Meet the Chatham Alum Who Counsels and Trains Current Students
Christine Simpson, PsyD ’16, stands for a photo outside her Woodland Hall office. (Mick Stinelli)
Christine Simpson, PsyD ’16, had a few years of university counseling under her belt when she received a call asking her to work at Chatham University two years ago.
“I loved the idea of working for Chatham, given that I’m a Chatham grad and I love this institution,” Simpson said during an interview in her Woodland Hall office. “I also had the opportunity to work with students at Chatham; that was really exciting.”
A 2016 graduate of Chatham’s Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Counseling Psychology program who also completed her Master of Arts in Psychology (MAP) here in 2011, Simpson already had deep roots in the University’s psychology program when she was hired as a staff psychologist in Chatham’s Counseling Center, where she provides one-on-one, short-term counseling to students and supervises PsyD students who provide counseling. She’s also an adjunct psychology professor.
“I think about myself developmentally and what it was like to have mentors,” Simpson said about working with students. “When you’re a first-generation student or even a nontraditional student, mentors help you get through it and understand it. I like being that person for the students.”
Work wasn’t always so fulfilling for Simpson. Several years before pursuing a career as a psychologist, she stumbled into the role of securities litigation paralegal after a stint as a licensed financial consultant. One day, sitting in a little office amid a sea of financial documents and legal papers, Simpson realized something: this was not what she wanted to be doing.
Naturally curious and a lifelong learner, she’d developed an interest in psychology, particularly existential questions, like, “What gives my life meaning and purpose?”
In 2009, she decided to pursue her master’s degree at Chatham University. Psychology stuck with her in a way none of her other career interests had before.
“With something as complex as human behavior, you never find the answer,” she said.
Having already completed her undergraduate studies at Point Park University and previously taken some classes at the Community College of Allegheny County, Simpson said Chatham stood out to her when she was looking to continue her education as a working professional.
One example: she reached out to the University with a general inquiry and was met with a personal response from one of the professors in the psychology program. “That’s a nice personalized touch,” she remembered thinking.
She felt like she was getting the education she wanted as a first-generation college student who was pursuing postgraduate studies after a career change. “I just feel very welcome here,” she said. And when she was working side-by-side with professors on research in the psychology of gender, Simpson said she felt valued.
Now, part of her job includes working alongside current psychology students, training them to be better therapists. She sees that work as part of her mission to pass on the best practices and values that made her fall in love with the field of psychology.
“To become a psychologist, it’s not just about reading books and learning about psychology,” she said. “You can do that all day long. If that were how people learned to be psychologists, we’d all be psychologists.”
But when you’re becoming a licensed psychologist, there’s more involved: working under supervisors, developing clinical intuition, learning how to be an effective therapist, and even making mistakes, Simpson said. Mentors need to be there to train the next generation of psychologists as they navigate those challenges and learning opportunities.
“For me, that’s what giving back means,” she said. “It’s being that person who’s going to help somebody become a good clinician, and the ultimate goal is the clients’ benefit from our services.”
Learn more about the resources available at Chatham University’s Counseling Center, and visit chatham.edu to see how you can apply for Chatham’s psychology program, which offers undergraduate and graduate-level degrees.