativity and was Humor Editor for Psychology Today magazine.

Eugene Taylor received his PhD in the University Professors Program at Boston University. He is a historian and philosopher of psychology, and an internationally recognized scholar on the life and work of William James. He specializes in the history of dynamic theories of personality, and the origins of Existential-Humanistic and Transpersonal psychology. He is also a specialist in Classical Asian Psychology and writes on Western interpretations of Asian ideas. He is chair of the Concentration in Humanistic and Transpersonal Psychology and Executive Faculty liaison representing Saybrook's Institutional Affiliation with the Philemon Foundation, which is bringing out the 35.000 unpublished letters comprising the correspondence of Carl Jung and a new edition of Jung?s complete works.

I began my association with Saybrook in 2006. Since that time, I have facilitated the online introductory research courses; worked with learners as their instructor for research coursework, supervised Practicum coursework, served on essay committees and reader and Chair, and served on and chaired thesis and dissertation committees. I currently serve as Chair of the Saybrook Institutional Review Board. For the past 24 years, I have also served as a Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Graduate College of Union Institute & University. In addition to being a licensed clinical psychologist (current in New Mexico and Hawaii), my true academic interests lie in creativity studies, the intersections of wellness and meditative practice, theory-building and systems theory, and the creative and visual arts. In my time in higher education, I have supervised over 100 dissertations. My various other identities include being a creative thinker, an artist, a lover, a follower of the Dharma, a mentor and facilitator, a loyal friend, an interested and amused student of life, a muse, a writer, and a sister traveler on the journey. I currently work with students interested in a variety of disciplines; regardless of their primary field, what excites me about learners' work is the interdisciplinarity and genuine passion that enlivens their doctoral studies. When I want to dance in the unself-conscious flow of life, I work at my jeweler's bench as a metalsmith. In addition, I am currently involved in studying, reflecting upon, and practicing the Tibetan Dharma (Nyingma tradition).

Ruth Richards received her Ph.D. in Education (Educational psychology and science education) from University of California, Berkeley and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School. She is an educational psychologist and research psychiatrist, a Professor of Psychology at Saybrook Graduate School, and member of the Concentration in Consciousness and Spirituality, who also brings the interest of ongoing work as Research Affiliate in Psychology and Psychiatry at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA; Lecturer, Dept. of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; and Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. She teaches courses including Dimensions of Creativity, Perspectives in Creativity, Psychology of Consciousness, Personal Mythology and Dreamwork, and Eastern Psychologies, plus selected others such as Psychopathology and Diagnosis for clinicians. She is particularly pleased to announce our new Creativity Studies Certificate, and am delighted to work with Certificate, M.A., and Ph.D. students in this general area. She is also enthusiastic about working with students pursuing Saybrook's forthcoming Sustainability and Sustainable Futures Certificate.

Dr. Arne Collen received his Ph.D. in 1971, in Experimental & General Psychology from the Ohio State University, and since then, he has worked with a broad range of research methods and methodologies used in psychology, human sciences, and organizational systems. He is an active and regular contributor to several international organizations, professional societies, and publications focused on his research interests: Advancing research methodology for human inquiry; graduate education; research process and human knowing; exploring parallelisms and convergences among forms of human inquiry found in the arts, humanities, and sciences (particularly through visual arts based inquiries). Currently, he is Director of Research and member of the Executive Faculty. His major activities with students and colleagues involve dissertation and thesis supervision, teaching research courses, and developing the Human Science program. He is affiliated with two faculty cluster concentration areas: Consciousness & Spirituality, and Integrative Health Studies, even though he has a long history of working with students from all concentration areas and programs. He also teaches a course called CSP 3010 Arts Based Inquiry that is part of the Creativity certificate curriculum but open to other interested students.

Joel Federman, Ph.D., is a writer, teacher and activist. He is Director of Saybrook's Human Science--Transformative Social Change MA degree specialization and its Social Transformation Concentration. He has a doctorate in political philosophy from the University of Southern California, and currently lives in San Francisco.

During the Fall 2009 semester, Dr. Federman is teaching Social System Transformation Theory (STR or MFT 6610), Violence and Nonviolence (STR 6510), Peace Studies (STR 6590). and is a member of several dissertation, thesis and essay committees.

Dr. Federman's teaching and writing focuses on helping people to reinvision their individual and collective potential, to see themselves shaping a better world. He is particularly interested in global-level social change, especially the development of global civil society efforts aimed at realizing values such as universal compassion, social justice and peace. He is writing a book on those themes, to be titled The Politics of Universal Compassion. He is also interested in exploring ways that new communication technologies can be used in the service of transformative social change.

He edits a website on the topics of peace, social justice, universal compassion, diversity, and ecology, at www.topia.net. He also does research and writing in the related areas of violence prevention, media violence, diversity education, and cross-cultural conflict resolution.

A former Co-Director of the Center for Communication and Social Policy at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Dr. Federman was project director for the National Television Violence Study. For that three-year effort (1995-98), he coordinated a team of more than 200 individuals at four major research universities -- the Universities of California, North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin -- to produce the most comprehensive study of television violence to date.

Dr. Federman was also project director and co-author of the Choices and Consequences Evaluation, a study of a middle school violence prevention curriculum developed by Court TV, the National Middle School Association, and Time Warner Cable. In 1998, he initiated the Center's Civility Clearinghouse, a web-based resource for information regarding the topic of civility. He is the author of Empowering Diversity, a curriculum for middle school students commissioned by the Santa Barbara, California Board of Education.

Dr. Federman has led numerous cross-cultural conflict resolution workshops, including a year-long Palestinian-Jewish dialogue at the University of Southern California. He is a former member of the board of directors of the Peace and Justice Studies Association, a national consortium of university-based peace and conflict studies programs.

His writing has been published in the Los Angeles Times; the Encyclopedia of Communication and Information; Tikkun Magazine; the Yearbook of the UNESCO International Clearinghouse on Children and Violence on the Screen; Alternet; Campaigns and Elections; and Humanities in Society.

Dr. Giorgi received his Ph.D. in Psychology from
Fordham University. He worked as a consultant to government and industry as a human factors expert for about four years and then decided to become an academician. As a professor he taught at Manhattan College, then Duquesne University and has been associated with Saybrook Graduate School since 1986.

Once Dr. Giorgi entered academic life, he became critical of mainstream approaches to psychology and he began to seek alternative approaches. He encountered philosophical phenomenology, especially the work of Husserl and Merleau-Ponty, and he adopted that approach as a framework for developing an alternative approach to psychology. His specialty is in the area of psychological research practices, especially qualitative approaches, and he is the developer of a phenomenological method based on the thought of Husserl and Merleau-Ponty.

At Saybrook, Dr. Giorgi teaches courses on the phenomenological approaches to psycholgy and on the application of the phenomenological method. He is the author of more than 100 articles on phenomenology and psychology and he is the founder of the Journal of Phenomenological Psychology and was its editor for 25 years.

JoAnn McAllister, Ph.D. is the Chair of the Human Science program at Saybrook. She has worked with non-profit organizations and government agencies, including the Office of the California Attorney General, conducting research and developing violence prevention and intervention programs to address intimate partner violence and the needs of at-risk youth. She is the author of numerous articles on social change and community organizing, curricula on domestic violence, and the co-author of Doing democracy: The MAP model of social movements (New Society Press).

Marc Pilisuk received his Ph.D. in Clinical and Social Psychology from the University of Michigan. His research studies have included a hospice in rural New Mexico, self-help support groups for post-mastectomy women, alternatives to civil commitment for the homeless mentally ill, the causes and prevention of war, terrorism and other violent conflicts . He has combined research, teaching and activism in the areas of caring and health, conflict resolution, community intervention skills, the human consequences of globalization, youth violence prevention, terrorism and environmental and social justice.

For 35 years, Dennis has helped families manage the personal and organizational issues that lead to successful and fulfilling transfer of businesses, wealth, values, commitments and legacies between generations. Since 1981, he has been professor of Organizational Systems and Psychology at Saybrook University in San Francisco. He received his BA in Philosophy, MA in Management and Ph.D. in Sociology from Yale University.
As both an organizational consultant and clinical psychologist, he is one of the architects of the emerging field of family enterprise consulting. As a founding member of the Family Firm Institute, he has presented at many of their annual conferences, served on their board, written frequently for their journal Family Business Review, and was awarded the Richard Beckhard Award for contributions to practice. In 2007 he was named Thinker in Residence for S. Australia, where helped the region design a strategic plan for the future of their entrepreneurial and family businesses.
Dennis is the author of the new book Stewardship of Your Family Enterprise: Developing Vital and Responsible Next Generation Leadership, Working with the Ones You Love: Building a Successful Family Business; Working with Family Businesses: A Guide for Professional Advisors, as well as 12 other management books, including Getting Your Organization to Change, Rekindling Commitment, and Take This Job and Love it!

He has helped financial advisors and wealth managers in a number of firms to develop the skills to serve the personal needs of their client families. He is the co-creator of the Enterprising Family Sustainability Index, the Aspen Family Business Inventory, the Aspen Family Wealth Inventory, and other tools for assessment of family enterprise success.
Dennis recently co-authored the Campden Research study The New Wealth Paradigm: How affluent women are taking control of their futures, and was the researcher for the JP Morgan study of best practices of multi-generational families. His research on the governance of start-up companies, After the Term Sheet is an important contribution to the field of entrepreneurship. He is a regular contributor to magazines such as Families in Business, Worth and Family Business. He was awarded the Editor's Choice Award in 2005 for his article on family business strategic planning for the Journal of Financial Planning.
In 1984 he founded Changeworks Global, a consulting firm in San Francisco, where he worked with organizations and family businesses about long-term change to build competitive advantage by unleashing the power of their employees. He was a founder of the web firm MemeWorks, that pioneered the use of on-line executive development tools. In 1990-92 he served as Deputy Director of Research for the Macarthur Foundation Network on Healthy Companies. His video, Managing People through Change, was voted one of the Best Products of 1991 by the magazine Human Resource Executive. His work has been featured in Inc. magazine, Entrepreneur, Nation's Business, Time and The Wall Street Journal, and he has been profiled in People magazine.
He has been active in non-profit governance, serving on the boards of the World Business Academy, Saybrook Graduate School, and the Center for Mind-Body Medicine.

Since 1989, Dr. Southern has worked in the field of organizational development, consulting to public, corporate, and non-profit organizations and executive teams and teaching academic courses to mid-career managers. Dr. Southern's work is focused in facilitating transformational learning for individuals and organizations. She has an Ed.D from the University of San Francisco. Her doctoral work incorporated a cross-cultural study in the U.S. and China of leadership and learning for transformational change. She approaches her work through understanding how cultural beliefs and assumptions affect both individual and organization's ability to achieve the change they truly desire. Dr. Southern is currently writing a book on facilitating transformational learning.

Dr. Bernhardt has 35-years experience in psychotherapy and analytic practice, supervision and consultation, applied research, multidiscipline teaching, and professional training in clinical and academic settings in lifespan developmental, health, counseling, and clinical psychology integrating depth, humanistic, and transpersonal traditions. She has trained under three generations of mentors, encompassing classical, modern, and post-modern theory and clinical applications in individual and group psychotherapy, intergenerational, and multigenerational development, and social systems applications.
Dr. Bernhardt has participated in research, teaching, training, and publications funded under National Institute of Mental Health grants in Departments of Medicine, Psychiatry, Psychology and Sociology through the University of California, San Francisco and Langley Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute. She has participated in multidiscipline research in social and psychological issues in quality of life in chronic illness, early deprivation and adult survival in chronic illness, and the importance of the therapeutic alliance in medical ethics and standards of care. Through the C. G. Jung and Psychoanalytic Institutes of San Francisco, she has participated in research in psychological capacities and psychotherapy outcomes studies. Through grant-funded studies with Chapman University, she has consulted in research in quality of life and personhood in special needs in adult autism.
Dr. Bernhardt has served as graduate faculty with masters and doctoral students at Institute of Imaginal Studies and Dominican University. As Associate Professor, she has instructed in the Depth Psychology Program and served on theses committees at Sonoma State University. She has served as Assistant Professor, Director of Research and Theses, and Director of the M.A. Program in Clinical and Counseling Psychology at Notre Dame de Namur University, Clinical Psychology, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Gerontology programs.
Dr. Bernhardt currently serves as adjunct Associate Professor and Clinical Supervisor in the Psy.D. Program at California Institute of Integral Studies. As adjunct Clinical and Research Faculty, she serves on dissertation committees and instructs graduate coursework and clinical practica at Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. As Part-Time Faculty, she serves on M.A. research projects and Ph.D. dissertation committees and instructs in the Ph.D. Program in Humanistic-Transpersonal Psychology, Ph.D. Program in Human Science, Psy.D. Program in Clinical Psychology, and M.A. Program in Marital and Family Therapy at Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center.
Dr. Bernhardt is an advanced candidate in child and adult analytic training at the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. She completed her dissertation in lifespan depth psychology integrating psychoanalytic and Jungian depth and transpersonal perspectives in individual and cultural development under the advisement of Erik H. Erikson. Her clinical practice, longitudinal research and graduate teaching include lifespan and intergenerational expertise with children, adolescents, adults, and elders. She is a licensed psychologist in clinical, consulting, and supervising practice in Mill Valley, California.

Degrees and Licensure
PSY5958, Psychologist License, State of California, 1979
Ph.D. Clinical Psychology, California School of Professional Psychology, San Francisco, 1976
M.S. Counseling Psychology, Dominican University of California, 1973
B.S. Human Development, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, 1968

Dr. Burstein is a licensed Clinical Psychologist. She has long-standing research and applied interests in innovative, cost-effective, mental health service delivery. Studying and teaching the components of ""helping talk"" and the processes involved in learning and mastery of interpersonal and group process skills in the training of mental health professionals and lay people are focused. As Program Director of UCLA?s California Self-Help Center, she worked with teams to develop packaged programs aimed at ""giving psychology away."" The autoGAIT, the Common Concern program and the Group Starter Manual & Training Program are three examples of carefully field-tested means of delivering high quality, low cost, mental health services in small groups she developed and uses.
Currently, she directs a Clinical/Community Psychology Internship at Los Angeles Harbor College where she trains graduate students in traditional and alternative methods of mental health service delivery as well as crisis intervention, referral, learning disabilities assessment and accommodation. With a group of Saybrook colleagues she is applying some of these innovative methods in the new MFT track introductory course, ""Basic Clinical Skills"". She is interested in Clinical and Health psychology, particularly women's health issues and the application of research findings to social policy in the area of violence prevention. She coordinates the Peace Making, Peace Keeping and Community Building interest group at Saybrook in Los Angeles.

Dr. Cannady is a psychologist, ordained minister, violinist, pianist, and opera singer. His research interests include multicultural diversity issues, despairity in health care, family intervention therapy, anger management, domestic violence, sandtray, and rage in black adolescents.

Dr. Scatena received her doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley and is a licensed clinical psychologist. Her clinical and research work and interests reflect her view regarding the importance of the multiple dimensions that contribute to the human experience including cognitive, psychodynamic, relational, cultural, humanistic-existential, and psychospiritual aspects. Specific interests include the integration of contemplative practices and Buddhist psychology with Western psychology and psychotherapy, indigenous and Western science world views and ways of knowing, applications of mindfulness-based approaches to psychotherapy and complementary health care, and early childhood attachment and child and adult development. Research areas include spirituality and mindfulness in health, self-care, clinical training and professional development; psychotherapy and community services; cultural issues in education and counseling, and women's health issues.

Dr. Vaughan holds dual academic credentials in clinical psychology and law. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia, School of Law and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from New York University. He has taught a broad range of doctoral level courses and seminars in psychology. His professional consultation practice is in the areas of Jungian or Analytical Psychology and Forensic Psychology. His current research investigates American Jurisprudence through the lens of Analytical and Cultural/Ethnocultural Psychology.

James Hollis is a Zurich-trained, licensed Jungian analyst, author, and Director of the Jungian Studies program in Houston, TX. He taught in various colleges and universities in the humanities, retrained in analytic psychology, and graduated from the Jung Institute in Zurich in 1982.

In addition to various topics related to analytic psychology, he is particularly interested in myth, various forms of spirituality, and the interpretation of culture from a psychological perspective.