School name:  Moravian University

Type of school:  Private University

School locale:  Bethlehem, PA, United States

Is your role mostly in-person, hybrid, online (synchronous or asynchronous)?   It’s a mix of hybrid, in-person, online synchronous, and online asynchronous.

For how many years have you taught psychology?  About 15 years in higher education, along with nearly 30 years of clinical experience in mental health and addiction.

Classes you teach:  Introduction to Counseling Skills, Helping Relationships, Professional Orientation and Ethics, Group Therapy, Human Development, Counseling Theories, Survey of Community Counseling Agencies, Substance Abuse, Advanced Counseling Skills: Cognitive and Behavioral Techniques, Motivational Interviewing, Culminating Experience Seminar, Internship, Practicum, Third Wave Cognitive Behavioral Modalities and Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Specialization:  Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), addiction, and recovery

What size classes do you teach?  Primarily graduate classes ranging from 12 to 30 students.

What’s the best advice about teaching you’ve ever received?   “Students remember how you made them feel long after they forget what was on the slide.” That advice stuck with me. When students know you genuinely care about their growth and development, they engage more deeply and take more risks in learning.

What is a book, article, research, or author/researcher that you would recommend that new teachers check out?  Two books that have had a significant impact on my professional development are Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond by Dr. Judith Beck and Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change by Drs. William Miller and Stephen Rollnick. Both books shaped the way I think about working with people and ultimately influenced how I teach.

Judith Beck’s work helped me develop a structured and practical approach to understanding thoughts, emotions, and behavior, while Miller and Rollnick’s work on motivational interviewing emphasizes empathy, collaboration, and meeting people where they are. Together, these approaches remind me that effective teaching, much like effective therapy, requires both structure and compassion. These books not only helped shape my career as a psychologist but also continue to influence how I mentor and train future clinicians.

What do you know now about teaching that you wish you knew when you were starting?  When I first started teaching, I thought I needed to be liked by every student and that making things easier would help them succeed. Over time, I’ve learned that good teaching is about being fair, consistent, and supportive while also holding students accountable.

Students who work hard, submit assignments on time, and spend hours preparing deserve a learning environment where expectations matter. If we let too many things slide, it can unintentionally be unfair to those students. At the same time, I try to balance accountability with understanding; life happens, and sometimes students need flexibility.

Ultimately, I’ve learned that part of our job as educators is to prepare students for the real world. Being compassionate while maintaining clear expectations helps students develop both competence and professionalism.

Briefly tell us about your favorite lecture topic or course to teach.
One of my favorite courses to teach is Introduction to Counseling Skills (sometimes called Helping Relationships). In this class, I work with students who are often just beginning their journey into the counseling profession. It’s incredibly rewarding to watch them start developing the core skills that help people feel heard, understood, and supported.

The course is very experiential, with lots of role-plays and skill-building exercises. Students practice active listening, empathy, and other foundational counseling techniques in real time. These exercises are not only fun but also extremely beneficial, as they help students gain confidence and begin to see themselves as future therapists.

One of my favorite moments happens early in the semester during a role-play exercise. A student will often pause and say, “Wait… that actually worked.” That moment, when they realize that listening, empathy, and thoughtful responses can truly help someone, is when you can see them begin to believe that they can become effective counselors. Watching that shift happen is one of the most meaningful parts of teaching for me.

Briefly describe a favorite assignment or in-class activity.  One assignment that consistently creates powerful learning experiences is asking students in my Substance Use and Addictive Disorders class to attend a 12-step meeting or another mutual support meeting (such as SMART Recovery or a similar program). For many students, the idea of attending their first meeting brings a lot of anxiety and uncertainty. They often worry about saying the wrong thing or not knowing what to expect.

What usually happens, though, is something meaningful. Students see firsthand the power of community, honesty, and mutual support. Many of them talk about how surprised they are by the openness, resilience, and hope present in those spaces. Learning becomes very real for them; it moves beyond theory and textbooks.

When students come back and reflect on the experience through their writing and class discussions, you can see the shift in their perspective. As someone in recovery myself, it’s especially meaningful to witness those moments of understanding and growth. Seeing students gain respect for the recovery process and the people in those rooms is always a powerful and rewarding part of teaching that course.

What’s your dream course if you had the time and resources to teach it?  The beautiful thing about this question is that I have the opportunity to help make this happen. At Moravian University, I recently developed a Master of Science in Substance Use Counseling (MSUC) pr

ogram, which will begin in Fall 2026. The goal is to create courses that combine evidence-based approaches, such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Motivational Interviewing, with experiential learning to prepare students for real clinical work.

One exciting component of the program is the development of a clinical skills lab, where trained actors will play the roles of clients that students may encounter in practice. This allows students to practice counseling skills, receive feedback, and build confidence in a safe learning environment before working with real clients.

I’m incredibly excited about the launch of this program and the opportunity to help train the next generation of clinicians who will be working with individuals and families affected by substance use and addiction.

What are three words that best describe your teaching style?  Authentic, experiential, and supportive

What is your teaching philosophy in 8 words or fewer?  Prepare students to become confident, ethical, effective clinicians.

What’s your workspace like? My workspace is a mix of organized and lived-in. There are usually books related to CBT, addiction, and psychology nearby, along with notes from classes I’m preparing or ideas for new projects. I like having a whiteboard where I can map out concepts, sketch out the CBT triangle, or jot down ideas for lectures and discussions.

You’ll also notice some Philadelphia Eagles memorabilia around the office. It’s a small reminder that passion and loyalty matter, whether you’re talking about sports, teaching, or the work we do in mental health.

Students stop by my office often, sometimes to talk about coursework, sometimes about career goals, and sometimes just to check in. Those conversations are one of my favorite parts of the job. Teaching doesn’t happen only in the classroom, and some of the most meaningful mentoring moments occur in those informal discussions.

Tell us about a teaching disaster (or embarrassment) you’ve had and how you dealt with the situation.  Early in my teaching career, I remember preparing a lecture for the first time on substance use and the withdrawal effects of opioids. I had a PowerPoint slide listing some of the symptoms, including two terms: lacrimation and rhinorrhea. About halfway through the class, a student raised their hand and asked, “What does lacrimation mean?”

I paused and realized something that immediately made my stomach drop: I had included terms on the slide that I didn’t know well enough to explain. As I looked at the slide more closely, I also realized I wasn’t entirely sure what rhinorrhea meant either.

Instead of trying to give a vague or overly complicated answer, I told the class honestly, “That’s a great question. I don’t know exactly what that means, and I should.” We looked it up together and learned that lacrimation refers to teary eyes and rhinorrhea refers to a runny nose.

It was definitely an embarrassing moment, but it turned into a great teaching lesson for both the students and me. I told them that if you’re going to put something on a slide or present it to others, you should make sure you understand it inside and out. That moment reinforced for me that teaching isn’t about pretending to know everything; it’s about being honest, curious, and willing to learn alongside your students.

Tell us about a teaching “win” you’ve had and the context in which it happened.  One of the most meaningful teaching “wins” for me happens when I see students begin to believe in themselves as future clinicians. I remember a student early in their training session who was very anxious about conducting counseling role-plays in class. They worried about saying the wrong thing, not being helpful enough and being embarrassed in front of the class.

Over the course of the semester, through practice, feedback, and encouragement, their confidence grew. Toward the end of the course, after completing a counseling role-play, the student said something like, “I wish this class would continue, I love it.”

Moments like that are incredibly rewarding. Teaching counseling skills isn’t just about learning techniques, it’s about helping students develop confidence, empathy, and the belief that they can truly help people. Seeing that shift happen is one of the best parts of being an educator.

What is something you are currently focused on improving or changing in your teaching?  One area I am continually working to improve is my online asynchronous teaching. My goal is to make those courses feel as engaging and connected as possible, like the experience students have in an in-person classroom.

I try to be creative with assignments and discussions so that students are not just completing tasks on their own but actively interacting with the material and with each other. I also place a strong emphasis on building peer-to-peer connections and professor-to-student relationships, even in an asynchronous environment.

Creating that sense of community online takes intentional effort, but it is important to me that students feel supported, engaged, and connected to the learning process, regardless of the format of the course.

What is something your students would be surprised to learn about you?  Honestly, many of my students eventually realize there isn’t much that surprises them about me because I tend to be a pretty open book. I believe authenticity is important in teaching, especially when we are preparing future counselors and psychologists. When appropriate, I share experiences and perspectives that help students understand that growth, mistakes, and learning are part of every professional journey.

Over time, students often tell me that seeing that openness helps them feel more comfortable asking questions, taking risks in their learning, and developing their own professional identity.

What are you currently reading for pleasure?  No surprise to anyone who knows me; I’m currently reading Ray Didinger’s book Finished Business. As a longtime Philadelphia Eagles fan, I’ve always appreciated Didinger’s perspective on football, storytelling, and the history of the game. It’s a great reminder that sports can bring people together in powerful ways and often reflect larger lessons about perseverance, teamwork, and resilience. Go Birds!!

What tech tool could you not live without?  Probably Zoom. I use it in many different parts of my life—teaching, my private practice, presentations, and even staying connected with family and colleagues. It has made it much easier to bring people together regardless of location, whether that’s meeting with students, supervising clinicians, or inviting guest speakers into the classroom. It’s a great reminder that technology, when used well, can help create connections rather than replace them.