Resume

• 2005

  PsyD

  Clinical Psychology

  The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

• 2003

  BS

  Psychology

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Comicspedia

  The intersection of comic books and psychology.

  Comicspedia

  Psychotherapy

  Comic Books

  Teaching

  Group Therapy

  PowerPoint

  Public Speaking

  Social Networking

  Training

  Psychology

  Research

  Treatment

  Prezi

  Customer Service

  Microsoft Word

  Therapists

  Adolescents

  Clinical Psychology

  Video Games

  Current Video Game and Play Therapy Research: What Clinical Psychologists Need to Know

  Current Video Game and Play Therapy Research: What Clinical Psychologists Need to Know

  Panel presentation on July 17

  2013 at the San Diego Comic Con International's Comic Arts Conference. The panel featured six therapists who shared different ways in which they were personally empowered and affected by superheroes and/or how they use superheroes to help empower clients.

  Embracing geek culture: The therapeutic value of games

  comics

  and pop media

  Professionals and students provided examples of how using games

  fantasy

  and other geeky pursuits can have positive and powerful effects on people's lives. Dr. Patrick O'Connor discussed his \"Geek Culture in Therapy\" course currently running in the Clinical PsyD Department of The Chicago School. Additionally

  Josué Cardona

  a licensed therapist in North Carolina and host of the award-winning Geek Therapy Podcast

  focused on the potential of geek culture in clinical applications. Joining them were Clinical PsyD students Laura Vecchiolla

  Elizabeth Smith

  and Matt Fellows

  who shared clinical experiences

  research

  and narratives on video games and pop culture.

  Comic Books and Geek Culture: How Superheroes Can Empower Your Clients

  Patrick O'Connor

  PsyD and virtual guest Josué Cardona

  MS discuss the importance of recognizing geek culture as a unique culture

  and argue that using geek artifacts (such as comic books) can help people overcome a variety of issues. Abed

  a fictional character from the NBC television series Community

  is briefly explored for the purpose of illustrating a hypothetical case example. This seminar was recorded 10/17/2012 at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. It consists of 30 minutes of presentation and 15 minutes of audience Q&A.

  Patrick

  O'Connor

  Southeast Psych

  Comicspedia

  College of DuPage

  The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

  Developed a private practice specializing in the treatment and assessment of teens and young adults. Regularly provided trainings and workshops for clinicians

  teachers

  and parents on a variety of topics

  including social networking

  video games

  comic books

  and DSM-IV diagnoses. Attended three to four hours of weekly training centered on professional development

  including improving treatment delivery

  enhancing assessment communication

  diversity issues

  and marketing.

  Post Doctoral Fellow

  Charlotte

  North Carolina Area

  Southeast Psych

  Developing materials necessary to teach various courses in an APA-accredited Clinical Psy.D. program. Assisting students in mastering course material in addition to professional development. Providing challenging case examples for students to learn how to apply classroom knowledge to real world scenarios. Assessing student learning through practical projects and writing assignments.

  Adjunct Faculty

  Greater Chicago Area

  The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

  I created Comicspedia

  a tool utilized by therapists and educators who see the potential of comic books beyond recreational reading. Comicspedia is an online database of hundreds of summaries of individual comic book issues

  with each one tagged with psychologically-relevant themes. These themes include Being Different

  Collaborating with Others

  Roles

  Family

  and more. Ideas for therapy

  case examples

  and logistical aids round out the resource so users can be well-informed before deciding how they will use comic books to achieve their professional goals.

  Comicspedia

  Adjunct Faculty

  College of DuPage