
Faculty play a crucial role in the academic life of the Counseling Psychology program, as they model the skills and values of the integration of the art and science of clinical practice, and provide essential mentoring for students.
Experienced practicing clinicians are particularly able to help students develop the critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills students need to function effectively when presented with the complex problems that characterize Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy practice. Experienced clinicians are central to the execution of our model of education, which emphasizes both the unique demands of professional education and the importance of mentoring and modeling. Through modeling a life that combines clinical practice with the awareness of current research and literature, the Counseling Psychology program faculty enable students to form a strong identification with the multi-faceted roles and responsibilities of contemporary clinicians.
The Counseling Psychology program faculty exemplify the core tenets of our mission statement and program philosophy. Namely, our faculty champion social justice and an appreciation of diversity, while embodying an orientation that focuses on client and student strengths, and emphasizes resiliency, recovery and evidence-based practices. The program has assembled a team of professionals who come from a broad range of personal backgrounds and clinical experiences in order to mirror our culturally diverse student body and their future constituents. Our faculty members are critical thinkers who engage people easily, possess integrity and the ability to communicate effectively, and above all, know how to instill students with a sense of hope and excitement about the counseling field. The Wright Institute is committed to basing all recruitment, hiring, admissions and promotion decisions upon individual qualifications, merit and competency. It is the Institute's policy to provide equal opportunity for all students, faculty and employees.
Milena Esherick, PsyD - Program Director
Dr. Esherick is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in the areas of eating disorders and substance abuse. She is the former Program Director of El Camino Hospital's Intensive Eating Disorders Treatment Program - a partial hospitalization program for adults with severe eating disorders, mood, and anxiety disorders... Read more »Rebecca Stevenson, PsyD - Assistant Program Director, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Dr. Rebecca Stevenson holds a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Sports Psychology. Dr. Stevenson has extensive experience working clinically and non-clinically within K-12 schools, foster systems, juvenile corrections systems, and the overall community with an overlying emphasis on complex trauma in children, youth, families, and... Read more »Mary M. Clarke, PhD - Full-Time Faculty
Dr. Clarke is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in trauma recovery including: complex PTSD, dissociation, and DID. She works with LGBTQ+, Trans, GNC, and Non Binary folks. Additionally, she has long-term therapy experience with personality concerns and other relational needs. In over 15+ years as a clinician, she has provided... Read more »Kristin L. Dempsey, EdD - Full-Time Faculty
Dr. Dempsey is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) and professional clinical counselor (LPCC). She has provided psychotherapy in the Bay Area for almost 25 years in public non-profits and county mental health settings, schools, and medical clinics. Her current psychotherapy practice is located in San Francisco and San Bruno... Read more »Ulash Thakore-Dunlap, MS - Full-Time Faculty
Professor Dunlap is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and holds a PPSc (School Counseling Credential) with extensive clinical experiences working with children, adolescents, schools, families, and adults. Professor Dunlap has over 20 years of teaching experience at high school, community college, and... Read more »Jennifer Dorsey, MA - Part-Time Faculty
Professor Dorsey is a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist who uses psychodynamic case conceptualization and emphasizes a relational approach in her work with children/adolescents, families, and adults. She often explores the impact of multigenerational trauma in her client’s lives and honors their ensuing resiliency... Read more »Jeanette Lopez-Urbina, MA - Part-Time Faculty
Professor Lopez-Urbina is a licensed clinical social worker and has worked in the mental health field since the year 2000 in various settings in Northern and Southern California, including providing individual and family services through various models, such as Wraparound, community-based psychotherapy, and violence prevention work... Read more »MacKenzie Stuart, MA - Part-Time Faculty
Professor Stuart is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who works with adults, couples, and partners. She has a private practice in Alameda. Professor Stuart specializes in nontraditional relationship structures, including polyamory and other forms of consensual nonmonogamy, as well as chronic depression and suicidality... Read more »