Faculty Spotlight

"It is exciting to have the opportunity to address critical needs in the community."

Dr. Stephanie Woo, associate professor of psychology at the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) and an expert in mood and anxiety disorders, is utilizing her experience as a consultant for Building Recovery by Improving Goals, Habits, and Thoughts (BRIGHT). BRIGHT, a project operated by prestigious think-tank The RAND Corporation, aims to assess the effects of Cognitive Behavior Therapy on the coexistence of depression and substance abuse. This knowledge can then inform the development of a revised treatment regimen that can be implemented by paraprofessional drug counselors. "This work is meaningful to me,” Woo said of her contribution to this initiative. "It is exciting to have the opportunity to address critical needs in the community.”

Woo acts as program director for the daytime format of the Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology, offered at the Pepperdine University Malibu campus. In addition, she researches and writes on psychosocial factors in severe psychopathology. Woo collaborated with GSEP lecturer of psychology Dr. Carolyn Keatinge to publish Diagnosis and Treatment of Mental Disorders across the Lifespan.