Michael Gerson, PhD

Associate Professor and Director, Master of Science in Counseling Psychology (MFT)

Book this person as a speaker:

Email: mjgerson@callutheran.edu
Phone: (805) 493-3773

Speeches:

• Managing Stress During Tough Economic Times
  An overview of how to deal with a variety of personal and family issues that stem from an unstable economy where foreclosures, unemployment rates and the costs of living increase rapidly. These pressures, compounded with media reports of the crumbling economy, can add many stresses to people's lives.

• Diagnosing and Treating Psychological Issues in Children and Adolescents
  An overview of the psychological issues that may affect children and adolescents and how parents can better understand these issues and seek help.

Dr. Gerson is a licensed psychologist, marriage and family therapist, and a nationally certified psychoanalyst who has been working in the mental health field since 1974. He began working with juvenile gangs for the LA County Probation Dept. and then transitioned into working with domestic violence. In 1977 he entered into community mental health and specialized in family and child therapy. Dr. Gerson has served on the Los Angeles County Commission on Violence Against Women, was a consultant to the Los Angeles County Child Abuse Task Force, and served on the Preschool Age Molested Children's Professional Group for the L.A. County Department of Mental Health. He has also served as an evaluator for the California Department of Mental Health. In addition to his training in clinical psychology and marriage and family therapy, Dr. Gerson has trained in the psychoanalysis of both adults and children. He entered into private practice in 1981 and had maintained a full time practice until 2008, when he accepted a full time faculty position at CLU. Dr. Gerson still sees a limited number of private patients and regularly consults with the courts and State agencies. His teaching career began in 1982 where he has taught graduate psychology at various universities around Los Angeles, including Loyola Marymount, Alliant, UCLA-NPI and Phillips Graduate Institute. Dr. Gerson has been an invited presenter to many professional conferences where he has delivered papers on the psychological effects of child abuse,  adolescent development, neuro-psychoanalysis, systems/complexity theory and Lacanian psychoanalysis. Dr. Gerson is currently involved in the psychotherapeutic applications of magic and is a member of Academy of Magical Arts (Magic Castle), International Brotherhood of Magicians, and the Society of American Magicians.