Scott Kiser

Scott Kiser holds an MA in Marriage/Family Therapy from George Fox University and a PhD in Psychology from Saybrook University. He teaches psychology at Clackamas Community College, and doctoral research courses, as well as chairs dissertation committees, at the University of Arizona Global Campus. He is a proud alumnus of Saybrook University, where he is now honored to teach foundational and qualitative courses in the Department of Research. Dr. Kiser's area of expertise and specialization within academic training and scholarship is existential-humanistic psychology/psychotherapy, as well as qualitative research, specifically case study and phenomenological (hermeneutic) methodologies. He has worked as a professional psychotherapist in community mental health agencies as well as private practice, involving extensive experience practicing individual, group, and family therapy. He has been the recipient of academic scholarship awards for published work, has given APA presentations of published work and academic research, and has published scholarly articles in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology and The Humanistic Psychologist.

Dr. Kiser's academic and research interests are centered on a passion for understanding and articulating the existential reality of paradox, both paradox as the fundamental structure of human nature and existence, and particularly the paradox of self-transcendence in the processes of suffering and healing. His core obsession is to discover how and why painful psychological experiences result in both positive/constructive growth outcomes and negative/destructive outcomes. This is the topic of his dissertation research, specifically related to the painful experience of clinical depression, which explores how and why depressive episodes are both sources of constructive transformation and perpetuated self-destruction.